University of Western Cape

University of the Western Cape

Motto	Respice Prospice
Motto in English	Look Ahead
Type	Public university
Established	1959
Chancellor	Thabo Makgoba
Vice-Chancellor	Tyrone Pretorius
Students	22,000
Undergraduates	15,840
Postgraduates	6,160
Location	Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Campus	Urban setting
Nickname	Bush, Udubs
Affiliations	ACU, CHEC, HESA, IAU
Website	http://www.uwc.ac.za/

The University of the Western Cape is a public university located in the Bellville suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The University of the Western Cape has a history of creative struggle against oppression, discrimination and disadvantage. Among academic institutions it has been in the vanguard of South Africa's historic change, playing a distinctive academic role in helping to build an equitable and dynamic nation. UWC's key concerns with access, equity and quality in higher education arise from extensive practical engagement in helping the historically marginalised participate fully in the life of the nation. The university was established in 1960 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other universities near Cape Town are the University of Cape Town, (UCT, originally for English speaking whites) and the Stellenbosch University (originally for Afrikaans speaking whites). The establishing of UWC was a direct effect of the Extension of University Education Act, 1959. This law accomplished the segregation of higher education in South Africa. Coloured students were only allowed at a few non-white universities. In this period, other 'ethnical' universities, such as the University of Zululand and the University of the North, were founded as well. Since well before the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, it has been an integrated and multiracial institution.

UWC started as a 'bush college', a university college without autonomy under auspices of the University of South Africa. The university offered a limited training for lower to middle level positions in schools and civil service. In the first years of its existence, a great deal of the teaching staff was white. Many of the lecturers came from the University of Stellenbosch. The language in most lectures was Afrikaans. The first rector was N.J. Sieberhagen (from 1960 till 1973). The university started as a small institution: in the first year, 166 students were enrolled and the teaching staff numbered 17. In 1970, the institution gained university status and was able to award its own degrees and diplomas.