Journal of Student Affairs in Africa | Volume 10(2) 2022, 253-255 | 2307-6267   247 www.jsaa.ac.za AFRICAN MINDS CALL FOR PAPERS Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA) 2023 Towards Engaged and Student-Centred African Universities Guest editors: Prof. Thierry M. Luescher (HSRC/NMU) & Dr Somarie Holtzhausen (UFS) in collaboration with Prof. Andre Keet (NMU) & Dr Bernadette Johnson (WITS) How does an engaged, student-centred African university look? What theories and practices, implicit and explicit, are characteristic of engaged, student-centred universities relevant to the African context? In the context of the ongoing expansion of higher education in South Africa and Africa, student interventions to advance transformation and decolonisation, and the recent experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, disruption, innovation, and complexity have greatly intensified in higher education. The increasingly hy-f lex provision of education further requires the centring of students and student support and other aspects of student success; it places technology-based learning and development in the spotlight and at the centre of the university; and it prompts a renewed commitment to the social responsiveness of the university, its embeddedness within local communities, anchoring role in its location, and overall progressive role in advancing development and social justice. Understanding how these complex demands involved in notions of engagement and student-centredness interact with the leadership and management of universities, Student Affairs, and student development and success, what critical interventions and concrete experiences have been observed, and how they may be relevant to the development of engaged and student-centred African universities, are crucial dimensions of the current conversation in Student Affairs in Africa. This guest-edited issue of the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa ( JSAA) is edited and published in association with Universities South Africa (USAf ) and the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE). The issue builds on the joint USAf/CHE National Higher Education Conferences of 2021 and 2022. The USAf/CHE National Higher Education Conference of October 2021 focused on “The Engaged University” and for 2022, the USAf/CHE Higher Education Conference focused on “Student- centred Higher Education”. The proposed JSAA guest-edited issue will source papers primarily, but not only, from the two USAf/CHE conferences. Other research-based papers that fit the topic of the guest-edited issue will also be considered. The papers for the JSAA guest-edited issue may be theoretical, empirical and case studies or practice-relevant ref lective contributions broadly dealing with the Student Affairs and relevant dimensions of university community engagement and student- http://www.jsaa.ac.za 248   Journal of Student Affairs in Africa | Volume 10(2) 2022, 253-255 | 2307-6267 centredness. The following provides a select list of Student Affairs topics within the scope of this JSAA issue: • Student civic engagement, volunteerism, give-back • Community engagement, social responsiveness, university anchoring • Citizenship development, student leadership development, student movement • Student governance, student organisations, student life • Career development, entrepreneurship development • Student development theory, student engagement, student experiences • Higher education funding, student finances and financial aid • Student communities, student living and learning • Disability, diversity and inclusion • Equity and social and epistemological access • Student life cycle, student orientation, student transitions, transitions to livelihoods Furthermore, the editors invite contributions that particularly advance African theory development and practice-relevant knowledge of Student Affairs in Africa with respect to: • Critical and theorical explorations and engagements with the notions of the African university, community engagement, student-centredness, and related notions • Decolonial, intersectional, and Fallist deconstructions and critiques of, and contributions to notions of engagement, student-centredness, the African university, social responsiveness, community engagement and related notions. About JSAA JSAA is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and ref lective discussions about the theory and practice of Student Affairs in African higher education. JSAA is published twice a year by the JSAA Editorial Executive in collaboration with the University of Pretoria and African Minds (publisher). The journal is full-text hosted on the website of the University of Pretoria at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa, as well as co-hosted by AJOL, DOAJ, and ERIC, and indexed in international indices including BASE, InfoBase Index, WorldCat Libraries, Sherpa/Romeo, and Google Scholar. JSAA has an IBI Factor of 2.2 (2019). JSAA is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as a subsidy-earning journal on the SA list of scholarly journals. Authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa Prof. Thierry M. Luescher, Dr Somarie Holtzhausen, Prof. Andre Keet & Dr Bernadette Johnson: Journal of Student …   249 Submission process and important dates Abstract proposals (ca. 500 words): 28 February 2023 Response on abstracts to authors: 31 March 2023 Full papers due for editorial vetting and peer review: 15 June 2023 Responses from editors/peer review process: 15 June – 31 July 2023 Revisions from authors: 31 August 2023 Galley proofs: 15 November 23 Publication of guest-edited issue ( JSAA Vol. 11, Issue 2): December 2023 JSAA uses APA7 referencing style. Please consult the JSAA Author Guidelines for information about formatting etc. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/ submissions Please direct any queries and submit abstracts by email to: Dr Somarie Holtzhausen, holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions mailto:holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za