How To Apply for Transfer from One University to Another

November 1, 2021 Sponsored

Public university students can now easily apply for transfer from one university to another online. This is possible even without directly reaching out to the administrations of the institutions involved.

There is an established online portal called Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) which is concerned with this and other public higher learning institutions issues. This article will take you through a step-by-step guide on how to apply for transfer from one university to another through the KUCCPS platform.

With a valid reason and a processing fee of KSH.1,000, you could be on your way out of your current university to your desired institution in about 14 days. This period is fast and convenient enough. It enables you as a student making such an application to make other decisions if your application is not successful. You will also have a chance to get prepared on time for the transfer if your application goes through.

What is KUCCPS?

KUCCPS is a government agency established under the Universities Act of 2012. Its main function is to coordinate the selection of secondary school graduates for enrollment to government-sponsored programmes in universities and colleges.

Apart from handling transfer requests between universities and colleges from students, its other functions include:

Development of career programmes for the purpose of student guidance.
Collection and retainment of data relating to the placement of students to universities and colleges.
Advising the government on issues relating to the placement of students to universities and colleges in line with the data collected.

KUCCPS currently works with 70 Universities and 191 Colleges offering government-sponsored programmes. They include 546 Degree, 218 Diploma, 114 Certificate, and 145 Artisan programmes.

Possible Reasons Why Students Might Want to Apply for Transfer from One University to Another

Reasons for seeking transfer between universities may differ from one student to another. Below are some of the possible reasons:

Health-related reasons
Financial difficulties
School location
Person with disability
Personal security
Change of course

Step by Step Guide on How To Apply for Transfer from One University to Another

Step 1: Visit the KUCCPS students’ portal (https://students.kuccps.net) and log in to your student’s account. Use your KCSE index number as your user name and birth certificate number as your password.

Step 2: Click on the tab labelled “Transfers” located at the top of the page.

Step 3: Choose the programme you want to transfer to. You do this by entering the programme code into the transfer field. As you do this, make sure that you meet the cut-off and minimum requirements for the programme you want to transfer to. Otherwise, you cannot proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Select a reason for transfer from the drop-down list labelled “Select reason for transfer”. On the list, you will see these options:

Medical reasons
Person with disability
Financial reasons
Not my preferred programme
Other

Step5: Once you have selected your reason for transfer, the next step is to provide a detailed explanation. You do this by typing not less than 300 characters in a text box labelled “Explain your reason for transfer”.

Step 6: Attach supporting documents to prove the transfer reasons you’ve stated. If you are a continuing student, you must attach your academic transcripts.

Step 7: The next step is the payment of the KSH.1,000 processing fee. This is done via Mpesa. Go to your phone’s Mpesa menu and select “Lipa Na Mpesa” and then “Paybill”. Enter the business number “820201”. Enter your KCSE year and KCSE index number (without spaces) as your account number. Wait for the Mpesa payment confirmation message.

Step 8: After receiving a confirmation message from Mpesa, Enter your Mpesa transaction code that you received in the text field labelled “Mpesa code” for payment approval and click “Submit”.

Step 9: You will have to wait for your transfer request’s endorsement by the receiving institution i.e the institution you want to join.

One of the factors that the receiving institution will have to look at is whether they still have vacancies to receive new students in the programme that you applied for. They will then either endorse or reject your transfer request.

Step 10: The releasing institution i.e the university that you want to leave will also have to endorse your transfer request after the endorsement of the receiving institution.

Step 11: KUCCPS will be notified by both the receiving and the releasing institutions on the transfer request they have received and approved. It will then review the application for approval on their part.

Step 12: After your inter-university transfer request has been approved by KUCCPS, go to their website (www.kuccps.net) once again to download and print the transfer letter. This is the document that you will present to the receiving institution when you report for admission.

Important Points to Note

For the transfer to be successful, both the receiving and releasing institutions must endorse the transfer application.
You must meet all the requirements for the programme you want to transfer to. They include the cut-off points for the programme you want to join and also give a reason for transfer application.
You are allowed to transfer from one university to another only once during your time at the university.
The inter-university transfer application system is only open for a period that is announced by KUCCPS. Keep checking their website for updates.
It will take about 14 days from the submission of the transfer request for the inter-university transfer to be completed.