Off to Pretoria

Well, I am not really going to South Africa just yet. But, I'm officially a UNISA student! I have registered for just one module, Biblical texts in their ancient contexts (BBS101-D). I may enroll in multiple modules (or no modules) next semester, once I have an idea of what is required to be successful at UNISA and still be successful at at work and at Liberty. I'm still working on the MBA at Liberty. The intent of my studies at UNISA is merely to broaden my long learning goals. I've just completed first the Dimensions of Faith Certificate course, Old Testament Survey I, from Ockenga Institute, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I'm really digging the Dimensions of Faith lectures, which sort of led to my to decision to enroll at UNISA.

Enrollment at UNISA was surprisingly easy. I requested a student number and began the online application process on 10 December, paying tuition and exemption fees with the old Visa (which my wife has threatened to take away). I arranged for my high school and colleges to forward transcripts and forwarded notarized copies of my high school diploma and passport shortly afterward. I received email notification of registration on 16 January.

BA (Languages and Literature) (with specialisation in Early World Civilisations)

Minimum duration of studies
The degree cannot be completed in less than three years
Admission Requirements
Click "here" for further details.
Composition of curriculum
At least one major subject must be included
10 modules on 1st level
10 modules on 2nd level
10 modules on 3rd level
First Level
 Introduction to Archaeology: Scope, aims, data & methods (AGE101-4)
 Introduction to the Ancient Near Eastern Cultures (ATC101-3)
 Archaeological discoveries from the biblical world (BBA102-V)
 Greek myths, literature and society (CCL101-R)
 Roman myths, literature and society (CCL102-S)
 Early Asian civilisations (CCL802-J)
or
Ancient entertainment: Greek festivals and Roman games (CCL803-K)
 plus any four of the following:
 S.A. prehistory: from the earliest Hominids to the beginning of the Colonial era
(AGE102-5)
 Introduction to Biblical Archaeology (BBA101-U)
 Near East and Greece (ANH101-P)
 Roman history (ANH102-Q)
 Mythology of the Ancient Near East (ATC102-4)
 Introduction to precolonial history (HSY101-D)
 Early history of Islam: 6th and 9th centuries (ICS102-Y)
 Laws & customs: The festivals of Judaism -their origin, development & the inherent notion of time (JCA101-P)
 Comparative religious studies: Introduction to the religions of the world (RST121-U)
 Biblical texts in their ancient contexts (BBS101-D)
 Introduction to Western philosophy (PLS103-3)
 Introduction to African philosophy (PLS104-4)
 The anthropological study of culture in a multicultural context (APY101-E)
Second level
 Archaeological field work techniques and analytical methods (AGE201-8)
 Themes in African Archaeology (AGE203-A)
 Verbal communication in the Ancient Near East (ATC201-6)
 Nonverbal communication in the Ancient Near East (ATC202-8)
 Daily life in Galilee, Judea & Jerusalem: from Herod the Great to the Jewish revolt (BBA302-5)
 Urban life in New Testament times (BBA306-A)
 Greco-Roman tragedy (CCL821-M)
 Greco-Roman epic (CCL823-P)
 plus any two of the following modules:
 Archaeology and fossils: the study of human evolution (AGE202-9)
 Greco-Roman historians/philosophy (CCL824-Q)
 Greco-Roman poetry (CCL825-R)
 Ancient satire (CCL826-S)
 Rhetoric and stylistics (CCL827-T)
 Classical art and architecture (CCL829-V)
 Cultural change in the Ancient Near East (ATC203-9)
 Literature of the Ancient Near East (ATC204-A)
 From Dan to Beersheba: An archaeological tour through ancient Israel (BBA301-4)
 New archaeology & cultural analysis of the New Testament world (BBA303-6)
 Illness, health and healing in the biblical world (BBA307-B)
 Historical geography of the biblical world (BBA308-C)
 Understanding the Old Testament through archaeology (BBA309-D)
 Hindu studies: culture, religion and philosophy (RST221-X)
Third level
 World prehistory: from prehistoric hunter-gatherers to the development of complex societies (AGE303-D)
 Prehistoric rock art (AGE304-E)
 Archaeology of the Ancient near East 1 (ATC301-A)
 Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 2 (ATC302-B)
 Uncovering a Biblical City (BBA304-8)
 Manners & customs in the Bible & African traditional cultures (BBA305-9)
 Greco-Roman comedy (CCL822-N)
 The environment and humankind: classical perspectives (CCL828-U)
 plus any two of the following modules:
 Theoretical approaches in Archaeology: the reconstruction & interpretation of past lifeways & cultural change (AGE301-B)
 Applied Archaeology: heritage conservation and management (AGE302-C)
 Historical & judicial literature of the Ancient Near East (ATC303-C)
 Ancient Near East and its ‘outside' world (ATC304-D)
 Detailed study of one of the major cultures of the Ancient near East (ATC305-E)
 Any Classical Culture module not take at the 2nd level
 Any Biblical Archaeology module not taken at the 2nd level
 Buddhist studies: religion and philosophy (RST321-4)
 Sexuality and body in early Christianity and Antiquity (BBS308-S)
 Contexts of early Christianity: religions of the Graeco-Roman world (BBS309-T)
Purpose of the degree
To provide qualifying students with knowledge that combines elements from Classical and Semitic studies, Biblical Studies, and skills in Historical Sciences, Languages and Archaeology.


http://www.unisa.ac.za/study/info/underg/

 

Beste wense, Charles!

 

It's much as I have suspected. The myth of the difficulties of enrolling at UNISA is just that, a myth. Best of luck in your studies.
Jack

 

Re: Re: Off to Pretoria

It was pretty rough for me back in 1996 (and took five months), but I gather they've streamlined the process big-time since then.

Good luck, Charles--it sounds like a fun program!


Cheers,

 

Best of "luck" Charles,

 

Go for it

 

Tom Head is correct... it was a much more difficult place to navigate back when he applied. Some things have changed recently. For instance, if you are applying for a doctorate, the rule about having a letter written by a school in the US stating you are qualified to study for their doctorate, if they were to offer one, has been dropped for the most part. In addition, original diploma certificates no longer need to be presented to the school. Official transcripts are accepted today.

Jack Tracey is correct, it is not such a mystery anymore. The websites are much easier to get around. If you recall a few years ago, the website at Unisa was rather a mess... It did not give you any information about degrees offered, costs, or anything essential about gaining access. Today all that has changed and the mystery is all but gone. A great deal of the credit goes to the former Principal, Antony Melck, who turned the university around financially and from a "customer service" perspective by insisting that administrators and faculty members reach out to current students and potential students.

One of the keys to successfully registering is understanding the information in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Brochures.

In addition, for those taking taught courses, always be sure to know when the final examination will be given in a course you are signing up for... They happen on a specific date, at a specific place, at a specific time. It would be a shame to sign up for a course that has a final examination scheduled for the day of your wedding!

I am still the official agent here in the USA, so feel free to send me an email if you have any specific questions...

[email protected]

Regards,
John

PS - Good luck Charles...

 

But...won't this hurt your business? Just kidding. Thank you for sharing your insight, and best of luck with your educational endeavor.

Tony

 

Tony -- thanks, my aim is to get information out to anyone who wants to understand how Unisa works and hopefully they will enroll -- either through me or on their own via the web. The people at Unisa are terrific and dedicated educators.

Regards,
John

 

Uncle Janko, Jack, Tom, Bill, Christopher, John, and Tony,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I downloaded the syllabus for my module today. The course intends to provide an overview of the entire Bible. There are two proscribed textbooks in addition to the Bible. Assessment will consist of one 50-question multiple-choice assignment and one 100-question examination. I will ask if the other modules include writing assignments.

Right now my biggest concern, as John mentioned, is being able to make it to the exam site.

 

When we talked with them about testing sites (there isn't one in Estonia, our nearest is in Finland) we were told that if we could find someone from a local university to serve as proctor, that our testing could be done here.

I don't know what their take on your situation would be, but it wouldn't hurt to ask if you could get a local professor to serve as test proctor (assuming it is pretty far to your nearest testing site).

clint

 

Hi Charles,
do you take exams? If so, how does that work? I live in Switzerland and cannot find any way to get a proctor for exams.
Antoine

 

Antoine,

I will be writing my first exam in Washington DC, in May. UNISA does lists two exam centres in Switzerland:

SWITZERLAND
Code Centre
9005-0 Berne
9021-2 Geneva

http://www.unisa.ac.za/study/exams/

You may also be able to request a special examination venue.

 

UNISA and Excelsior

I am sure this topic has been thoroughly discussed (apologies but I don’t seem to be able to find it!). Nevertheless, does anyone know if Excelsior accepts courses from UNISA toward a degree? I looked at their web page (UNISA’s) and they have some terrific mathematics courses and I thought that perhaps I could transfer them toward a BS in Mathematics in Excelsior. But that DETC accreditation looks sinister ….. ;-)

The “calendar” was very confusing, and difficult to understand. Does anyone know if (applied) mathematics courses are considered “modules” or “year courses” and if I am still on time to register for this year?

One more thing. Are UNISA's courses that cheap (about $150 per module, including postage)?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

Re: UNISA and Excelsior

Here is a link listing institutions outside the US that are acceptable without being evaluated by ECE. It appears that UNISA, as well as many other reputable schools, is not on this list.

Good luck,
Tony

 

JLV,

I would not be bothered by UNISA's DETC accreditation. The DETC accreditation is in addition to UNISA's royal charter, which was granted in 1877. UNISA's DETC accreditation had no bearing, neither positive nor negative, on my decision to enroll at UNISA.


"Unisa sought accreditation for a number of reasons including

a desire for national and international benchmarking of the quality of its teaching and services,
an external source of stimulation to improve services, programmes and staff,
benefits to its graduates of having a degree from a university accredited in the US and
the possibility of attracting US students because of the accreditation."

http://www.unisa.ac.za/about/gen_media_22_01_02.html

 

TOTAL/TOTAAL R

My cost for one module was R 1,030.00 ($123.054). Two text books R 193 ($23.0585). Text book shipping R 300 ($35.8422).

 

SEA DOGS

I neglected to mention what I think is a pretty neat coincidence. Both lecturers for my first UNISA module served in the South African Navy as chaplains.


"Dear Chief Fout
Welcome to BBS101-D. We trust you will indeed find the course enriching -- even though our approach might be slightly more critical than students might normally expect....Incidentally, both Professor Scheffler and I served as chaplains in the South African Navy ... so we are old sea dogs too.

Yours sincerely
G A van den Heever


Gerhard van den Heever
Department of New Testament
Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
University of South Africa
P O Box 392, Pretoria, 0003
Republic of South Africa"

 

Knap gedoen, Charles! Small world, or something.

 

ADMITTED TO THE EXAM

I'm quite pleased with myself. I achieved a 90% on the one assigment for Biblical texts in their ancient contexts.

"Students did quite well on the assignment, with a pass rate of 78% at an average of 66.2%. But remember, with the assignment you had the advantage of being able to consult the prescribed books while answering the questions, whereas in the examination you will have to depend on your knowledge of the work. We therefore recommend that you prepare yourself very well for the examination."

(BBS101-D Tutorial letter 102/1/2003)

The assignment itself is not considered in the final mark, it is only used do determine whether one will be admitted to the exam. The exam alone determines the final mark.

I intend on enrolling in two modules next semester, in addition to two MBA classes.