OFFICE OF THE ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

EXEMPTION AND CREDIT TRANSFER POLICY

Office of The Academic Registrar 1

NDEJJE UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

EXEMPTION AND CREDIT

TRANSFER POLICY

2 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University

FOREWORD
Welcome to Ndejje University where we empower people through a wide
range of educational, training, Research and development frameworks to
develop personal skills, knowledge and abilities. This handbook provides
procedures and requirements to guide students joining Ndejje University
from other institutions seeking course exemptions and transfer of
credits. It provides information about the rules and regulations on course
exemption and transfer of credit of various academic courses. It is the
responsibility of the student to understand these regulations.

Ndejje University is a student-centered institution offering numerous

programs of study that are flexible to meet individual students’ needs.
It is important that students transferring credits from other chartered
Universities and those from other recognized institutions wishing to have
their previous grades exempted or transfered become acquainted with the
exemption and credit transfer policy before they attempt to apply.

The exemption and credit transfer policy is based on wide consultations

in addition to an assessment of past practices, challenges and emerging
priorities and the anticipated impacts on the delivery of quality education
to such groups that qualify for exemption and transfer of credits. We
are enthusiastic to mentor you for a rewarding intellectual experience,
and hope you will make maximum use of these guidelines as you settle
in your academics. This handbook is readily available at all faculties and
departments at a fee.

“Fear of God brings knowledge and wisdom”

................................................................
Prof. Bishop Micheal Senyimba
March 2011

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Table of contents Page
Foreword.............................................................................2

Table of contents ................................................................3

Acronyms ..........................................................................4

Introduction........................................................................5

Policy Goal.........................................................................6

Policy objectives................................................................6

Policy Strategies.................................................................7

Requirements for admission...............................................7

Requirements for exemption..............................................7

Process of admission..........................................................9

Effecting Exemptions.........................................................10

Process of admission..........................................................10

Fees structure ....................................................................10

Nature of curriculum .........................................................11

Monitoring and Evaluation................................................11

Writing of Ndejje University Academic Transcript..........11

Policy implementation........................................................12

Conclusions.........................................................................12

4 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University

 Acronyms
AR - Academic Registrar
GMAT - Graduate Management Admission Test
ICPA - Institute of Certified Professional Accountants
NCHE - National Council for Higher Education
NDU - Ndejje University
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language
UACE - Uganda Advance Certificate of Education
UCE - Uganda Certificate of Education

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 Introduction
This policy will serve as the basis for exemption and credit transfers for
all students who qualify for exemption and transfer of credits. The policy
aims to guide and direct the planning and administration of activities
relating to exemptions and credit transfers, including; admissions,
fees structures, implementation of the curriculum, monitoring, and
evaluation of the students and processing of the transcript. The emphasis
on exemption is based on Ndejje University recognition of a number of
students who seek admission after obtaining certificates at various levels,
from different recognised institutions and how these are likely to impact
on students’ grades. Statistics show that over 70% of Ndejje University
admissions for weekend and evening, and a few on day programmes
constitute students in the above category. Some of these students fail
to generate enough points for the admission to a degree, while others
are hampered by the inadequate funds to raise the required fees, at the
time they would have enrolled at the University for the Appropriate
Level of education. Further, owing to the past gender imbalances in
education, many female students especially have had to enrol later after
liberalisation of education. It is worth noting that admissions of female
students to Makerere University has only recently been boosted through
the affirmative action that gives the total score of the female entrants.

In addition, some students who wished to transfer their credits to Ndejje

University were most often denied the opportunity due to the absence of
recognised measures to help them assimilate their points and apply for
admission to the appropriate programmes implemented in the University.
The review of existing policies also revealed a gap in the enforcement of
exemption and credit transfers, which this policy is attempting to bridge.

The policy on exemption and credit transfers was developed through wide
consultations from the faculties of Education, Engineering, Environment,
6 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University
Forest Sciences, Business, Basic Sciences and Information Technology,
Social Sciences and the School of Graduate Studies. Representatives
from Accounts and the Academic registrar’s office were brought on
board by a joint discussion under the chair of the Faculty of Social
Sciences. The contributions of these people to developing this policy
are duly acknowledged and appreciated.

POLICY GOAL
The overall goal of this policy is to widen access to quality University
education to persons who wish to attain higher education.

POLICY OBJECTIVES
 To promote recognition of adult learners as beneficiaries of
education at Ndejje University.

 To minimise wastage of resources in terms of time and money

among people with other qualifications and enable them to
upgrade without much stress.

 To provide access to students who wish to complete their

learning at Ndejje University.

 To harmonise in all faculties the way exemptions and credit

transfers are conducted.

POLICY STRATEGIES
1. Requirements for Admission
1.1 Academic Qualifications

a) Degree (Year I):

To be admitted to Year I of a Degree Course without direct entry
qualifications, a student should have:

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 i) scored 5 credits at UCE or its equivalent
ii) at least 2 principal passes at UACE
iii) an Advanced Certificate in a relevant field to the Degree for
a period of not less than 1 year.
iv) Diploma from a recognised institution.

b) Diploma:
A student should have:
i) 5 Passes at UCE and
ii) 1 Principal Pass and 2 subsidiaries at UACE obtained at the same
sitting, OR its equivalent Certificate from a recognised institution.

c) Certificate:
i) 5 Passes at UCE and at least 3 Subsidiary Passes at ‘A’ Level obtained
at the same sitting.
ii) Must have reached UCE or its equivalent.

2. Requirements for exemption

2.1 Academic qualifications

a) Masters :

Ndejje Univesrity shall exempt course units for students admitted at

masters level with a relevant post graduate diploma

To be exempted course units at masters, the following criteria have to

be fullfilled:

i) A student should have passed the relevant course unit with

70% and above.
ii) A student should be from a chartered institution
iii) A student should not have exceeded 3 years after Her/His
previous qualification.

8 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University

 iv) Allows a maximum of 6 course units in case of exemptions.

b) Undergraduate

To be exempted at an undergraduate degree course, the following criteria

have to be fulfilled:

i) A student should have done a 2-year Diploma course in the

relevant field and scored either Upper 2nd or 1st Class.
ii) A student should have qualified for a Diploma Course with
the required 5 Passes at UCE and 1 Principal Pass at UACE
obtained at the same sitting.
iii) The Diploma should have been obtained from an institution
recognized by National Council for Higher Education
(NCHE).
iv) Ndejje University diploma graduates who wish to exempt
course units should have obtained at least a lower second
class Diploma in the relevant field.
v) Applicants for the degree in Engineering but with a relevant
Upper second or first class Higher Diploma may be exempted
from year 1 and II to Year III of study.

2.2 Period of Previous Training

This should not be more than 5 years after acquiring the qualification, that
is being considered for exemption. The degree, diploma and certificate
should be relevant to the field a student intends to undertake.

2.3 Experience

Minimum working experience of 2 years after completion of the course

in a relevant field. e.g. Engineering, Forestry and Agriculture would be
an added advantage.

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2.4 Qualifying Exams

To be done after admission into Year I on application for exemption.

To be administered by the relevant Faculty, for all students applying for
exemption.

2.5 Specification of previous training Institution

A University and any other recognized Institution of Higher Learning.

3. Process of Admission (Exemptions)

i) Exemption of course units is optional.
ii) It should only be the Senate or Senate standing committee to
exempt a student either from subjects, a semester, a whole year
or from two years of study.
iii) Exemption will be a process considered on merit, case by case.
When one has been admitted and He/She needs exemption, He/
She should write an application to the Academic Registrar.

iv) A student who applies for exemptions should fill in an exemption

form in Triplicate indicating the subject(s), score(s) and grade(s).
Results should be verified by both the Head of Department who
makes a recommendation to the Dean of Faculty, who should
sign that form and submit it to the Academic Registrar’s Office.

v) The Academic Registrar should then compile a list of all

students who are recommended for exemption per Faculty per
year for the approval of Senate.

4. Effecting Exemptions
All students seeking exemption shall be admitted at year I. The exemption
process shall begin there after for year II, III. The exemptions shall be
up to a maximum of 12 course units for 3 year courses and 18 course
units for 4 year courses. Each exempted course should have been passed

10 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University

at 60% and above. Application form for exemption is obtained from
Academic Registra’s office.

At masters, a maximum of 6 course units can be exempted. Faculties to

work out exemptible courses and submit them to Academic Registrar’s
office. Exemptions do not apply to students undertaking studies leading
to the/an award of a qualification in Education.

5. Process of Admission (Credit Transfers)

Ndejje University shall admit students from other chartered institutions
on normal degree or diploma programs. Students applying for credit
transfers should meet the following requirements:
• Apply to registrar through the Faculty Dean
• Should have passed all subjects for which He/She is seeking transfer
of credits
• No credit transfer will be effected in the final year of study
• The student should be from a chartered institution of higher learning.
• The procedure to be followed will be based on NCHE guidelines.

6. Exemption Fees Structure

i) Students should pay a fee to be determined by Senate for each
exempted course unit of study. The current charges per course
unit is Ug. Shs 60,000/= for Ndejje University graduates and
Ug. Sh 100,000/= for students from other institutions. These fees
would be changed from time to time as determined by Senate.

ii) An application for exemption should be accompanied by a

non refundable fee of UG. Sh 50,000 payable for purposes of
processing and verifying papers, subject to adjustment as the
University may deem fit.

iii) Where an international test exam is required for example

GMAT, TOEFL, etc, it shall conform to the normal international
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 fees requirements for those examinations.

7. Nature of Curriculum (Core, Electives and Options)

i) The Curriculum must be that acredited by the NCHE

ii) The concerned faculties should check on the depth and breadth
of content in the curriculum.

iii) The Curriculum shall be designed by the respective Faculties

to cover the specified number of years for a given programme.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

Faculties and Departments shall work with the office of the Academic
Registrar to implement the guidelines required by the policy. Head of
Department shall follow-up the academic progress of the students who
are on exemptions and present their academic performance report to
their respective Faculty Board. Such reports should be presented to
Senate for noting and if necessary for further action.

9. Writing of Ndejje University Academic Transcript

The transcript should be a normal transcript. It should however include
a phrase: Exempted on the basis of…. It should also show courses that
have been exempted and their grades.
For the case of credit transfers, original documents will be obtained
from the institution where the student is transferring from and they will
all appear on the Ndejje University Transcript.

10. Policy Implementation

 Adopt the policy on exemption to senate regulations 2011

 Training Workshops required for all Ndejje University Office

Bearers (i.e. Academic Registrars, Faculty Deans, Heads of
Department and respective subject heads) in interpreting this

12 Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University

 Senate document.

 The Academic Registrar in liaison with Faculty Deans to

ensure adherence and implementation of Ndejje University
Policy on Exemption, which is in line with the NCHE rules
and regulations

 The professional bodies have standards set for each

professional level/stage, depending on the number of
subjects done. ICPA for instance has six levels and those
with degrees from NDU, are exempted up to level 3 only.
However, students should also be exempted up to level 2
or 3. The Faculties should be able to provide the necessary
information. Therefore, upon admissions, the relevant office
should refer to the faculties for such students.

Conclusion
This policy stipulates the broad aims and strategies that need to
be carefully implemented in order to manage issues regarding
admissions, teaching and graduating students, based on exemption
and credit transfers and it is aligned to Ndejje University strategic
framework. With the involvement of staff, Departments and
Faculties, the University is expected to meet the requirements of this
policy with success, without compromising the quality of education.

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 Academic Registrar
P.O.Box 7088 Kampala- UGANDA
Tel:256-392-730321/7527303221
E-mail: registrar@ndejjeun iversity.ac.ug

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Policy on Exemption and Credit Transfers - Ndejje University