Q: I am a student at UPE. Will the merger affect UPE's high standards? Because UPE is known for its great BCom for Chartered Accountants. When I graduate in 2005 will the merger have a negative effect on it?
A: The merged institution is intended to preserve, not lower, quality standards and, in fact, to offer employers confidence that graduates from different institutions with the same qualifications have received education at a similar level, which is not always the case now. UPE's School of Accounting has spent a long time building up its current high standards and reputation. It is one of the University's flagships and it intends to preserve that status. There will be no change to the Accounting programme for CA students and the Accounting Department's accreditation with the SA Institute of Chartered Accoutants will continue as before.

Q: I am currently a first year student at UPE. My worry is that I will only be graduating in 2007: will my certificate state that I graduated at UPE?
A: As the legislation stands now, you will receive a certificate from the new institution, but the name "University of Port Elizabeth" will also be endorsed on your certificate.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Q: As a current student at UPE who graduates in 2006, will I still graduate from UPE or will it be whatever they decide to call the new institution?
A: The latest information is that you will graduate from the new institution, but your degree certificate will be endorsed with the name of the institution where you originally enrolled, ie UPE.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Q: I am a student at UPE and I have a question about the merger: when will the merger probably take effect?
A: UPE is scheduled to incorporate the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University in January 2004, followed by a merger with the PE Technikon in January 2005, resulting in the establishment of a new higher education institution.

Q: My first question is: when will the merger take place? Secondly, how are we as students going to take our lectures, eg will we have to attend at PE Technikon or at Vista or here at UPE? Thirdly, how is this whole situation going to affect financial aid (ie NSFAS)?
A: For the first question, see above. Secondly, we are not sure yet exactly where the lectures for each programme will be held but we do want to make sure that students are not inconvenienced or disadvantaged by having to travel long distances between the three campuses.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Thirdly, there is no reason why financial aid should be reduced. NSFAS is a national scheme that allocates money to all tertiary institutions for financial aid to needy students - there is no reason why the new institution should receive less NSFAS money than is now received by the three individual institutions.

Q: Will the UPE merger cause increased or decreased standards in their degrees (regarding the difficulty of their courses and quality)? There seems to be a rumor that everything will be made easier or in other words quality will decrease.
A: There is no reason for the merger to lead to a decrease in quality. In fact, we are confident that the merger will lead to a better quality of higher education for our students. The merger is an opportunity to combine the strengths and centres of excellence of the three partner institutions into a totally new kind of higher education institution that will offer a range of academic programmes at different levels.

Q: Will UPE’s entrance requirements be lowered?
A: No. We already enter students at different levels for different types of programmes. University degrees will still require matric exemption. In the future, in the new institution, the technikon’s BTech degrees may fall away and we will offer a range of programmes from diploma level through to university degrees.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Q: If a student combines UPE and Technikon courses, will it still be a degree?
A: We will have to work out a whole new structure of programmes, including degrees and diplomas, with new curricula. The new curricula could incorporate UPE and Technikon courses in a diploma, degree or other qualification.

Q: Will students have to travel between campuses?[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]
A: This is a detail which has not yet been finalised, but the most practical solution would be to congregate closely aligned groups of faculties on each campus, so that the need for students to travel between campuses is minimised.

Q: The fees at UPE, PE Technikon and Vista-PE are currently different. How will this affect students in the new institution?
A: It is only fair that all students pay the same fees for the same courses. This would have to be phased in over time, so as not to disadvantage those who currently pay the lowest fees. We will probably have to find ways to expand the amount of financial aid available in order to cater for the large proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Q: How will financial aid for students be affected?
A: The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a national scheme which allocates money to higher education institutions for financial aid. There is no reason for allocations to be negatively affected by the merger.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Q: Are important decisions around issues such as the name of the institution going to be taken in consultation with all the institutions concerned?
A: The Minister of Education has to announce a name for the institution when he announces the formal decision on the merger in the Government Gazette. However, we believe that it is in our best interests to make submissions to him on the name.
The name “Nelson Mandela University” has been put forward in our draft comment on the merger proposal, and we believe that this issue should form part of the debate and discussion around the merger proposal and our response.
That name would tangibly display our links with the Nelson Mandela Metropole, although some people may think that naming the institution after a politician is not wise. However, it must also be taken into account that Mr Mandela is not just any politician, but a statesman of world stature to whom this country owes an immense debt of gratitude.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Q: Why do we want such a long time to prepare for the merger? It presents an opportunity for us to move away from the racially-divided institutions of the past – surely we should not be delaying progress?
A: Our request that the merger not be rushed should not be seen as a weakening of our commitment to transformation. Rather, it is a reflection of our desire to make a success of the merger. Time is needed for students to complete their current academic programmes, and for the design and phasing-in of a new academic structure and new programmes. Time is also needed to align systems in areas such as human resources (payroll, benefits, etc), information technology, finance, the library and other operational areas.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]