University of South Africa
universityPublic open distance learning
| University of South Africa link () Website | |
|---|---|
| File:University of South Africa logo.jpg | |
| Formation | 1873 |
| Headquarters | Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Type | Public open distance learning |
| Mega university with over 400,000 students in South Africa | |
The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 students, including international students from 130 countries worldwide, making it one of the world's mega universities and the only such university in Africa.
Founded in 1873 as the University of the Cape of Good Hope, the University of South Africa (or Unisa as it is commonly known) spent most of its early history as an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities and as an incubator from which most other universities in South Africa are descended.