Focus on: The Student Accommodation Office

IN A new weekly column, Monday Paper will focus some of the spotlight on a UCT support department, unit or new appointee. So, if you think your support department deserves some special mention, would like the rest of the Campus to know what your're all about, or you have recently made a non-academic appointment, then contact Monday Paper Senior Editor Helen Theron at 021-650-4145 or via email at theronh@bremner.uct.ac.za. To kick the column off, we visited the Student Accommodation Office recently.

Department/unit name:
The Student Accommodation Office, or SAO.

Structurally, where does it fit in? The SAO forms part of Student Housing and Residence Life, which also includes Operations and Catering sections, as well as the Vacation Accommodation Office, among others.

Who are the people who make up the SAO? Hilda Andrews is Manager of the SAO, and she is ably assisted by her deputy, Josiah Mavundla; senior admissions assistants Obed Futhe, Jacki Kemp and Sandra Lungisa; and Nolwandle Vusani, who doubles as admissions assistant for the SAO and receptionist for Student Housing and Residence Life.

What does the SAO do? According to Andrews, the Office deals daily with the people, paper, problems and policies involved in student accommodation. Broadly speaking, the SAO implements the Student Housing Admissions Policy, ie it decides who is eligible for the about 4 850 vacancies available in student residences on Campus. To put things into perspective, the Office last year received about 7 600 applications for the 1 500 spots reserved for first-year students for 2002.

Where is the SAO located? Cottage no 9, Protem, Lower Campus.

Any new faces? Mavundla, who joined the SAO in August from the Postgraduate Scholarships Office (PGSO). A UCT BA and Postgraduate Diploma in Organisational Management (PDOM) graduate, he is currently tackling an MSc in Project Management here at the University.

Team motto? Trying to help students wherever and whenever they can, despite working under some trying conditions in making sure they stick to the stringent admissions policies of the University.

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