Friends, Wanted to share briefly of my past two years with Unisa (So Afr). Getting through the student registration is not really that bad, just takes some time to learn the cultural differences. My biggest frustration has been with the incredible lack of student support by faculty. I have gone months at a time without being able to communicate with my "promoter." How often have I e-mailed, only to hear from the secretary that he is out of town, or at another conference. Taking care of students seems a bother. Most of you know that "communications" are the life-blood of healthy relationships / organisations. Unisa -- in my experience -- fails miserably in this. I commend Dr. John Craparo ([email protected]) for his stellar attempts to help. He has been the only bright light. Post-experience advice...... if you're looking to do a research theology degree, look to U - Zululand. They are far more accommodating, and your educational experience will be more beneficial to you, and those you serve. Unisa has a global reputation..... but their size makes them an organisational / institutional dinosaur. Blessings!
Thanks for the post, Haggai12. It's useful to hear the view from the inside. What program were you in? Did you complete it? And do you know what has become of John Craparo's AIHEC? The new website (www.aihec.com) never materialized.
Experience with SA universities In my ongoing search of a school in SA for my PHD I have experienced much the same with UNISA. In the past 3 weeks, I have emailed approximately a dozen universities and technikons seeking information. I have heard from UNISA but only their form letter with an application. What information I did receive on them came from the IACI. I did get very prompt and courteous emails from the University of the Free State(UVS), Stellenbosch University(SUN), and the Technikon South Africa(TSA). Professor van der Poel of the TSA was very courteous and helpful but sadly, due to their merger with UNISA, the TSA is not currently offering doctoral degrees. I have also heard from the Cape Technikon and the Technikon of the Free State but have not gotten very far into discussions with them yet. As the UVS and SUN (professionally accredited by AMBA and EQUIS) are excellant universities and both have affiliations with universities here in the USA, I am glad they responded and look forward to working with them on the application process. For those interested, I shall keep the board posted on the results.
In my searching to find good options for postgraduate studies the most helpful SA institutions were: SATS (through whom I am now doing a structured M.Th. in "The Archaeology of the Holy Land" with Bill Domeris as my supervisor), Unizul (through whom I am considering doing a D.Th. in the future), and Cape Town Baptist Seminary (which offers a Ph.D. in in association with the University of Pretoria). I had only limited contact/help from various others, including Unisa.
I'm beginning to notice the same. I've tried to communicate with my promoter several times during the past month. I've been waiting to see if my proposal was approved. All I can do for now is wait and see if Prof. Blomberg responds to my emails. I may eventually call UNISA to see if I can speak to the chair of the department. If I get a positive response, I'll post it on this thread.
Hi all.... I am still in the MTh program, not having heard from my "promoter" in months. I passed the oral exam and would dearly love to get on with the research aspect. I submitted a rough draft to my promoter, who acknowledged receipt and has since been silent (May 2003!). Thank goodness, I don't "need" this degree for professional purposes! The last response I got from anyone there, was from a colleague who said my promoter was at another conference. Confusion leads to frustration, which leads to anger. I guess I'm silly, but I've always considered teaching a privilege and sacred trust. I just don't understand how some abuse that. As far a Dr. Craparo, I don't know. I E-corresponded with Dr. Jason Baker, and he suggested contacting Dr. Craparo (I did not go through AHEC to register with Unisa). Dr. Baker has been very helpful too. Wherever he is, Dr. Craparo was most helpful, though even he could not effect a response from my promoter. Certainly I cannot speak from experience concerning other departments at Unisa. For the Theology department, however, I have been sorely disappointed.
Re: Experience with SA universities UNISA's School of Business Leadership has been very slow in responding to my application. Why UNISA would go the DETC route and then ignore students makes no sense. Are you seeking a PhD in Business? If so, I would be very interested in hearing about your progress.
As an undergrad student at UNISA, I have been pleased. I will be taking my second examination later this month.
I'm with Charles on this one. I am also an undergrad at Unisa and have been able to communicate with my lecturers easily and on a regular basis. Something changes on the grad level I suppose.
Thank you all for sharing your experiences at UNISA. I'm sure there are many others, like me, who are curious about the relatively inexpensive and fast-paced degrees from South African universities. There certainly seems to be a trend when it comes to communicating with professors at the doctoral level (although maybe not on the undergraduate level). I would be interested in hearing more students' comments on UNISA and other SA schools. Steve
PHD at UVS or SUN Vical, I will keep you posted. I have looked at the Public Management program at the UVS and the Business Management program at SUN. I am somewhat conflicted as to which I want to pursue. I will apply to both and if I don't get into one I will have the decision made for me. I would, probably, prefer the business degree. Thus, with their exceptional accreditations, SUN appears the best choice. They are also significantly cheaper. However, the professor at UVS has been very positive and stressed the high quality of service from his university which I must take into consideration considering the topic of this thread. If I get accepted to both I will have a decision to make. I will make it based on my gut feeling on the support I will get from the university as well as on the perceived quality of the program. All emails I have submitted to both schools have been answered within a day or two at most. I'll keep you posted. I am expecting to mail out my apps by the end of the month.
Okay....all is well at UNISA. My promoter contacted me yesterday (Sunday, October 5/03). I also received an email from the chair of the department. I've been advised to make a few minor changes to the proposal before writing Chapter 1.
Received an e-mail from UNISA saying "Colloquium 9th October cancelled" It started: Dear DBL student Guess I am making progress!
Re: PHD at UVS or SUN The folks that I've corresponded with at Free State have been uniformly responsive and helpful. Everyone from the library, student accounts and all the way up to my Dept. Head have been quite friendly as well as being understanding of my rather unique status. Jack
