On April 2, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) released a guide to help students improve their chances of securing preferred courses. However, many students and users have reported experiencing difficulties navigating the KUCCPS portal.
On Saturday, KUCCPS released a statement breaking down some of the basic terms used in the application process to help simplify the experience.
Cluster Subject
According to KUCCPS, a candidate must meet specific subject requirements—known as cluster subjects—to qualify for a particular degree programme.
A subject cluster refers to a set of four KCSE subjects that a student must have taken to be considered for admission into a given course.
For instance, the cluster subjects for health science programmes include Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics, and English or Kiswahili.
Programme Cluster
A programme cluster is an assignment given to all degree programmes that require the same set of four subjects. For example, the health sciences can be classified into a program cluster.
A list of degree programme clusters is available on the KUCCPS Student's Portal, students.kuccps.net, under Downloads.
Cluster Weight
This is the ranking of a student's performance in a specific subject cluster against all other candidates in the given year of KCSE. It is based on cluster subject requirements and the overall performance of a candidate.
Cut-off points
A cut-off point is the cluster weight of the last applicant who was placed in the programme by merit. Cut-off points are determined by the performance of the applicants for a degree course and the number of students a university can admit for the course.
According to KUCCPS, during processing, the applicants are arranged in descending order (highest to lowest cluster weight). The applicants take up the slots in that order until the last student is placed. The cluster weight of the last student placed becomes the cut-off point for the programme. The process is automated, and KUCCPS cannot predetermine cut-off points.
The C+ mean grade requirement has been the standard cut-off point to join public universities for quite a period.
This was after the Ministry of Education dropped it from the previous grade of B- of 58 points for females and B of 60 points for males.
To qualify for various academic and training programs through KUCCPS, students must meet specific minimum KCSE grade requirements. For degree programmes, a minimum grade of C+ is required. For Level 4 (Artisan Certificate) courses, a minimum grade of E is needed, while Level 5 (Craft Certificate) courses require a minimum of D.
To pursue a Level 6 (Diploma), students need at least a C–. For teacher training, a C is the minimum requirement for a Diploma in Primary Teacher Education, while a C+ is required for a Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education.
