Unisa and China

[Sylas]

Last year, I completed a year of BA/BSocSci at UCT. It was fun and all but I needed to travel, having been kind of pushed into studying instead of going abroad. Much to my parents' dismay, I therefore decided to take a gap year in the middle of my degree (the kind of thing you never come back from, apparently). I am now living in Shanghai, China, supporting myself through part time English teaching. I'm dodging peoples' spit, squeezing into metros and drinking rice spirits at R7 a bottle, all the while trying to figure out if the animal I just ate had two legs or four.

I have a fair amount of free time, which leads me to my question. Is it possible to continue my degree next semester in distance programme at UNISA, using the credits from UCT? Does a distance degree from UNISA carry with it the same international recognition than one from a brick and mortar institution? Most importantly, how much self-motivation is needed for something like this?

 

[guest2013-1]

1) Unsure, you need to contact UNISA to discuss those details as some courses do give credit where others don't
2) The degree carries weight internationally
3) A lot. You can get quite involved in real life and forget about your studies/projects/exams if you're not careful.

 

[gpe]

1) It depends on the module/s that you studied at UCT .. if they similar yes you'll be credited. Unlikely in first yr to be honest depending on the program. 2) Chances are that UNISA has an office in Shanghai somewhere or at least in China for sure(check out their locations just to see if you get lucky) but its a mega-university. Top 5 in the world wrt numbers so yeah. Like AcidRaZor said .. A lot. UNISA is not like other institutions and "self-discipline" is everything. For a degree it will be all about time-management specially at 3rd yr.

 

[Sylas]

Thanks for the replies guys. It appears UNISA does have an office in Shanghai. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Do you think UNISA itself is the best option in my situation? I have heard of countless other online institutions at the end of which you obtain a degree.

 

[pulling wire]

You are going to have to apply before you can register, here you go through a process and receive your student no. ( I am not familiar with this process).
Then you approach Unisa and I would suggest that you register for the particular degree you are interested in, aim for 2-3 modules a semester, go with two modules at first.
With regards the credit application process and the modules you have already completed at UCT towards your degree. I would suggest that you apply for the credits you think you might be entitled to and then allow the process to take place, (I applied for credits in December 2009 and I am still waiting on the outcome of the application), the best senario is you are going to wait 18 months for your credits. So just work around the subjects you are hoping to receive credits for.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Thanks for the replies guys. It appears UNISA does have an office in Shanghai. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Do you think UNISA itself is the best option in my situation? I have heard of countless other online institutions at the end of which you obtain a degree.

I'm a UNISA student and its the best of the correspondence options out there. Don't bother with the others.

You will need to supply UNISA with original copies of your matric certificate and a letter from UCT with your subjects passed. You also need to first register as a student, check their website as you can do this all online. Once you got your student number, you then can register for a degree.

Registration has started: 14 March 2011 to 29 April 2011

http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=24091