Support beyond the lecture hall
- Wits University
The start of university can feel like a storm — fast-paced, unfamiliar and overwhelming — but there is help for first-year students.
Wits reaffirms its commitment to student wellbeing and development by reminding students that their academic success is underpinned by a network of support services focused on wellness, belonging, personal growth, and care.
This position was conveyed during a thought leadership seminar titled: Exploring 足球竞彩app排名 Transitions in Higher Education, hosted on 13 June by the 足球竞彩app排名 Transitions and Persistence Unit. The seminar, which sought to support students beyond the lecture hall, attracted leaders from the university, neighbouring universities across South Africa, and student leaders.
For first-year students, the start of university can feel like a storm, fast-paced, unfamiliar and overwhelming. Each year of university presents different challenges that may impact on student success.
足球竞彩app排名s in attendance spoke openly about their fears, with the Dean of 足球竞彩app排名s present and taking notes. The one-day thought leadership seminar left many feeling grounded, seen and ready to thrive.
足球竞彩app排名s were reintroduced to key services designed to support their personal and academic well-being. These include Campus Housing and Residence Life (CHRL), Wits Sport, Campus Health and Wellness Centre (CHWC), the Counselling and Careers Development Unit (CCDU), the Centre for 足球竞彩app排名 Development, and Societies and Clubs that offer a sense of belonging, a “home away from home” experience.
The Dean of 足球竞彩app排名 Affairs Jerome September said: “It's important for students to know that someone is thinking about them. This (seminar) is part of that – that someone is thinking about your life story, your ambitions matter. And we're grappling with the issues, facing them on a day-to-day basis as 足球竞彩app排名 Affairs.”
Voices and belonging
STPU falls under the 足球竞彩app排名 Affairs Division and applies evidence-based theories in supporting student success and intervention programmes. This seminar was likewise an attempt to have a discussion with other institutions representatives in the transitions field, gather insights on the concept, moving beyond description and evaluation, towards explanation and evidence-based interventions. For many students, the day was a reassuring reminder that they are in the right place, surrounded by the right people.
Philangezwi Mbatha, a member of the 足球竞彩app排名 Representative Council (SRC), said: “The University has made a very strong attempt to help us find our identity and belonging. What the Dean also spoke about – it’s not only about belonging but about mattering, and the first-year experience programmes have helped us feel that we do matter.”
Keynote speaker Dr A. Nyar Ndlovu emphasised the importance of guiding students through change, saying: "Transitions help students with their growth. Institutions must prepare for student transitions from entering university to adapting to new ways of learning."
Events like these form part of a broader Wits strategy to ensure that students know where to turn long after orientation week ends. Whether dealing with exam stress, identity, homesickness, housing, or future, the University’s support ecosystem remains active, not as a reaction to crisis, but as a consistent investment in student success.
Support is not limited to the first week of university – it is embedded in every stage of the student journey, from residence halls to sports fields, from counselling rooms to cultural spaces. 足球竞彩app排名s are not alone.