When the University of Free State (UFS) awards bachelor degrees to the first graduates of its Management and Leadership program, which was inspired by DePaul University’s School for New Learning (SNL), the majority of the students will be blacks who would not have been able to attend a South African university under apartheid. The commencement ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the University of Free State, in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

DePaul and UFS forged this unique education collaboration in late 1998 to help UFS improve academic quality and expand educational access in a nation emerging from the racial separatism of apartheid. UFS offers a management leadership degree modeled after one offered at DePaul’s SNL as well as a master’s of business administration degree similar to one offered through DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Management.

SNL, which expressly meets the needs of adult learners and which stands as a national prototype for the successful design and delivery of quality adult curriculum, provided guidance as UFS developed its own program.

“Usually American universities “export” their programs directly, sending faculty abroad to teach,” said Susanne Dumbleton, dean of SNL, who will give remarks at the UFS ceremony. “In this instance, DePaul has mentored another university in examining a DePaul program and adapting it for their own uses. Instead of sending faculty to South Africa to teach students, we provided the skill and guidance for faculty in South Africa to build their own program.”

The programs modeled after DePaul’s represent a new style of education at UFS. For instance, in traditional UFS teaching models, professors were mainly lecturing to vast numbers of students, with final exams as the sole determinant of grades, according to Dumbleton. “Now, UFS students in the bachelor’s degree program in management leadership work with mentors in the field they seek to enter and combine work and study in a way uniquely developed by DePaul faculty,” said Dumbleton. “UFS classes in this program are small, professors interact directly with students, who learn to work in teams to solve problems and complete projects.”

“This partnership marks a new era in education in South Africa, especially for blacks and other members from previously disadvantaged communities who hold positions of responsibility in business and government but who did not have the opportunity to gain management and leadership skills before,” said Helena van Zyl, director of the school of management at the UFS. “This maiden commencement shows that UFS, in partnership with DePaul, is well on its way to opening the door of opportunity to everyone, and not only in South Africa, but the whole African continent.” There are currently 130 students enrolled in the UFS program modeled after DePaul’s. Twenty-three of them will be awarded degrees at the commencement.

Note to editors: Susanne Dumbleton will be in South Africa for the UFS commencement exercises from Sept. 12 and 13. She can be reached by e-mail at: sdumble.depaul.edu. Helena van Zyl can be reached at 27 51 401-2874 or by e-mail at: vanzylh.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za.