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OSA LETTER TO STUDENTS 03042025

Dear Student

This letter serves as the formal announcement of your upcoming Online Summative Assessments (OSA). In preparation for your OSAs, this communication will provide you with a set of guidelines to help you ensure you are ready for this critical assessment activity.

In order to access and complete your OSAs, you will need to download the MANCOSA Student Comms App and authenticate yourself.

For an instructional tutorial on how to complete the authentication process, you can watch this video, or refer to the instructions below: https://vimeo.com/814852070/4402a4ff00

The Student Comms App works with all mobile phones that meet the below specifications:

  • A smartphone (Apple/iOS or Android)
  • 2 Gigs of Ram
  • 150 Mb storage space (standard)
  • After the app is installed it will ask for the necessary permissions, please click the ALLOW options here (camera, gallery, phone calls, etc.)

The authentication process is designed to take place in three stages:

Stage 1: Pre-authorisation one month prior to the start of the Online Summative Assessment

Follow the steps below to set-up the MANCOSA Student Comms App and authenticate yourself one month prior to the commencement of your OSAs.

Stage 2: Authentication on the day of each Online Summative Assessment session

On the day of your OSA you will need to authenticate yourself to access the assessment. Authentication opens at 06:30am and closes at 12pm on the day of each OSA session

 

Stage 3: Randomised authorisation during each Online Summative Assessment session

 

Once you have completed your authentication, you will need to access and complete your OSA via MANCOSAConnect (https://mancosaconnect.ac.za).

Please be sure to watch the below video for a step-by-step instructional tutorial on how to log in, access and complete your OSA using the MANCOSA Online Answer Booklet: https://vimeo.com/694376191

Online Answer Booklet Important Information:

  • You must complete your OSA in the online answer booklet provided on MANCOSAConnect. Do not complete your assessment using MS Word or any other third party application unless you are instructed to do so by MANCOSA.
  • You are required to remain online for the full duration of the OSA as work completed offline will not be saved.
  • Click the “Save” button at regular intervals to ensure no work is lost.
  • It is required that you use the Google Chrome browser. Additionally for iOS users, the Safari and Firefox browsers will work.
  • Do not attempt to open your assessment in multiple browsers / tabs / windows. Should you do this, your work will not be saved.
  • Should you receive any of the following notifications, it means your internet connection is lost:
    • “You are not connected to server and your changes may be lost”
    • “Unfortunately the draft version could not be restored” or
    • “Page unresponsive”

When you receive these messages, please do not continue typing. Restore your internet connectivity before continuing with your OSA.

  • Should you receive a 502 or 504 gateway error, please refresh your page after a few minutes
  • The Online Summative Assessments are academically designed to be completed within 3 hours, however, MANCOSA has allowed for an additional five (5) hours to allow for any connectivity, technical or other issues that may be experienced by students during the Online Summative Assessment session.
  • The dates, start and end times are provided in the personal timetable issued on the Student Comms App. Students will also be able to download their personal timetable via the MyMANCOSA student portal.
  • Please ensure that when you click ‘submit’ an acknowledgement of receipt of your submission is received, before you sign out. Download, or take a screenshot of the acknowledgement pop up for your records.
  • The standard examination subminimum grade as stipulated in the Programme Handbook for each respective programme is applicable to this online summative assessment component. In order to pass the module students must meet the relevant subminimum criteria in each assessment component and attain an overall pass mark as applicable to that particular programme.
  • Students are reminded to submit their own work – no group work is permitted in the OSAs, and should a student submit work which is not their own, this will constitute academic misconduct and the student will be penalized in accordance with institutional policies, procedures and codes of conduct.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Student Services on 0861 80 00 00 or Mancosa.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new, or via the LiveChat on MyMANCOSA or MANCOSAConnect.

MANCOSA wishes you well in your studies.

Regards MANCOSA

Terms and Conditions of the MANCOSA Student Comms App Safety Features and Security measures:

  • APK files will not be shared outside of MANCOSA except to APP Store and Play store.
  • Please refer to the following link to review the Google APP Protect details: https://support.google.com/android/answer/2812853?hl=en-GB
  • Your selfies or pictures uploaded via the App, will only be used by MANCOSA for the purpose of authentication as envisioned in the App. These files will remain on the user’s mobile devices and will not be hosted by MANCOSA.
  • We have employed the necessary data protection and data encryption protocols to secure the use and functionality of the app.

In addition to the above, the App is safe and secure to be downloaded onto a mobile device on either a personal, or work mobile phone, and is required in order to allow the student access to their timetable and the Online Summative Assessment. The app has met the necessary requirements to be placed on all major app stores and may be securely downloaded for use as indicated. Although the candidate must proceed to use the app entirely at their own risk, every effort has been taken by the developer and MANCOSA to ensure it is compatible for the intended purpose.

Mobile devices regularly connect to a variety of networks, including public Wi-Fi networks shared with other (potentially malicious) clients. This creates opportunities for a wide variety of network-based attacks ranging from the simplest to the most complicated. It is crucial to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of information exchanged between the mobile app and remote service endpoints. Students are cautioned to ethically and responsibly share personal information and avoid unnecessary security risks compromising their Online Summative Assessments.

The MANCOSA Student Comms App has been developed with the most stringent security process available. However, considering the continually changing technology landscape, MANCOSA will update the application as required.

MANCOSA is committed to strict Legislative compliance in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). By using the MANCOSA Student Comms App, you signify that the personal information supplied to MANCOSA may be used for any lawful purpose related to your relationship or engagement with MANCOSA. Personal information includes, but is not limited to, your name, IP address, your identification number, biometric data etc.

We are authorised to collect your personal information, for a lawful purpose, by POPIA, as well as for the purposes that are related to your academic journey with MANCOSA. In order to access/collect/process your information, we act on your behalf as the “responsible party” requesting to access your personal information under the POPI Act in order to operate the authentication processes contained in the MANCOSA Student Comms App.