TCU ADMISSION GUIDEBOOK FOR HOLDERS OF ORDINARY DIPLOMA FOR 2023/2024

Congratulation for having such wonderful performance that satisfies the need of university allocation requirements, here are few things that you are required to look on before making judgment of applying for university level, keep cool guidelines are user friendly just read it keenly without skipping anything, lets go

1.1 Introduction

The Bachelor’s degree Admission Guidebook is a tool to guide HEIs, the prospective applicants and other stakeholders on the admission procedure and criteria for students admission to the HEIs and to enable TCU on the other hand to regulate the admission process in line with section 5 (1) (c) (i) of The Universities Act, Cap. 346 of the Laws of Tanzania, read together with regulation 39 of The Universities (General) Regulations, GN. No. 226 of 2013.


The guidebook is further intended to inform prospective students, parents/guidians, HEIs and stakeholders about institutions which offer Bachelor’s degree programmes, accredited Bachelor’s degree programmes in the respective admission cycle, minimum entry requirements, programme admission capacities and duration of each of the programmes.


1.2 Quality Assurance

TCU is required under the provisions of section 5 (1) (b) of The Universities Act, Cap. 346 of the Laws of Tanzania to audit, on a regular basis, the quality assurance mechanisms of Universities.


The audit process includes among others; carrying out evaluation, assessment and monitoring of university institutions on a continuous basis, preparing and revising guidelines for quality assurance and other related matters for the purposes of monitoring and regulating general management and performance of Universities.


To facilitate this process, the Commission has been dully mandated under the provisions of section 16 of The Universities Act, Cap. 346 of the Laws of Tanzania, as amended, to charge and collect quality assurance fees. In view of this mandate, the Commission at its 64th meeting held on 3rd July, 2014 approved Tshs. 20,000/= being quality assurance fee which has to be paid by every student enrolled to a university institution regardless of the programme of study.


The legal provisions thus obligate all University institutions to collect and remit annually to the Commission the prescribed quality assurance fee for every student in the University’s nominal roll.


1.3 Entry Schemes into Degree Programmes

Four entry schemes to Bachelor’s degree programmes are recognised by the Commission as follows:

i) The direct entry qualifications for holders of Form SixQualifications;

ii) The holders of Ordinary Diploma or Equivalent Qualifications;

iii) The holders of Foundation Certificate offered by the Open University of Tanzania ; and

iv) The equivalent qualifications for holders of a Bachelor’s degree award.

1.4 Students’ Admission Procedure

University or college admission entails processes and procedure through which students enter tertiary education at universities or colleges. It includes procedures and processes involved in the application and approval to undertake a programme of study at the University or College. 

Thus, the procedure describe in the forthcoming section applies to the admission of all categories of Bachelors degree students to accredited programmes under- a university, a university college or a middle-level tertiary institution.


1.4.1 Admission Principles

a) The admissions process shall be based on the submission of applications (available through institutions' websites) and supporting credentials to a HEI of applicant’s preference;

b) Admission into HEIs shall be determined on the basis of approved admission pathways, applicant’s entry qualifications and the programme capacity;

c) The minimum criteria for admission into Bachelor’s Degree programmes shall be set and approved by the relevant authorities at the institutional level accredited by the Commission or the Council (for institutions under the NACTVET);

d) HEIs shall recognise admission criteria as stipulated in the Admission Guidebook issued by the Commission in the respective Admission Cycle;

e) HEIs shall assess all applications for admission in accordance with procedures that are fair and equitable, decisions regarding admission are consistent and free of bias and discrimination;

f) Applicants admitted in more than one institution shall confirm their admission to the most preferred institution as required by the Commission;

g) Students admitted to a programme will therefore commence their studies after the approval by respective University Senate or relevant authorities of an institution; and

h) All HEIs shall submit to the Commission all students admitted in the respective admission cycle for validation and record keeping using Commission’s prescribed format.

READ ALSO: TCU ADMISSION GUIDEBOOK FOR FORM SIX APPLICANTS FOR 2023/2024

1.4.2 Roles and Responsibilities

The admission procedure entails a number of activities by different stakeholders. The key stakeholders in the admission business process are chiefly the applicants, the University/College and the Commission on the other hand.

a) Roles of the Commission

As stated in section 5 (1) (c) (i) of The Universities Act, Cap. 346 of the Laws of Tanzania, to facilitate Bachelor’s degrees students’ admission into HEIs, the Commission shall:

i) Set the minimum entry criteria for admission into Universities in the United Republic of Tanzania for the approved admission pathways and all levels of academic programmes;

ii) Oversee, monitor and audit the admission process;

iii) Develop guidelines, standards and procedures to guide the admission process;

iv) Produce and circulate Admission Guidebook to different stakeholders and the general public;

v) Publish a calendar indicating the academic cycle for every study year;

vi) Put in place an online systems to receive and process students’ admissions data;

vii) Set standards and provide documentation for development of integrated systems that are capable of linking with the TCU systems;

viii)Handle all quality assurance issues in the admission process, conduct periodic evaluation and audit admission systems in university institutions;

ix) Provide guidance and support to HEIs and other stakeholders on admission matters; and

x) Conduct education and awareness programmes to prospective applicants and other stakeholders on matters related to admissions.


b) Roles of the Applicant

Students’ admissions generally start with applicants filling an application form which is provided through Universities’ online application portals or websites. Apart from that Applicants must ensure:

i) They have read carefully the Admission Guidebook and are conversant with the application process;

ii) They have final examination results that are issued by recognised National/ International examination authorities or boards;

iii) Names and index numbers used in the applications match with those used during their studies at secondary schools or college examinations;

iv) They have carefully read and understand the guidelines and admission requirements of programmes anticipated to apply for, provided in this book and on the websites of the individual institutions;

v) They have adequate information for the programmes and institutions of their choice, taking into account competition, one’s passes and career aspirations;

vi) Applicants holding foreign qualifications MUST have their certificates validated and equated by the respective regulatory bodies before submitting them to Bachelors’ Degrees Admission Guidebook for the 2023/2024 Academic Year (For Holders of Ordinary Diploma or Equivalent Qualifications) 10 respective institutions for applications.

The following bodies are responsible for validation and equating the certificates:

a) The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) in respect of Certificates of Secondary Education Examinations, Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) and teacher education;

b) The National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET) in respect of Diploma/ NTA level 6 qualifications and National Vocational Award Level 3 (NVA); and

c) Tanzania Commission for Universities inrespect of Diploma or a Bachelor Degree acquired from a foreign university.

vii) They use the current Bachelor’s Degrees Admissions Guidebooks available on the TCU website (www.tcu.go.tz) for appropriate and updated information on all approved programmes, their capacities and entry requirements;

viii)They make adequate arrangements to meet the cost related to the programme being applied for;

ix) They communicate all queries related to applications or admissions to the respective institutions; and

x) ONLY applicants who meet the minimum entry qualifications apply for admission.

c) Roles of Higher Education Institutions

All HEIs permitted to admit students in a particular academic year shall do the following:

i) Advertise through various media programmes accredited by the Commission intended to be offered in the particular academic year providing the details as indicated in the Admission Guidebook;

ii) Establish an Online Admission System capable of linking with the Commission’s portal and students’ information systems;

iii) Allow ONLY applicants with the required and relevant minimum entry requirements to submit applications;

iv) Process the applications based on general admission regulations and guidelines, minimum entry and specific requirements for admission through entry schemes approved by the Commission;

v) Authenticate the validity of qualifications of the applicants using NECTA, NACTVET and OUT databases;

vi) Vet the equivalence of foreign awards with the national equivalences prior processing their applications;

vii) Create a help desk for applicants in order to ensure that the admission process runs smoothly;

viii) Receive and process applications through their online admission systems;

ix) Select and approve applicants through their institutional approval organs;

x) Select and admit applicants under fair and transparent criteria;

xi) Submit to the Commission the list of all applicants whether selected or not;

xii) Submit to the Commission for validation the list of all applicants admitted into the various Bachelor’s programmes after approval of the admissions through the respective institutional approval organs;

xiii) Announce admitted students through various media; and

xiv) Issue admission letters to selected and confirmed applicants.

1.5 Admission Eligibility Requirements

Applications for admission shall ONLY be considered if eligibility criteria are met. Further to the general criteria, all programmes shall have specific requirements.

more information are available on the guidebook, for full reading just download it below

TCU ADMISSION GUIDEBOOK FOR ORDINARY DIPLOMA