Informed Consent
Dear First Year Student
The University is conducting an annual First-Year Student Experience Survey to find out what are the expectations, experiences and satisfaction of first year UNIZULU students. Institutional surveys such as these assist to provide each student with the opportunity to voice their study experiences, which are particularly valuable during this time. Information obtained from this survey will assist the University to identify student needs (e.g. finance, social etc.) so that relevant support for first-year students can be developed.
Your participation in this survey will be anonymous, and the information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential. Results will be reported in institutional reports and possibly academic publications. To ensure your privacy, the data will only be presented in aggregate, and it would not be possible to identify any participant individually. Responses to open-ended questions may be quoted directly but will not include information that might identify a particular student. You are free to participate or withdraw from this survey at any time by closing the web browser, without negative consequences. We would urge you to participate in order for the university to obtain a complete picture of your experience during your first year of study.
Please note that there is no compensation for participation. This study received ethical clearance from the University of Zululand Research Ethics Committee (Ref: UZREC 171110-030 Dept 2021/08), and permission to collect data according to POPIA was obtained from the Office of the Registrar. A copy of the certificate is available. If you have any questions about the survey, you are welcome to contact the research team: IRO@unizulu.ac.za