Life at Rhodes

For information about life at Rhodes, please browse through the Student Handbook, or take a look at the general student information that is available to all Rhodes students on StudentZone.

Please click on the relevant links:

Support for International students

If you need support, you can speak to:

Your lecturer or tutor

Dean of students

Office Tel: +27 (0)46 603 8181

Email: v.deklerk@ru.ac.za

The Dean of your faculty

Amirah Kolia, your SRC International Councillor

Amirah and the rest of the SRC can be contacted via email: srcinternational@ru.ac.za.

Amirah's Cell: 076 895 0044

Please see the SRC website.

Your warden or sub-warden

The staff at the International Office

Our office is open Mondays to Fridays from 8:00am to 12:45pm and 14:00pm to 16:30pm for any queries.

We are located in the Eden Grove Building.

E-mail: internationaloffice@ru.ac.za

Tel: (+27) (0)46 603 8217

Health services

Please see the following pages for details:

Health and safety

Contact: 046 603 8523

Counselling services

The Student Counselling Centre is located on the top floor of the Student Union Building on Prince Alfred Street and is open Monday to Friday from 08h00 – 17h00. To contact the Student Counselling Centre for more information, call them at (046) 603 7070 during office hours or email counsellingcentre@ru.ac.za.

The 24 hour emergency line is: 082 803 0177

For more information, please see the Counselling Centre website.

Campus Protection Unit

Rhodes has a Campus Protection Unit (046 603 8146) located just next to Hobson Hall. The Unit is open 24 hours per day and provides highly visible patrols on campus. Students can arrange for a guard to walk them home at night from anywhere on campus. If you are in immediate physical danger, go to a safe place and call them to come to help you.

Website: Campus Protection Unit

Computer Labs

Rhodes University has several computer labs from which you can connect to the Internet.

The most popular are:

The Jacaranda ("Jac") Labs on Artillery Road by the School of Languages
The Eden Grove Labs in the Eden Grove Building
The Union Labs in the Bantu Stephen Biko Building (previously "the Union") on Prince Alfred Road

See Labs.

eduroam (Internet connectivity)

eduroam is a secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. It allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to obtain Internet connectivity across campus and when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop.

How to use this service at Rhodes:

Check if your home institution participates in eduroam.
Connect to the eduroam-test wireless network at Rhodes to get free Internet access.
Authenticate with your home institution's credentials (you may need to make arrangements with them for this to work).

The eduroam-test wireless network for visitors offers limited Internet access, including email and web browsing. It does not provide access to Rhodes' internal network.

For more information, please see: http://www.ru.ac.za/it/resources/wireless/eduroam/

Library

Rhodes has two Libraries:

RU Library

The main library is situated in the middle of campus. It provides many resources, including access to many electronic journals.

Cory Library

The Cory Library is situated in the Eden Grove Building.

The new library

Post

Post can take between 10 and 14 days for overseas mail to arrive. Parcels are likely to be inspected by customs and high charges are often levied by customs on the value of parcels entering the country. We recommend that for all parcels sent, you ensure that the sender gets a tracking number, to help you trace your parcel.

Should you require items to be posted to you, you can use either your residence’s postal address, or the International Office’s postal address (See Contacts). If you use the International Office postal address, we will email you when your letter or parcel arrives.

Societies

A wide variety of student societies are active on campus. The Student Representative Council (SRC) Office, located in the Bantu Stephen Biko Building, will be able to give further information and assist you in joining societies. Society and Club membership fees vary from approximately R70-00 to R350-00 depending on the society/club and costs will be debited to your student account as miscellaneous costs, for which you are liable.

See SocietyFollow.

Sports

Please see the Sports Admin website for available sports at Rhodes:

SRC

The Student Representative Council is the active voice of the Student Body.

For more information, please see the SRC website.

Email: srcinternational@ru.ac.za

Oppidan Union

Students living off-campus are called Oppidans.

Please see the Oppidan Union website.

Transport

Get Home Safe

The Dean of Students Office provides a free Get Home Safe service to students who find themselves in difficulty late at night. The service operates only on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights between 22h00 and 03h00. Please phone 084 869 9679 should you require this service.

Rhode Trip

For a full time taxi service, you can sign up for Rhode Trip. Rhode Trip is a taxi/shuttle service provided to students for a nominal fee. It can take you anywhere in Grahamstown. You simply send a text or call them and they will collect you and drop you off. Once you have signed up for the service, you will be given the number to text/call. See their website for more details and to sign up: www.rhodetrip.co.za. You can debit this cost to your student account. Note that it is considered a miscellaneous cost and you would be liable for it. Their offices are next to the FNB ATM machine in the Steven Biko building. Their email is: rhodetrip@ru.ac.za and contact number: 082 925 5971.

RMR

Rhodes has its own Radio station: Rhodes Music Radio 89.7fm.

Email: admin@rhodesmusicradio.co.za

Website

Community engagement opportunities

Rhodes University offers students an opportunity to do volunteer work and help the community of Grahamstown. There are a variety of projects to choose from, which work to improve the psychological and material welfare of people in need, and help is always appreciated!

For those interested in doing volunteer work, please visit the Centre for Social Development (CSD) on Prince Alfred Street, or email them.

Website: http://www.ru.ac.za/csd

Contact: csd@ru.ac.za and 046 603 8573

Leisure Activities

Please see Travel and Tourism for information on leisure activities in the Eastern Cape and on touring South Africa.

Photo Gallery

We would love to receive photos of your Exchange or Study Abroad experiences.

E-mail: internationaloffice@ru.ac.za

Student Videos

Please send us videos of your Exchange or Study Abroad experiences. Please upload to YouTube first.