Message from Company

It is no secret that the shortage of suitable student accommodation facilities remains a challenge across South Africa. Over and above the dire shortage, a large percentage of the current supply of accommodation do not comply with minimum standards and are not conducive for student accommodation and learning. The Student Housing Advisory Panel (SHAP) aims to assist financial aid and bursary providers and in turn, Government's efforts by fast-tracking the infux of accredited, value-adding student housing providers. 

This will be achieved by a four pronged approach:

1. By significantly improving the overall accreditation process

2. Assisting new service providers to rectify areas of non-compliance

3. Ongoing monitoring using online reporting systems to ensure standards are kept

4. Upskilling service providers on living-learning best practice models by drawing on years of experience

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WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE

STUDENT accommodation

ABOUT

ABOUT US

Our Vision

  1. To improve the living conditions of students across South Africa by becoming the national leader in student accommodation accreditation services.

Our Mission

  2. Through a combination of resource mobilization, deploying excellent experience and skillsets and leveraging technology we aim to:

  4. -   Provide quality accreditation based on government gazetted norms and standards
  5. -     Furnish providers with grading recommendations in line with grading criteria
  6. -  Assist accommodation providers to achieve and maintain compliance
  7. -        Upskill relevant stakeholders through training workshops 

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nsfas covered allowances include

books, transport, accommodation

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Students
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Public Universities
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Students
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TVET Colleges

SErvices

Services we provide

  2. Once bursary providers provides SHAP with the details of a prospective accommodation provider, SHAP will use Government approved checklist criteria to perform the accreditation process and submit reports and recommended grading. 

  4. Non-compliant providers will be given an opportunity to appeal the outcome. SHAP will endeavour to assist these providers by providing expert knowledge in key areas of concern so as to achieve the necessary grading standards.

  6. SHAP will perform ongoing monitoring and deploy an online complaints portal where student residents can raise any concerns pertaining to issues of non-compliance that may arise post-accreditation thereby fostering ongoing surety that service providers maintain their obligations and uphold the minimum standards. This will serve SHAP as an early warning system from which small flames can be tended to before becoming raging fires.

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Operation

  2. The Student Housing Advisory Panel's operations are set up across six key areas of work: 
  4. 1. Inspection – Using Governments guidelines together with our panel of inspectors' expertise, accreditation inspections will be thorough and standardised.
  5. 2. Recommendation – The inspection panel will recommend grading to  bursary providers based on pre-determined criteria
  6. 3. Appeal – Should an accommodation provider appeal the outcome of an accreditation inspection, SHAP will follow an appeal process in order to allow the provider an opportunity to rectify any areas of concern
  7. 4. Monitor – It is imperative that residences that have been accredited maintain the basic standards. To ensure this, SHAP will endeavour to monitor housing providers on an ongoing basis. 
  8. 5. Assistance – In an effort to fast-track the influx of beds so desperately needed SHAP aims to help non-compliant accommodation providers improve their facilities in line with Governments norms and standards by offering expert advice on key areas
  9. 6. Upskilling – With decades of experience in student housing, SHAP will offer value adding training workshops to upskill new providers in living-learning principles and best practices.