The SRC has launched a communication module on ClickUP. According to the SRC, “The development of the UP SRC undergraduate and postgraduate modules were developed due to the need for greater visibility of the UP SRC, and secondly for more efficient and direct communication to our students”. Additionally, the SRC indicated that, “the module was seen as the perfect platform to reach every UP student so that no student gets left behind. We also aim to provide sustainable solutions to challenges faced and believe this is a solution that can be used by the following SRCs”.

According to the SRC, the ClickUP module will effectively serve students as this platform will notify students via ClickUP and email notifications, if there are any updates or communication being shared by the UP SRC. This will create an environment of greater interaction and communication between the UP SRC and our student body. There will also be several other communications and documents available to assist students with challenges they might have daily.

The module features all the essential SRC documents for students to access. The most essential documents are the 2022 plan of action that contains the SRC’s missions and objectives, the SRC ode of conduct, the Constitution of Student Governance, and SRC meeting minutes which are divided into three parts – emergency, ordinary, and special meetings. “We plan to release two posts per week on our undergraduate and postgraduate modules. These posts will most likely be released at the start and the end of each week. The main reason for this is that we do not want to spam and overload our students with information, but rather keep them updated on student affairs at the University of Pretoria” elaborated the SRC.

The module also has the SRC calendar for upcoming important events that the council will be hosting. In this module, there is a students’ societies tab which is also divided into three sections – the list of student societies at UP, the Society Sub-Council Constitution, and Frequently Asked Questions. Under communications, the SRC has listed all their previous communications/press releases since the beginning of the 2022 academic year for students to access. The module also has an emergency contact information tab, and under it, they have listed the UP-Crisis Line, UP Care Line, and 24-Hour Security Services and Physical Emergencies/Assistance. The SRC contact information can also be accessed on the ClickUP module – all the members of the council’s contact information, SRC office hours, and social media handles are listed under this tab.

The SRC has noted that they will not be hosting any meetings on the discussion board or Blackboard because of fear of technical issues – “We did consider it, however, it would not be possible. This is because the entire student body is registered and has access to these modules. In the case that we would create a discussion board or a Blackboard Collaborate session, the likelihood of the system to handle the increased traffic and place severe strain on the system is extremely high”.

What students can expect from this ClickUP module and the UP SRC is “striving towards better and more transparent communication to our students. To ensure we bridge the gap, we released various documents and communications on our ClickUP modules”. Additionally, the SRC will “be sharing the dates of events, functions and importantly, student forums. There will also be additional resources available on the ClickUP module to assist students with a variety of different challenges that may cross their path”. The SRC put forward that their social media platforms had a shortfall because not every UP student was reached. Thus, ClickUP was identified as the main communication platform that they will use to communicate any information, events, and documents to students to bridge the gap and increase the SRC visibility – “Thus we can say with confidence, that every UP undergraduate and postgraduate student will be reached” explained the SRC.

Mothusi Mokalane

Originally published on the PDBY website: SRC lanches ClickUP communication module