Open University of Tanzania Admission Regulation 2023/2024

Open University of Tanzania Admission Regulation 2023/2024 academic year.

The Open University of Tanzania (OUT) is an Open and Distance Learning higher education institution, which offers various certificates, diplomas, and degrees programmes in a wide range of fields.

Information about programmes on offer can be found on the university’s web page http://www.out.ac.tz and OUT prospectus. For detailed information on admission please contact:

Director of Undergraduate studies,

The Open University of Tanzania,

P.O. Box 23409, DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA.

Tel.  +255 22 2668820

Fax. +255 22-2668759

E-mail: [email protected]

Website:  http://www.out.ac.tz

Application fee;- Application for admission at OUT is free of charge.

An Application for admission must be done through the Online Application System (OAS) of the OUT.  

The OAS is available at www.out.ac.tz. Applicant should complete all sections of the online application system as required. Online application user guide is available at (http://196.216.247.245/uploads/stepbystep.pdf

An applicant must read user guide carefully before applying online.  In case of problem, the application may also be done by filling an application form available at …….. (link) and any OUT regional centre.  A dully filled application form should be sent directly to any nearest OUT Regional centres available all over the country and at designated centres outside Tanzania.

2. Selected applicants will be announced through OUT website, OUT regional centres and contacts of selected applicants submitted during application
3. Registration:  Once student is selected is required to report at any nearest OUT regional centre where shall be issued admission letter and registration number. The Registration can only be considered if the University receives convincing evidence that the candidate will be adequately financed during his or her study at the University. Applicants from other countries who are in need of financial assistance to meet fees and other expenses are advised to apply for bursaries from their respective Governments, employers or other sponsoring agencies.

 Registration procedures for newly selected students;-

1. i)Student shall be required to pay Tshs. 30,000/- for local student and 30 USD for International students as registration fee. The payment shall be made at the bank in the accounts prescribed in admission letter and submit bank slip at the OUT office where will be issued official receipt.
2. ii)Upon payment, student will be issued with an account (user name and password) in the Student Academic Records Information System (SARIS) to use for registration. The OUT officials at all OUT regional centres will guide students on how to register online. The SARIS account will also be used for examination registration, accessing online academic materials in the moodle platform, examination results and payment status.

iii)    Student shall be required to register courses for the programme selected in the SARIS available at  http://sis.out.ac.tz/index.php . Upon registration student must confirm and print invoice. Before registration of courses, students must make sure that have read the OUT prospectus available at www.out.ac.tz and all OUT regional centres.

1. iv)Students are required to pay various University fees within given period as prescribed in the invoice.
2. v)Upon payment of required fee a newly admitted student shall be considered as officially registered student of the Open University of Tanzania.

1.   Annual Registration

1. i)In every new academic year, all continuing students are required to re-register online by using SARIS account. A student who fails to re-register shall not be recognized as a bonafide student of OUT for that academic year, and may not be able to access the (SARIS) for examination registration.
2. ii)During annual re-registration, students must register courses of their studies for that particular academic year for purposes of coursework assessment and Annual Examinations, field practice, science and teaching practical that they plan to attempt.

iii)    Students are required to register online for examination sessions at least One month before or as the time may be described in the OUT almanac before the beginning of examinations. The registered students will be issued with Examination Hall Ticket (EHT) that allows them to enter in to the examination hall once endorsed by the Director of the Regional Centre.

1. iv)It is necessary to note that all academic services including but not limited to Assignments, tests, practical, face to face Sessions and even provision of any financial assistance shall be directed only to those students who are dully registered in that particular  academic year
2. Fees once paid will not be refunded for continuing students. In extremely exceptional circumstances, consideration of refund of the fees paid may only be made to those who have withdrawn from studies, graduated and paid excess fees. Where this is applicable, the approval of refund shall be made subject to a charge of 15% of the amount refunded. The percentage deduction rate shall be set, announced and reviewed by University from time to time. However, no refund for any student who voluntarily requests to withdraw from studies at the Open University of Tanzania.
3. New undergraduate, non degree and postgraduate students for 2019/2020 academic year will be admitted in four cyles. The first admission cyle is in October. Other three admission cycles will be in 2020 in January, April and July respectively. Applicants selected to study in the given admission cycles will be admitted according to dates approved by Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU). Postgraduates doing Masters and Ph.D. by Thesis will be admitted at any time of the year.
4. Change of programme: Registered student is allowed to change programme to another provided that has entry qualification of the programme he/ she wish to study. The change of programme must be done within two weeks of registration period as required by TCU. Deadline for course registration for all students will as be indicated in the OUT Almanac. A fee of Tanzanian shillings Tsh. 30,000/- for local students and USD 30 or its equivalent to International students will be charged for any request to change programme. The student wish to change programme must follow the following procedures.
5. i)Student should read entry qualification available in prospectus and on OUT website carefully to establish whether is qualifying for programme wishing to study. If admitted student does not qualify into new programme, should not apply for change of programme.
6. ii)The qualified student must write an application letter requesting change of programme to Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, routed through the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Open University of Tanzania, P. O Box 23409, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The application letter should clearly state names as appears in form four certificate, current programme student admitted, new programme which student wish to study, reasons for change of programme. The letter should be accompanied by the followings:- First, all relevant academic certificates and AVN numbers for the Diploma holders. Second official receipt of Tshs30, 000/= for local and USD 30 for international students. The documents may also be sent through [email protected].

iii)                Once the documents have received by DUGS, will be internally processed and submitted to TCU for approval.

1. iv)Student will only be informed of the change of programme status after the approval of TCU.
2. v)Change of programme shall be made at the beginning of academic year for first year students only.
3. vi)No change of programme is allowed for any continuing students.
4. Admitted are required to abide with OUT regulations
5. Students may be allowed to change subject combinations after consultation with designated Deans and Directors of The Open University of Tanzania
6. A candidate who has been discontinued on academic grounds at any of the accredited universities in Tanzania may be allowed to apply afresh in to another programme.
7. If any candidate previously discontinued from University studies will be shown to have cheated to gain admission by credit transfer, he/she shall be discontinued from studies.
8. Credit transfer: A student admitted in to a degree programme wish  to transfer to OUT for purposes of accumulating credits on a specific subject,         module or course or part of it from other higher learning shall be required to fulfil the following conditions:-
9. i)Must be registered in any higher learning institution and approved by TCU
10. ii)Must be registered in the  programme to which the credit will be accumulated

iii)    The subject course of module for credit accumulation must be relevant to the programme to which the student is registered.

1. iv)The subject, course or module has been successful completed before the credit can be earned.
2. v)Transfer of credits takes place within a period not exceeding five years from the time they were earned.
3. vi)The transfer student should have cleared all his/her supplementary examination   from realising Institution but can transfer carryovers.

vii)  Students discontinued on disciplinary action are not allowed to transfer their credit. However, those wishing to continue in programmes they were discontinued from they will have to wait until a lapse of three years.

viii) Students discontinued on disciplinary grounds are not allowed to transfer their credit. Those wish to continue with university education will have to wait until a lapse of three years.

1. ix) A student, who intends to transfer for purposes of graduating in a receiving institution, shall be required to earn at least 50% of the total credits from that institution’s core courses.
2. x)The rules primarily apply  for both for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes
3. xi)Credits for dissertation and final year project shall not be transferred

xii)  No credit may be transferred in practical based or field based subjects

xiii)Credit earned more than 5 years shall not be transferred.

The Procedure for Credit Transfer at OUT

(i)            Before considered for transfer credit to OUT, the student must meet the admission criteria of the OUT as approved by TCU.

(ii)          Qualified student has to write an application letter requesting credit transfer to Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, UFS, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Open University of Tanzania, P. O Box 23409, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The letter should be accompanied by the followings:- academic transcript and releasing letter showing reasons for transfer from releasing University. All relevant academic certificates and AVN numbers for the Diploma holders, official receipt of Tshs 80, 000/= for local and USD 100 for international students. The documents should be sent through [email protected] .

(iii)        Student will be informed of the credit transfer status after the approval of TCU.

(iv)        Credit transfer shall be done during course registration at any the beginning of new academic year. No transfer of credits in the mid of academic year allowed.

15. Change of Names: Change of names by students after registration is not allowed.  The University reserves the right to refuse any changes of names that are drastic, even when properly booked up by relevant laws of the land. Students should register in the names that appear in their form four certificates.
16. The official order of names during registration shall be; Surname, First Name(s), Middle Name(s). Where a candidate has only two names in his or her certificates, then only those two names shall be used and accordingly the second name in the list will be taken as his/her surname. Only names as they appear in form four certificates will be consistently used.
17. Students from OUT or any other accredited University discontinued due to any examination irregularities may only be considered for admission after three years since being discontinued. No credit transfer is allowed for such students.
18. Student Identity Cards: Once a student is registered in to any programme and paid various university fees as per invoice, is entitled to get student identity card (ID). The procedure for obtaining the ID is as follows:-
19. i)Student should register courses and print an invoice.
20. ii) A copy of invoice with a photo (passport size with blue background) written full name and registration number at the back should be left at the regional centre for unternal processes.

iii)     The regional centre will record and send invoice to the office of DUGS for processing through [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]. For international students their invoice should be sent to [email protected] .

iv)Upon completion of production of the IDs at the Head office,  the office of DUGS will sent back produced IDs to respective regional centres either through office of DVC (RS&LT) or directly from  DUGS office or Directorate of International Affairs.

v) Students will collect their IDs from respective regional centres or international centres.

vi) Students’ ID should be carried with the student whenever s/he visits OUT offices and in examination rooms. Any loss of Identity card must be reported to the Directorate of Undergraduate Studies through Director of the regional centre where student is registered. A new student ID will be issued only upon submission of relevant evidence of the loss of ID. Where the office of DUGS is satisfied with tendered evidence, student shall pay Tshs. 20,000/= for local students and USD  20 for International students as fee for re processing of Identity Card.

The minimum duration for completion of an undergraduate degree programme is THREE YEARS. Students who complete before that period must be cleared by Senate before they can be allowed to graduate.  The maximum registration period for an undergraduate degree is EIGHT YEARS while for diploma and certificate programme is 3 and 2 years respectively. A non-refundable fee of Tsh 50,000 or USD 50 (for international students) will be charged for any request to extend registration period.

Foreign certificates: Applicants with foreign certificates must attach their equivalence translation of the certificates during application. The equivalence can be obtained from National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA) for form four equivalent; National council for Technical Education (NACTE) for ordinary Diploma and certificates; Tanzania Commission for Universites for Degrees. T

he equivalence can be obtained through online of the relevant authorities. It should be clearly understood that responsibility and cost of obtaining equivalent transilation for foreign certificate is solely vested on applicants. The OUT is not responsible in any way in that processes. Any application with foreign certificate without equivalence to  Tanzanian translation will not be processed.