In South Africa, a large number of universities, particularly in Kwazulu-Natal, employ CAO for their applications. This comprises numerous private institutions in KZN as well as the province's universities and universities of technology.
The Central Applications Office is known as CAO. They are a centralized application service that gives users access to Southern Africa's widest selection of higher education and career options.
You can check the status of your CAO application on CAO, as you can submit your application online.
How to do it is as follows:
How to Track Your CAO Application Status
- Go to the CAO Website
- Click on My Application
- Fill in details and follow the prompts
- You should be able to view your status then
- If you still need help you can phone the CAO on 031 268 4444 or 0860 226 and use their automated service.
- You can also make use of the CAO's Facebook channel at https://facebook.com/centralapplicationsoffice
About The CAO
The only organization authorized to recruit and process applications for admissions to the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), University of Zululand (UNIZULU), and the majority of private colleges in KwaZulu-Natal is the Central Applications Office (CAO), a registered non-profit company (Reg.No.2007/002819/08).
Over 1,500 programs are offered by our participating universities, and you can apply to up to six programs at any of our member or partner institutions with just ONE APPLICATION.
It is not necessary for you to fill out an application specifically for every school. It is not necessary for you to give each institution a separate administration fee.
You only have to pay ONE ADMINISTRATION FEE and your application will be processed and made available to any six institutions to which you applied. When you want to update or change your application to any of the institutions in this Handbook, there is one office to contact. Discussion and planning for the CAO was initiated in 1993 by the post- school institutions in KwaZulu-Natal.
They were: University of Natal (Durban); University of Natal (Pmb); Mangosuthu Technikon; ML Sultan Technikon; Natal Technikon; University of Durban-Westville; University of South Africa (UNISA); and University of Zululand.
After a number of years of planning, the CAO officially started processing applications in June 1998 for admission in 1999 with a loan of R5m from First National Bank with surety provided by the initiating institutions. The first full-scale operation was launched in 1999 for the 2000 student intake.
The primary goals of the CAO were stated as follows, and are still maintained today:
Student-oriented goals
• To increase the accessibility of tertiary institutions to prospective students
• To reduce the cost of applications by prospective students
Institution-oriented goals
• To effect cost savings to the participating institutions
• To effect increased efficiency for institutions in their student selection process
Related Articles
- How To Submit Your CAO Online Application
- Which College and Universities Use CAO For Applications
- How To Pay Your CAO Application Fee
- How To Submit Documents For Your CAO Application
- How To Submit Your CAO Application Using the CAO App
