Botho University
Botho College provides high quality programmes in Computing_science by partnering with international institutions such as NIIT, Open_University and Teeside_University.[1]
History
Botho College is Botswana’s largest private tertiary education provider operating in the country since 1997. The institution offers Accounting and computing programmes from certificate level to a Master’s degree level. It is the first private tertiary institution to be accredited by the Tertiary Education Council (TEC). All its programmes are also accredited by the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA).It has centers in three locations, namely Gaborone, Francistown and Maun. Having trained more than 16,000 graduates, 2012 is a landmark year for the institution as it completes 15 years of quality education in Botswana. With over 4000 students and 250 highly qualified staff, the institution is widely recognized and respected in Botswana as a premier quality tertiary educational provider.
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Botho College offers students from across the country and abroad a chance to study at any one of its three campuses in Gaborone, Francistown and Maun. All campuses have fully networked classrooms and practice areas and each seat is computer enabled. The Gaborone campus is a state of the art modern 10,000 sqm campus against the scenic backdrop of the Kgale Hill. It was inaugurated by the then President of Botswana, (His Excellency) Hon.Festus G. Mogae in January 2007.It includes a 700 sqm shaded seating and recreational area called the Botho Courtyard with wifi connectivity. The campus is well planned and secure and built according to the health and safety regulations.
Botho College offers students a well rounded learning experience. Academic rigor combined with excellence in extracurricular activities ensures Botho College graduates are a potent combination. Botho College students have a well known reputation amongst local employers of being readily employable and making excellent employees. This is not surprising considering that the majority of its graduates are absorbed immediately by leading organizations. The institution is currently one of the top ranked sporting institutions in the country. This is not surprising considering the fact that the institution has extensive sporting facilities for basketball, netball, volleyball, soccer and Chess. The institution has won all the top accolades and championships in the country and is currently the BOTESSA and PTIA games champion. The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer tournament held in Gabon-Guinea witnessed the immense talent of a Botho College student, Mogakolodi Tsotso Ngele playing for the National team the Zebras and even scoring a decisive goal. Botho College students have thus made a name for themselves in all spheres of life ranging from academia to sports to music.
Learning Support
Botho College students enjoy a wide range of academic support services during their studies to make learning an enjoyable experience. The institution models itself on the best universities across the globe and set up departments dedicated to make the Botho College experience memorable. A few key departments include:
Management Information Services (MIS) Department: The MIS department is the central repository of all student related personal and academic information at Botho College. The department is responsible for monitoring all student attendance. It is also responsible for providing students all their academic transcripts, certificates and resolve academic issues if any.
Assessments Department: The Assessments department is a key department at Botho College. It is responsible for organizing, managing and conducting all examinations at the institution. The department is also tasked with marking as per the Academic Honesty Policy. It is also entrusted with publishing results in a transparent and fair manner ensuring utmost confidentiality.
Projects Office: The Projects Office at Botho College is tasked with providing all students an opportunity to apply classroom concepts to develop real life projects while still in school. Under the supervision of highly experienced staff with many years of industry experience, students undergo internships to develop applications for use at Botho College and also for external client organizations. The Student Management system, the Leave Management System and Issue Tracker are applications extensively used by various Botho College departments and developed by students of Botho College under the Projects Office. The Botho College website (www.bothocollege.ac.bw) itself is designed and maintained in-house by the Projects Office.
Student Services Department (SSD): The Student services department is responsible for organizing and managing all student extracurricular activities. Student activity clubs include a wide variety of sporting clubs such as basketball, volleyball, netball, chess, soccer and table tennis and non sporting clubs such as Drama, Ballroom Dancing, Hip Hop dance, Christian Movement Society and the Debating society. The department is also responsible for student counseling and grievances. The Student Representative Council (SRC) is also managed by this department.
Career Advisory Services and Placement Support Office (CASPSO): The Career Advisory Services office provides free career counseling related services to all students including preparing them for the job market. The department conducts workshops bringing in external experts to advise students on career opportunities in the market. The department is also tasked with internship and graduate placement. The department proactively communicates and establishes relationships with leading organizations to provide suitable candidates for internship and long term employment.
Botho College Alumni Association (BOCAA): The Botho College Alumni Association is a proud and vibrant community of former students. It was formed to provide alumni an opportunity to remain in constant contact and network with their former classmates and batch mates long after they have graduated. All Botho College students are automatically members of the association. The forum is a melting pot of ideas, job openings and a place for young aspiring entrepreneurs to market themselves. The Botho College Alumni association can be found on Facebook.
Library
Botho College Library is characterized by a wide range of educational resources. The resources are continually being acquired in support of teaching and learning.Thousands of books are found in spacious reading rooms. Books on Accounting, Business, Computing and Education have been acquired to support the major faculties. All members of Botho College Community are allowed access to library resources and services. An Internet Public Access Catalog (IPAC) helps users. The library subscribes to databases through which clients can read e-journals, magazines, books, country reports and several other multimedia. The Library also supports wireless connectivity to the internet. Botho College Library Bulletin is intended to make all Botho College students and staff know about the developments taking place in the library. Due to the anticipated growth of the parent institution, the library is likewise expected to grow to meet the needs of the ever increasing clientele.[2]
Campus Extra Curricular Activities
In 2009 Botho College launched an ICT based competition called LINKZ The ICT Challenge which brings together the best ICT students in the country and is currently the only competition of its kind. LINKZ is the brainchild of Botho College academic staff and tests students knowledge and application capacity in the field of IT.In 2009 LINKZ brought together over 300 bright young people from over 6 major tertiary institutions. These includes University_of_Botswana, Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies, Ba Isago College, ABM University and Limkowing University of Creative and Technology. LINKZ aims to bring together the Botswana student community in the field of IT from across the country by fostering learning excellence through healthy competition.[3]
.Futheremore in October 2011 Botho College Hosted a Wikipedia Challenge called Setswana Wikipedia Challenge.This was a challenge based on bringing Africa's information online by creating Wikipedia_article in Setswana. The Google’s Setswana Wikipedia Challenge (the “Contest”) was a skill contest where Entrants must submit an article to Wikipedia which is either originally written or consists of a translation for an existing Wikipedia article into Setswana. These challenge was sponsored by Google in conjuction with Wikimedia Kenya.Google's goal with this contest was to increase the Setswana content on Wikipedia and to aid in the creation of relevant content for the communities, in the local language, of Botswana. The articles were evaluated by judges, who choose the winning entrant in accordance with the set official rules. The prize(s) where awarded to participant(s) whose articles were cumulatively evaluated as having the highest scores in the judging criteria.
See also
- List of Tertiary Institutions in Botswana
- University of Botswana
- Limkowing University of Creative and Technology
Reference
Gallery
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Botho College at Night
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Linkz 2012 Winners
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Setswana wikipedia Challenge
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NEW Botho Logo
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Botho College Library
