STUDENT SERVICES

The Student Services (SS) Division is one of the core university support structures. Its operations are guided by BOU’s vision and mission respectively i.e. 

Vision: To inspire excellence and present lifelong learning opportunities globally.

Mission: To provide quality education, research, and community engagement through open and distance learning solutions.

Besides the vision and mission, the SS Division subscribes to BOU’s values and the open and distance learning (ODL) principles which include openness, access, flexibility, collaboration, and student-centric approaches. The SS Division seeks to create a conducive and student-centric flexible learning environment to serve an evolving student profile, with diverse needs, interests and learning styles. In collaboration with internal and external partners the SS Division provides an integrated and decentralised student support system in which the human face and technology-enabled learning tools are the core of its student services model, to ensure:

• Increased access and inclusive student enrolment, engagement, and belongingness.
• Adherence to student policies and guidelines including academic integrity, moral and ethical values.
• Sound student academic advice/counselling and psycho-social and emotional support services.
• Active student engagement in governance, learning management, community, and research areas.
• Increased retention, persistence, and completion of programmes.
• Enhanced superior student experience and success.
• Employability, sustainable livelihoods, satisfaction, and lifelong learning.

The SS Division is open to all students enrolled for both tertiary and open schooling level programmes i.e., certificate, diploma, degree, masters and school equivalency courses.  The current profile of students and alumni supported by the SS Division include local and international students, employed and unemployed youths and adults, special needs students, students in remote contexts including inmates and special minority groups.  The SS Division as one of the core support organs of BOU, is mandated to provide a robust student support services to all enrolled students, staff, and alumni. It initiates and develops student support programmes and strategies to deliver quality and cost-effective student services either in-person or through technology mediated measures with support from both Academic and Corporate Services Divisions. The support services reach students in various ways, as individuals and groups online or face-to-face through BOU’s five strategically located Regional Campuses and learning centres spread across the country.

The SS Division is headed by the Deputy Vice Chancellor - Student Services and supports students through the following structures:  the Department of Student Affairs and Welfare (HQ), Library and Information Services, and five (5) Regional Campuses (Gaborone, Palapye, Francistown, Maun & Kang). The services offered by SS include: 

• Administrative support where students are assisted with applications, registration, assessment administration and graduation.
• Tuition Support, through the Moodle platform that is online tutorial sessions, discussion forum, chats, online formative, and summative assessments face to face or in-person tutorial support, online self-learning materials support and off-line tuition support for Open Schooling students without access to digital platforms through self-learning materials, telephone, pen and paper end of course examination.
• Guidance and Counselling support including Psychosocial support and welfare services both online and in-person.
• Communication, and student engagement through staff at Regional Campuses, and Student Representative Council, Student School Representatives, Student Course Captains using various communication modes such as telephone, letters, information brochures, flyers, in-person meetings, various ICT media platforms such as social media, and virtual meetings.
• Uploaded quality interactive and up-to-date e-learning materials.
• Student and Alumni Advocacy- to ensure students and alumni needs and interests are addressed through various governing and management structures particularly, through the SRC, School Representatives, course captains and Alumni Association.
• Library support through training on how to use the library effectively both in-person and online, including how to access e-learning resources at all the Regional Campuses and Head Office.