Makerere University has dedicated two weeks to handle issues of uncollected academic transcripts and certificates, going as far back to the 1950s.
From October 8-21, 2022, 9 am to 4 pm, including Saturdays, the department of the academic registrar, all the 10 colleges of the university, its affiliate Makerere University Business School (Mubs) and the directorate of research and graduate studies will serve any alumnus with issues related to transcripts and certificates. All services have been brought under one tent at the Freedom Square.
Academic registrar Prof Buyinza Mukadasi said though every student is a unique case with a personal file and particular curriculum, some students get admitted but do not register themselves; so, they lack a file tracing their journey at the university.
TESTIMONIALS
Some students prefer just to pick a testimonial indicating that they were once at Makerere and never bother to come back for their transcript or certificate. According to Mukadasi, normally, such students still have uncleared obligations with the university, such as pending fees or lost books, among others.
"I should warn any employer not to rely on a testimonial because it is a partial academic document; even a transcript is partial. It is a certificate that shows one completed all obligations with the institution," Mukadasi explained.
Tom Otim, the deputy registrar, examinations, transcripts and certificates, said there are more uncollected certificates than transcripts because some employees get satisfied with the presentation of just a transcript. The certificates are as many as 100,000 while the transcripts are about 2,000 only.
"We are running out of room to keep these certificates. Sadly, some owners died before collecting them. However, if someone shows us proof that he or she is the administrator of the estate of the deceased, we will give them the uncollected academic documents," Otim said.
Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe said the above figures do not portray a crisis situation for the university, given that the university has more than 400,000 alumni. He explained that the exercise had been embarked on as part of the activities of marking Makerere's 100 years of existence and further safeguarding the integrity and image of the university.
NEW ACADEMIC MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
Nawangwe explained that in the past, Makerere had reached a level of efficiency whereby transcripts would be given on or before graduation day. However, a problem came up in the last two years when a new academic management information system (ACMIS) was set up for all public universities. The information on Makerere's system had to be uploaded to the new general system. This came with some technical challenges, especially as the new system had to be implemented while being improved simultaneously.
Otim said the new information system captures the student's curriculum and biodata and any slight mistake in any of them makes the system reject the student. Makerere University Endowment Fund is also at the public fair venue to record alumni for inclusion on their MakAdvance system record of alumni in case they are not captured there yet.
Nawangwe said the tediousness of clearing with the university, which previously required visiting 10 places such as University hospital and the university police station, has been curtailed. One has to visit only two places for clearance: the library and the finance department.
ONLINE CLEARANCE
He pledged to make online clearance possible in the very near future. He also said certification and verification of academic documents at Makerere can now be handled within a day.
Alumni are expected to come with their proper identification (national ID, work ID, driving licence or university ID), biodata form (containing O and A-level certificates, diploma, mature age certificate, and admission information), and those who have not yet cleared come with their original clearance form. Mukadasi urged anyone with any academic issue to utilise this public fair and get satisfaction.
"Today is a special occasion in the history of this university. This is the first-ever public fair. We have assembled an interdepartmental task force; we have all the 10 college registrars here, Mubs academic registrar and the directorate for ICT Support all under this one roof. We are the custodians of all academic records. We remain committed to our ideals; let whoever has any outstanding issue, come and have it handled. Some people were not aware that their documents were printed; others had other issues; we have resolved to do away with this matter once and forever. Moreover, we are also in the midst of preparing records for the next graduation in February."
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