www.kist.ac.rw

Directorate of Academic Affairs (Registrar)

Ms. KANEZA Florence, Registrar

The Office of the Academic Registrar/ Directorate of Academic Affairs

The office of the Academic Registrar also known as the Directorate of Academic Affairs was established in July 2003. The major responsibility of the Directorate is to assist the office of the Vice Rector in-charge of Academic Affairs to manage and coordinate routine academic activities related to students’ admission, registration, examinations and organizing graduation ceremonies.The Directorate is also the custodian of students’ academic records.

Structure of the Directorate and staffing strength

Headed by the Registrar and reporting directly to the Vice-Rector in-charge of Academic Affairs (VRA), the Directorate is composed of three main units: i) Admissions, Registration and Student Records, ii) Examinations, and iii) Logistics and Timetable. The Registrar is assisted by the Deputy Registrar and the Head Examination Unit in handling day to day activities of the Directorate. In total, the Directorate has twelve (12) staff.

Activities of the Registrar’s office/Directorate of Academic Affairs

Admissions and Registration:

The Registrar’s office oversees the process of admissions and registration of students in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs offered by the Institute. To ensure transparency and efficiency, the directorate follows laid down guidelines, procedures and regulations in relation to these activities. All admission matters are processed through the respective departments and approved by the admission board under the chairmanship of the Vice Rector in-charge of Academic Affairs.

Conduct of the Institute’s Examinations:

Examinations are conducted in three sessions i.e. end of semester one, end of semester two and the supplementary examinations session. Through the Examination Office, the Registrar’s office oversees the conduct of the Institute’s Examinations and all related preparations, including timetable preparation, room allocation, facilitating external moderation of examination papers, multiplying and distribution of examination papers, dispatching and receiving examination booklets from examiners.

Preparation of the Teaching Timetable:

In collaboration with Faculties, the Registrar’s office prepares the Institute’s Teaching timetable. The teaching timetable is normally released a few weeks before the beginning of each semester and covers 12 teaching weeks. The timetable is designed using a special software known as CELCAT which provides efficient management of classroom allocation to avoid clashes. For easy access by all users, the teaching timetable is normally posted on the Institute’s website.

Management of students’ records:

During the year 2009, KIST SENATE approved a centralized system of keeping students’ academic records, including examination results. In this case the Registrar’s office is the custodian of all students’ academic records. In addition, the office is also charged with issuance of students’ transcripts at the end of the program. This centralized system facilitates easy access and retrieving of students’ academic records.

Organizing the graduation ceremony:

Every academic year, the institute carries out a graduation ceremony for its graduates. A graduation ceremony is one of the Institute’s major ceremonies which attract a big audience including parents/guardians, top officials in the government and non government organizations. At this ceremony the institute celebrates its academic achievements in a particular year.Normally, the graduation ceremony takes place in the month of March. The office of the Registrar assists the Vice Rector in-charge of Academic Affairs to oversee the organization of the graduation ceremony.

Application, Admission and Registration Procedures

Students Earmarked for Government Sponsorship

Students qualifying for admission to all Rwandan Institutions of Higher Learning on government sponsorship are selected and their details are published by the Rwanda National Examinations Council (RNEC), immediately after the Senior Six examination results are released.Students attending secondary schools in Rwanda are given opportunity to select, in order of preference, an institution where they wish to continue their higher education. The RNEC makes the allocation of students to Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) based on the candidate’s preference and performance in the Senior Six examinations, as well as the minimum performance declared by the respective institutes for admission to their programs.

Students who have completed their secondary school education outside Rwanda and who wish to join KIST must first submit their certificates to RNEC, in order to have them vetted to ensure that they are of a standard consistent with the KIST admission requirements. Successful candidates will thereafter, be given a letter directing them to come and study at KIST.

Students Who Apply for Admission Directly to KIST

Prospective students wishing to secure admission to KIST on a full- or part-time basis on private sponsorship must apply directly to the Institute.The required KIST application forms are available from the Institute and on its website. Completed application forms, accompanied by certified copies of certificates and application fees as stipulated on the KIST application forms, must be returned to:

The Office of the Director Academic Affairs

Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)

B.P. 3900, Kigali, Rwanda

Tel: +250 574698

Fax: +250 571925/571924

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. OR This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.kist.ac.rw

ØApplications shall only be processed after the Institute has received the application forms and certified copies of certificates, accompanied by the prescribed application fees.

ØSince the academic year at KIST begins in January, the closing date for all applications is the 30^th of September of the year before which admission is being sought.All applications are subject to a selection process.Applicants will be notified as soon as possible after the aforementioned closing date, whether or not their applications for admission have been successful.

Admission into Undergraduate Programmes

General Admission Criteria

Subject to Faculty and Departmental requirements, the normal basic requirement for entrance to undergraduate degree programs shall be an advanced level secondary school certificate or its equivalent (12 years of primary and secondary education).The minimum cut-off points for government sponsored students are declared annually for each subject combination, by the Rwanda National Examination Council (RNEC).

Students wishing to join KIST by applying directly to the Institute must possess an advanced level secondary school certificate or its equivalent (12 years of primary and secondary education). To be admissible, the candidate must have at least two relevant principal passes with a minimum score of grade “C” in each of the two subjects, at the ‘A’ level, unless otherwise stipulated by the KIST Board of Directors.

Students who wish to join KIST from outside Rwanda must apply through RNEC and must meet the KIST minimum qualification requirements.

Finally, it should be noted that the GCE-O level and Cambridge IGCSE alone do not qualify one for admission. They are only used to complement A-level or Cambridge HIGCSE qualifications.For admission, two relevant principal passes at A-level are the minimum requirements.

Faculty and Departmental Requirements

Prospective students must acquaint themselves with the faculty admission requirements as stipulated by the respective faculty Program Specifications and the Prospectus.For admission into respective programs the required subjects read and passed at Senior Six Secondary School level (Humanities) are as follows:

Other Admission Criteria

ØOther school leaving qualifications may be accepted on their own merit as alternatives, and shall be evaluated against existing admission criteria.

ØAdmission to the Institute is based solely on merit and is dependent upon the number of places available within each department. Therefore, attainment of the minimum score does not necessarily guarantee admission.KIST reserves the right to interview candidates before admission.

ØAdmission of students applying directly to the Institute are subject to availability of places and can only be considered if the Institute receives satisfactory evidence that the candidate has sufficient funds for the full duration of the course for which he/she intends to register. Please note that the Institute is not yet able to assist any of its students financially nor is it in a position to consider applications for financial assistance from candidates who are seeking admission at the Institute.

ØStudents who have been discontinued from other higher institutions because of cheating in examinations or any other act of dishonesty shall not be considered for admission.

ØStudents with criminal records or who have previously been implicated with offenses of a criminal nature shall not be considered for admission.

ØNo student will be discriminated for admission to the Institute on any basis, be it gender, race, ethnicity, or HIV/AIDS status.

ØStudents discontinued from studies previously shall not be considered for re-admission.

Midway Admissions and Transfers

ØStudents seeking transfer from other institution must present an attestation from their institution before being considered for admission.

ØApplications from students seeking transfers from other institutions of higher learning shall first be assessed by the Faculty, and admission shall be on the recommendation of the Faculty. Exemptions for particular subjects may only be considered where the certified course outlines and the assessments for the equivalent courses have been presented.

ØWhere necessary, students aspiring to obtain midway admission may be required to write and pass all examination papers of the year for which they are seeking exemption.

ØTo qualify for the award of a KIST degree, a candidate must, as a minimum requirement, attend and pass the last SIX semesters of the program for which the award of a degree is being sought for.