Many higher education institutions in South Africa, mainly Kwazulu-Natal, use CAO for their applications. This includes the universities in the province, the Universities of Technology and many private colleges in KZN.
CAO is the Central Applications Office. They are a centralised applications service offering access to the fullest range of study opportunities in Higher and Further Education in Southern Africa.
Because you can submit your CAO online application on CAO, you can also check your CAO application status on CAO.
Here's how:
How to Track CAO Your 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 Central Applications Office (CAO) is a registered NON-PROFIT COMPANY (Reg.No.2007/002819/08) that is the only organisation authorised 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 most private colleges in KwaZulu-Natal.
Our participating institutions offer over 1 500 programmes, and with just ONE APPLICATION, you can apply for up to six programmes at any of our member or partner institutions.
You do not have to complete a separate application for each institution. You do not have to pay a separate administration fee to each institution.
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
