First-year students welcomed online this year

Due to strict health and safety regulations, the North-West University’s (NWU) Registration and Orientation (R&O) period commenced online this year.

Despite the national shift to alert level one, the NWU was reluctant to announce any major changes to the online R&O programme, which was initially planned for alert level three. According to Louis Jacobs, Corporate Communication Manager at the NWU, changing the programme is not something to be taken lightly. “Our biggest priority is still the health and safety of students and staff, the move to level one does not mean everything is back to normal,” he said.

The R&O task team started working on a new action plan following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on 28 February 2021. Danielle Giorgi, chairperson of the Student Campus Council (SCC) of the Potchefstroom campus and member of the task team, believes that the change to level 1 opened a lot of doors to more student life-oriented activities.

“This is the first time since we started planning the R&O programme that certain activities are even possible,” Giorgi said. Any proposed changes to the current programme are subject to approval of the university’s COVID-19 task team.

Theunis van Wyk, deputy chairperson of the SCC, confirmed that a document prepared by the R&O task team regarding the possibility of student life-driven activities during R&O was approved. “We are excited to see how the house committee members and other student leaders will use this opportunity during the R&O period,” he said. The R&O programme, however, has not been changed.

“Students are adaptable, and so is student life,” said Marné Muller (20), student leader at the NWU. According to Muller the change in circumstances (online orientation) should not deter first-year students from enjoying the start of their student life. “This change should not be seen in a negative light, we have the opportunity as students to get to know each other on another level,” she said.  

Giorgi emphasised an ongoing vibrant student life on campus. “We want to instil the feeling of home in the first-year students, the online programme should not be underestimated.” She said that the R&O task team has been hard at work to ensure a memorable R&O for the incoming students. “We have a lot of activities planned to ensure the continuation of student life,” she added.

The university is aware of the risks new students bring. “We have no way of knowing how the COVID-19 statistics on campus will be affected, but students need to stay vigilant,” Jacobs said.  According to him, the university has a multitude of protocols to ensure the health and safety of all students.

R&O commenced on 11 March 2021 and will continue to 26 March 2021. All first-year students are expected to follow the protocols set by the university’s COVID-19 task team. 

The NWU has a special webpage available to incoming students regarding R&O, health and safety and other necessary information.