Makerere moves transcripts and certificates online

• Makerere graduates will access transcripts and certificates through a secure online portal.

• Employers will verify academic documents with permission from graduates.

• The university is expanding online learning and competency-based education.

• Makerere will restore its traditional academic calendar from August 1.

Makerere University will allow students and graduates to access electronic transcripts and certificates online as part of a major digital reform.

The new system will reduce delays linked to paper applications and physical visits to university offices.

Academic Registrar Professor Mukadasi Buyinza said the platform will improve efficiency and make academic documents easier to obtain.

“We have one amazing academic process that I can tell you about. All the work from my commission has been geared towards improving efficiency, but the last mile has been the e-process,” Buyinza said.

Graduates will use a secure digital portal to access their transcripts and certificates. The university will announce the access procedures later.

“This means that a student or graduate of Makerere University no longer has to physically move from one office desk to another to obtain academic documents,” Buyinza said.

He said the system would also help employers and institutions confirm whether academic documents are genuine.

Graduates will grant employers permission to verify their records through the platform.

“Employers, once given the access rights by the graduates, will be able to verify that this is a genuine credential and that it was issued by Makerere University,” he said.

Makerere expects the platform to address delays, cut travel costs and improve the verification of qualifications.

The university is also expanding online and blended learning. Buyinza said students should be able to study from any location and still earn Makerere qualifications.

“You should be able to run a programme and study from wherever you are, and still obtain one of the qualifications of Makerere University,” he said.

Makerere is also reviewing its courses to match the government’s competency-based education programme.

The university wants to place more focus on practical training, continuous assessment and workplace skills.

Buyinza said some programmes in health sciences and clinical legal education already use this approach.

“We are mainly retooling our staff to give a lot more attention to continuous learning exercises, practical assessments and different training models beyond the traditional lecture-based approach,” he said.

Vice Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe also announced the return of Makerere’s traditional academic calendar in the next academic year.

The university will begin the academic year on August 1 with orientation for first-year students. Continuing students will report later in August.

The first semester will end on December 5. Students will then take a month-long break before graduation week in January.

Nawangwe said the calendar would improve planning and university operations.

New students can also download provisional admission letters through Makerere’s online application platforms.