University of Cape Town

If aesthetics were the measure of a university, the University of Cape Town's upper campus would rank quite highly. A verdant Devil’s peak rises majestically behind, and the entire of Cape Town sprawls out in the expansive plain below. The greenery draped core buildings, and the imposing colonnaded Hall, evoke ‘institution’, in the full sense of the word.
And that word summarises what the University of Cape Town (UCT) feels like, as an undergraduate studying here. That is to say, like an enormous, inefficient, slow and rigid machine; Home Affairs, if that abomination were a university. Or like a prison, if you’re unfortunate enough to have to spend any time in the inhospitable monolith that is the P.D Hahn building. Yes, the views of and from within the upper campus might be artistically meritorious, but that does not redeem the fact that at its core, UCT is anything but conducive to learning. At least in my opinion.

Firstly I should say that it’s not all bad. There are a handful of things that UCT gets right which actually aid education. There’s: international grade internet that shames its national counterparts (most of the time); a handful of lecture venues that are pleasantly spacious and modern; and some courses that are not overpopulated, have inspiring lecturers and are efficiently run. In fact, if you were to study here, your judgement on balance could be very different from mine, depending on your priorities and degree of study. For example, if you were to take a less time-demanding degree, you’d be able to immerse yourself in the finer details of UCT student life: Like the many societies, the forest cloistered tennis club, or the infinitely floored library (for which finding an even less convenient place to put the entrance, would require a Ph.D. in Malignant Spatial Planning). Perhaps you personally wouldn’t mind the fact that UCT's administration scatters about lecture locations per timetable, on the assumption that its students are hyperactive mountain goats – possibly, you’d actually enjoy strolling the long scenic distances and alarming elevation changes between lecture venues.

Nonetheless, ‘fluffy’ degree or not, as a student at UCT, the list of educational obstacles you willl face is long. Starting with actually getting into campus. If you’ll drive in, and won’t fancy two daily 20 minute hikes between distant parking and campus, then you’ll have to spend ~R1200 (increases annually) for a year's worth of parking disc. With it, you'll be permitted to have a go at the morning parking-bay-finding lottery on the campus periphery. Arrive before 07:30 for boosted odds, and you'll only have to endure a 10 minute walk to your desired destination. Alternatively, if you will, like most students, board near the campus, you might be blessed with many an hour standing in throngs of fellow sun-drying students. All waiting for the arrival of impunctual 'Jammie' shuttles that follow poorly mapped routes. If you neither drive, nor have a lift scheme, nor live within the few neighbouring suburbs served by the shuttles, then you'll quickly discover just how gruelling public transport can get. There is but one far-flung thread that connects Cape Town's public bus network to the shuttle network of its premier university. No direct connection to the city's major bus hub at all. And neither the City nor the university have any intention of changing that - despite their being only 10 minutes of a drive apart. If you happen to reside outside the narrow regions served by either system…then you’ll indubitably want to move to boarding closer to campus. Good luck. Private is expensive, and the official residences are hard to get in to, due to high demand.

Once on campus, you might be pleased to observe that there are ample well-equipped computer labs dotted about. But you'll be disappointed to discover that they’re all locked to students of specific faculties, and you'll need to trek all the way to those of yours if you're ever in need. It’s as though the university is wilfully ignoring the fact that students from all faculties are sent all over the place, all the time. Worse still, you’ll learn that anywhere on campus, merely finding a quiet, comfortable place to study - you know, the quintessential university activity - is unreasonably hard. Dedicated lounges with real couches are few and far between, or behind locked doors. Bean bags are out of the question. UCT has a vendetta against those. (I miss the ones Menzies had, which UCT deemed too comfortable). Classrooms and lecture halls are used erratically and unpredictably throughout the week, owing to the aforementioned issues of venue distribution. So even if you’d settle for the discomfort and clamour they’ll probably offer, it's a gamble as to whether or not you'll be able to find one available for any length of time in the first place. It would be nice if the UCT app had a live timetable of venue usage. The few reliable locations that there are, will usually be impractically far away when you need them. One of which being the library. If you happen to have 20 minutes to spare, and no intention of eating, you can sojourn to it, and into its bowels to find an unused desk. If you’re equally masochistic, but do want to eat, and don’t want to study anything other than: The effects of noise pollution on your eardrums; pigeon cohabitation and grime on your immune system; and second-hand smoke on your lungs - then you can make your way over to the cafeteria. For that matter, being within a major by-way, you’ll probably have little choice but to commute through the smoke every day anyway. In contrast, you’re unlikely to ever commute past a single drinking fountain.

In terms of tuition, although not the majority, a non-insignificant number of the lecturers you’ll encounter, haven’t a pedagogical skill to speak of. The communication and question answering abilities just aren't there. At least that’s been the experience of myself and most of those I know. What's worse, is that some of the most egregious offenders, notorious for confounding and frustrating students for years, are themselves course conveners or higher-ups in departments. So in other words, the people you would report them to for jeopardising your education… are themselves. But even with your better lecturers, effective learning in their lectures will be impeded by UCT’s overpopulation crisis. In front of classes of 150-300 fellow students, you might not have the constitution to stop proceedings to ask questions or for clarifications - at least not as frequently or coherently as you’d like. Even if you do, there’ll be enough rival questioners, that there’ll be a good chance that the lecturer won’t have enough time to give yours adequate attention. You’ll end up in a queue to speak to them after the lecture, whilst worrying about getting to your next venue on time. Tutors are unlikely to be a solution either. They’re rarely versed well enough to be able to answer conceptual type questions, and even when they are, they might struggle to reach and communicate with you within the noisy, overcrowded environments that most tutorial sessions present. In fact, if you, like myself, experience difficulty concentrating when in large crowds, you might find UCT tutorials and lectures oppressive enough in and of themselves. Never mind how downright insufferable they can become when approaching maximum capacity and therefore maximum human compaction (which is not uncommon).

Then there is the matter of assessment. Tests are usually set in evenings, when your brain is most exhausted and least capable. Demand is otherwise too high for big enough venues during the daytime. When tests and assignments are marked, it’s often done rapidly and haphazardly, according to rigid rubrics, by tutors with too many to get through. So you might be tempted to contend some marks, and submit yourself to be tossed about the bureaucracy for a while (say, if you’re especially masochistic, or are on a grade dependent bursary). Though this would probably burn you out quite quickly.
It doesn’t always happen. Sometimes marking is done thoroughly, with insightful feedback. The inconsistency means that overall, academic success at UCT, is almost as much pure luck as it is effort and ability; an absolute sink-hole for work ethic.

So far, I’ve been describing the undergraduate experience, and at least in mine, UCT is broken. The thing is, at UCT, the higher up the academic ladder a student is, the less relevant these issues become. Ascending the ladder: class sizes get smaller; less cross-campus trekking is required; and some students even get their own offices, to name a few things.

I do actually believe that with its current revenue, human and physical resources, UCT can be fixed to provide acceptably for all stakeholders. But to do so, a lot of feathers will need to be ruffled, fat trimmed, and priorities re-examined. Perhaps some of the endless corridors of offices in each building can be compressed into more efficient, combined office spaces, and room made for more quiet study spaces. More space and finance could also be freed, if modern technology were be used to substantially reduce the size, and increase the efficiency of the bureaucracy. That would also improve the student experience and repair learning incentive. But I think that fundamentally, the archaic monologue-style of lecturing needs to be replaced, or at least supplemented, by innovative forms of online learning. Each student ought to receive the benefits that small class sizes would’ve otherwise provided. Anyhow, these are just some suggestions of potentially thousands. It will take a monumental amount of political will to get even the simpler ones done. But it’s not impossible. Greater institutional transformations have happened. I hope to see progress within my lifetime (and maybe contribute towards it). Maybe one day, UCT will be big, beautiful, and I’ll no longer hate it.

The university of cape town is excellent in quality of academia but lacking in a student friendly environment. I found my experience to be a rather tough one. I did my undergrad at UWC and my post grad at UCT, the jump from UWC to UCT was extensive. The quality of academic work at UCT is the best I have ever seen they focus on life long learning not just learning to pass a course. I have learnt more things I can carry on in life to use in the workplace at UCT in these 3 months than I have learnt in UWC for 3 years. However, the environment is not student friendly. Library is small and PACKED, trying to find places to study at UCT is hard there are also few classrooms available to study in. There are very few food places, most which offer greasy junk food which is definitely not good for students. There are also very little places to sit outside, students need fresh air and sun theres few benches available even less tables available for studying outside. Lecture theaters can be so packed students sit on the floor pr stand, remember you pay 100k for a year! Parking is probably the biggest nightmare, we pay over a thousand rand for a parking disc only to find no parking at all on upper campus you basically need to park 2kms away from campus and then walk up.

If you willing to put up with those extra nuisances then UCT is for you.

The University of Cape Town (UCT), located in Cape Town in the Western Cape, is the oldest university in Africa. UCT deservedly boast the highest-ranked African university title according to QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The university offers under and postgraduate courses across its Commerce, Law, Engineering and the Built Environment, Humanities, Science and Medicine Faculties.

The university consists of six campuses. UCT has a three-tier residence system a First-Tier catering residence, Second Tier senior catering or self-catering residence and a Third-Tier semi-autonomous self-catering residence. In mixed gender residences, men and women are accommodated on separate floors. Alternatively, there are lots private accommodation options in close proximity to the university. However, private accommodation is expensive due to the location of the university in Cape Town.

In light of recent events the university has improved their security on all six campuses for the 2020 year. Campus Protection Services are used to protect and ensure the safety of the UCT community. They operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All residences have strict access control, and most are covered by CCTV cameras.

University has all necessary resources that students require to thrive academically. The classrooms and lecture theaters are well maintained. The main library on upper campus allows for group work in designated rooms, desks to study and computers to work on. Additionally, most faculties offer computer labs on upper campus that only their students can access. The Wi-Fi provided has a good speed, which allows you to work from almost anywhere on campus. There are multiple repeat lectures for the lion’s share of courses a day which allows you plan your day accordingly. The lectures are also recorded if you are not able to physically attend the occasionally lecture and serves as a great tool to supplement your learning if you feel there are parts to the lecture you missed. Additional academic support is offered through consultations, small tutorial groups and hot seats. The university also has its own online learning system known as Vula, which easily allows students to access resources for academic courses, student societies, study and research groups, faculty and departmental groups, as well as assorted projects and initiatives.

UCT is a lively community made up of multicultural staff and students from across South Africa, Africa and the world. The university tries it’s best to make sure that all students feel at home on campus. The First-Year Experience is one of the programs to help students navigate and come to grips with their new surroundings. There are lots of days when Plaza is a buzz due to food stalls and entertainment. There are also events all year round to connect the UCT community, which are hosted by the different residences . The campus has a lot of greenery, the grounds are well maintained. The university has one of the best vice-chancellor's, who listens to students and are actively involved in campus life.

There are more than 100 student societies and organisations at UCT, for a variety of interests which include academic, cultural, religious, political and social activities. There are also about 40 sport clubs, so whether you’re interested in hockey, rugby, athletics, netball, soccer, surfing, archery or yachting, there will be something for you. Additionally, UCT has a gym which cost much less than the well-known gyms. The societies and sports clubs are partially funded by the university and partially by the subscription fees paid by members. So, there must be balance between your studies and extra-mural activities for academic and financial purposes. The university also offers lots of student wellness services free to ensure that you are mentally healthy.

You are also able to travel easily on the bus shuttle service, called the Jammie Shuttle, which is available free to all UCT students and staff. There is a special bus for disabled passengers. All buses operate between residences, all UCT campuses and some public bus, train and parking facilities close to the university. Limited parking disks are available for students, but first year students are not able to purchase these disks. Thus, must make use of the reliable bus shuttle service to get to and from campus.

UCT is quite pricey relative to other universities in South Africa. However, the investment is worth every cent due the university preparing you to exceed industry standards. I have observed that we as UCT students have something extra when doing vacation work and at scholarship selection camps, compared to other students. This due the structure and courses offered by the university to create a holistic graduate.