Mode of 2018 Admissions Exercise
i. The 2018 Admissions Exercise should be conducted on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS);
ii. The Principal Participants on Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) are:
i. The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB);
ii. Heads of Tertiary Institutions;
iii. Director of Admissions (JAMB);
iv. Admissions Officers of Tertiary Institutions;
v. JAMB Desk Officers; and
vi. Candidates.
iii. 1st Choice Admissions Exercise should be conducted from 2nd July to 16th October, 2018;
iv. 2nd Choice Admissions Exercise should be conducted from 17th October to 17th December, 2018.

F. Documents for the 2018 Admissions Exercise
1. The following documents should be used for the conduct of the 2018 Admissions Exercise:
i. the 2018 UTME/DE results;
ii. 2018 Admissions Quota as prescribed by the Regulatory Agencies namely: NUC/NBTE/NCCE;
iii. the 2018 UTME Brochure;
iv. the Guidelines on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions as prescribed by the institutions' Proprietors (Federal, State and Private); and
v. Policy decisions on 2018 Admissions Exercise.

2. Upgrade to DE from UTME
i. A candidate who obtains A/L qualifications after the close of sale of application can seek upgrade from UTME to DE.
ii. He/She logs into his/her profile, chooses upgrade and completes the process free of charge.
The platform allows him/her to change programme or/and institution at no cost.
iii. Once it is done, 'U' is automatically added to his/her original registration number and his/her uploaded result is automatically made available to the institution through CAPS.
iv. The Upgrade can be done before or after Post - UTME but the candidate must notify the institution in order to update their download list from CAPS.
Procedure for the Admissions Exercise

1. Recommendations and Approval
Institutions should recommend candidates for admissions after having presented to the Board the following information through CAPS:
i. the approved general quota for each institution and the distribution to the various programmes;
ii. Minimum UTME score for each programme;
iii. Minimum DE qualification grades for Direct Entry Candidates;
iv. Components of Cut-off marks and the allotted score for each component; and
v. Other admissions criteria (if any).

2. Step by Step in the Admission Process
For a candidate to be registered in an institution from 2018 Admissions Exercise, the candidate must have:
i. been recommended by the institution;
ii. been approved and admitted by JAMB;
iii. accepted the offer online on JAMB’s website at no cost;
iv. printed both Result Slip and Admission Letter directly from JAMB’s website;
v. presented the two (2) documents in (iv) above to the Institution; and
vi. been screened and presented acceptable credentials including those in (iv) above.

3. Documents
To register admitted candidates, institutions should receive from each candidate and file the following:
i. JAMB original Result Slip;
ii. JAMB original online Admission Letter; and
iii. Copies of candidates’ credentials.
4. Verification
Each institution is to:
i. verify the characteristics (given by JAMB) e.g. Registration number is water marked across each of the two (2) documents;
ii. download the Mobile App (JAMBMOBILE) on Android phone or similar devices and use it to verify the security features on the documents such as
Name, Registration Number, Institution/Programme. The JAMBMOBILE App should be downloaded from Google Store;
iii. check the candidates status on CAPS; and
iv. at the point of registration, download list of candidates offered provisional admissions from CAPS and it should be indicated against each candidate, whether the Result Slip and Admission Letter have been printed or not. (CAPS USER GUIDE 2018 is attached as Appendix I.)

5. Frequent Downloads and Portal-Closure
i. Since candidates continue to change courses and institutions until the close of portal of the institution, it is mandatory for institutions to daily update their downloads to be current so as not to recommend a candidate that has changed to another institution or lose a new qualified candidate.
ii. Each institution is to notify JAMB when it is closing its portal and will no longer accept new candidates. However, candidates can still change from such institution.

H. Minimum UTME Score for the 2018 UTME Admissions Exercise
1. The Admissions Exercise should be guided by the approved Institutional/Programmes Cut-off Marks and minimum UTME scores as submitted by the Institutions;
2. The minimum UTME score for admission should be as prescribed by each Institution subject to the respective National Minimum UTME Score;
3. Cut-off Mark for admission should be determined by the following:
i. Minimum UTME score/DE Grades;
ii. PUTME scores (if applicable);
iii. Weighting of Senior School Certificate (SSCE) Grades (if applicable);
iv. Interview/practical scores (if applicable); and
v. The percentage (%) allotted to UTME score should range from 50% to 100%.

4. No institution can consider for admission any candidate whose score in UTME is below the Institution’s specified minimum UTME score.

5. No institution is allowed to consider any candidate whose UTME Score is below (whichever is higher) of its own specified minimum UTME score or for:
Degree Awarding - 140 
National Diploma (ND) - 120 
National Innovation Diploma (NID) - 100 
Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) - 100

6. Institutions are to adhere to Institutional/Programme cut-off marks and comply with entry requirements as documented in the Board’s Brochure.

I. Implementation of Science/Art Ratio
i. All Institutions are to adhere to the Federal Government’s directive on ratio of Admissions into the different disciplines as indicated below:
60:40 Science/Art for conventional Universities/Colleges of Education 
80:20 Science/Art for Specialised Universities
70:30 Technology/Non-Technology for Polytechnics and Monotechnics

J. Review and Update of 2019 Brochure
i. The Board has streamlined and automated the review of Brochure and Syllabus with the introduction of the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS);
ii. Update of Brochure is online and automated;
iii. Request for changes to the Brochure is subject to being within the approved guidelines of the respective Regulatory Agencies; and
iv. The request must be made for 2019 Brochure on or before 30th August, 2018 (due to delay in Implementation).
A Webinar (online conference) is scheduled for Friday 3rd August, 2018 at 10.00am, Nigerian time. It will last till 11.30am for both the initiator (Director Planning or anyone designated by the Institution) and the reviewer (Head of Institution). It is advisable that both should actively participate. An Advisory on the process is hereby attached as Appendix II. The advisory includes the process of participation.

K. Deadline for 2018 Admissions Exercise
i. The 2018 Admissions Exercise to Public Universities for First Degree ends on 17th December, 2018;
ii. The closing date for Admissions to Colleges of Education, Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Innovation Enterprise Institutions for NCE, ND and NID respectively is 31st January, 2019;
iii. The closing date for Admissions to Private Institutions is 28th February, 2019.

L. Consequences of Violation of Admissions Schedules
i. Every institution must adhere to Admissions Schedules as agreed at the Policy Meeting; and
ii. Any institution that violates the Admissions Schedules and Timelines will have candidates that have expressed preference for it pulled out of The Institutions Profile on CAPS and be made available to other willing institutions in the market place.

M. Problems of Deletion and non Acceptance of Admission on CAPS
A number of candidates complained of inability to print admission letters of previous session. It must be noted that any admission not accepted on CAPS before closure of admission for the year is an incomplete exercise which cannot be resuscitated. Institutions are reminded of the process and procedure for deletion and rejection which is again attached as Appendix III.

N. Exemption of Certain Category of Candidates from Post-UTME Test
i. Candidates who sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Foreign countries, Prisons, Blind and Deaf Candidates should be exempted from Post-UTME Test. The list of the respective candidates in this category would be made available to the various Tertiary Institutions for guidance and necessary action.
ii. This should be treated by the Board and Institutions under affirmative and inclusive actions for the accommodation of this category of candidates. The Board and the Tertiary Institutions are to ensure that this category of candidates who meet minimum requirements are admitted and their progress monitored in the various institutions for the purpose of confirmation of the effectiveness of the policy.
iii. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has put in place a mechanism that would prevent any candidate from taking undue advantage of this exemption. For instance, only candidates who are either foreigners or Nigerians who are confirmed residents in foreign countries and are products of foreign school system can enjoy this privilege in the interest of internationalisation of the Nation’s Tertiary Institutions.
A Nigerian with less than six (6) month-stay in a foreign country is disallowed from taking the UTME in any foreign country.
All institutions are required to comply with the above decisions.
Thank you.

Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, OFR, FNAL Registrar July, 2018