Centre for Student Support Services (CSSS)

The Student Leadership Academy (SLA) is undergirded by the principles of “Creating the change, Leading the change and Sustaining the change”.

These principles, in turn, inform the programmes, volunteerism as well as engagement opportunities of the office. SLA provides leadership development opportunities in the form of the following programmes namely:
• Emerging Leaders Programme
• Advanced Leaders Programme

These programmes are shaped by the four pillars of leadership, which are General leadership, Personal development, Creating sustaining networks and Practical project skills.

The volunteerism opportunities include Rise Against Hunger (RAH) food packing events and Mandela Day activities, which support the social responsibility imperative of the office, allowing students to impact communities through various volunteer initiatives.

Through its transformative projects, the Office facilitates the development of effective leaders, socially responsible and responsive global citizens and ambassadors. 

The range of co-curricular opportunities enhances the potential for internal and external community, stakeholder engagement and capacity building.

Manager: Garth Van Rooyen 
Email: sla@uwc.ac.za 
Tel: (021) 959 2726
Location: Third Floor, Student Centre, UWC Main Campus

The Office for Academic Skills (OAS) aims to be a leader in optimising students’ potential for academic success and holistic development, to facilitate their employability and engagement as global citizens.

To do so, OAS offers initiatives that are effective, flexible, creative and student-centred. The Office works re-actively and proactively; it responds to student requests while effectively collaborating with on-campus stakeholders.

OAS offers individual coaching that includes learning skills, career guidance and personal mastery. Its Graduate Development Programme (GDP) supports first-year students and it is integrated into the curriculum. The Office also works with data analytics using an early warning studious self-assessment instrument, the Student Success Thermometer© (SST) to reach the critical mass. Follow the link: www.studentsuccessthermometer.com/uwc to do a self-assessment to discover your academic proficiency giving you the opportunity to explore Enablers to help you improve your skills for academic success. 

The OAS created an innovative Learning and Development environment for quality student-centred practices in its individual academic coaching as well as other programmes:
• The Graduate Development (GDP)
• Individual Academic Coaching
• Customised Workshops for Groups
• Student Success Thermometer©

Manager: Monique Manuel 
Email: csss@uwc.ac.za
Tel: 021 959 2299
Location: Second floor, former CHS Faculty Building, UWC Main Campus

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSwD) facilitates universal access to higher education for students with disabilities at UWC. As the Office strives to ensure that all students registered with the Office receive the same opportunities as their classmates, the services are broadly targeted at three levels: 
1. Conduct interviews with prospective & current students to facilitate reasonable adjustment to university campus;
2. Facilitating a successful transition into UWC for registered students by providing individualised academic and psycho-social support; and
3. Promote equality, increased access and advocate against discrimination for students with disabilities.

OSwD is committed to partner with students to empower them to engage optimally in all aspects of student life, both academic and co-curricular, for them to grow into confident and competent graduates, able to make a meaningful difference in society.

The Office for Students with Disabilities provides reasonable disability-specific accommodations, which includes: 
• Conversion of academic material;
• Overseeing departmental tests and exam procedures requiring specific disability accommodations in partnership with all faculties;
• The OSwD computer lab equipped with assistive technology to support students with various disabilities
• Individual psycho-social support for specific disability needs. 

Manager: Verushka Daniels
Email: oswd@uwc.ac.za 
Tel: (021) 959 4170
Location: Ground Floor, former CHS Faculty Building, UWC Main Campus
Contact our office for disability parking in advance, if you require access when visiting. 

Personal Mastery and Empowerment (PME)
The Personal Mastery and Empowerment (PME) workshop is a four-day programme based on the work of David Gershon and Gail Straub, the founders of the New York-based Empowerment Institute. Mentorship and facilitator training is provided by the NPO Cabanga, as part of a global social change initiative called IMAGINE.

Currently UWC is the only university in Africa to offer the empowerment workshop to its students. PMS’s objective is to cultivate the courage to confront and transform limiting beliefs that hold individuals back from achieving their goals. It furthermore aims to facilitate and sustain behaviour change.

PME draws on a range of theories that suggest that sustainable behaviour change happens in the subconscious, which is at the seat of the core beliefs. The PME framework, which integrates the empowerment model and the empowerment methodology, aims to create self-awareness and behaviour change in the seven life areas of empowerment.

Louisa Van Romburg
lvanromburg@uwc.ac.za


Ubuntu Peace Project (UPP)
The Ubuntu Peace Programme (UPP) builds on the personal foundation established in the PME workshops by expanding empowerment from the individual to the collective. Over 10 weeks, students are challenged to recognise that their “envisioned self” is the starting point for meaningful social change.

Rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu (“I am because we are”) and inspired by the global Peace on Earth by 2030 movement, UPP translates values such as unity, collaboration, love, abundance, and faith into purposeful community action. Through seven practical peace initiatives, students move beyond theory and actively build relationships, capacity, and a culture of shared responsibility.

Impact:
• Compassionate Citizenship: Strengthened unity, resilience, and a sense of shared responsibility across campus.
• Inner to Outer Peace: Shifted students’ perspectives, reinforcing that sustainable peace begins within through empathy, patience, and understanding.
• Collective Growth: Encouraged students to prioritise collective well-being over individual gain, recognising the power of small, consistent acts of kindness.

The UPP empowers students to co-create a movement of peace and unity that extends beyond campus into the wider community.