Private colleges on CAO are private higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal whose programmes you can apply for through the Central Applications Office, right alongside programmes at the public universities UKZN, DUT, MUT and UNIZULU. This page explains what that means day to day, which private institutions have been reported as CAO partners, how to fit a private college programme among your six CAO choices — and, just as importantly, what to check before you commit, because private study is different from public university study when it comes to funding, fees and accreditation checks.
What a Private College on CAO Means
When a private college takes part in CAO, you can list its programmes on the very same single CAO application you use for public universities, covered by the same single administration fee, inside your total of up to six programme choices. CAO receives and processes the application and passes it on to the college, and the college makes the selection decision — exactly as a public university does for its own programmes. CAO does not decide admission, and a private college place offered through CAO is still a private college place, with that institution’s own tuition fees, academic calendar and registration process.
That last point is the one applicants most often overlook. Sharing an application system does not make the institutions on that system the same. A programme at a private college and a programme at a public university may both sit on your CAO list, yet their costs, funding options and qualification structures can differ sharply. Give a private college choice the same care you would give a university choice, and check the institution-specific details before you list it, not after an offer arrives.
Which Private Colleges Use CAO?
This page does not claim a complete list of private CAO partners, because the list changes between entry years and was not confirmed in full on an official CAO page at the time of writing. What can responsibly be said is that third-party guides and older CAO handbook material consistently report a group of private institutions as CAO partners, including Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology, STADIO (formerly Embury), Berea Technical College, Berea College of Technology, Central Technical College, CTU Training Solutions, ICESA Education, iStudent, MANCOSA, Regent Business School, Eduvos and the Business School at Varsity College, among others. Older handbook material also listed names such as AAA School of Advertising, PAX College and the Management and Leadership Academy.
Treat that reported group as a starting point for checking, not as a confirmed current list. A private institution that partnered with CAO in a previous cycle may not offer the same programmes through CAO in your entry year, and a new partner may have joined since. The only reliable check is the current one: look up the institution and programme in the CAO Handbook for your entry year, or use the Available Programmes tool on cao.ac.za, and confirm that the exact programme code you intend to list is offered through CAO. If you cannot find it there, do not list it on a CAO application in the hope that it will be forwarded anyway.
Names need care too. Some private institutions have similar names, and some have changed names or merged over time — STADIO and Embury are an example of a name you may meet in both forms. Always match the institution by its current registered name and by the programme code in the handbook, not by a familiar brand name remembered from an advertisement.
How to Include a Private College in Your CAO Application
Adding a private college programme follows the same steps as any CAO application:
- Confirm the programme is offered through CAO for your entry year. Look for it in the current CAO Handbook or the Available Programmes tool on cao.ac.za, and write down its code, closing date and requirements.
- Decide where it sits in your order of preference. Your six choices are ranked in your true order of preference. If a private college programme is genuinely your first choice, put it first. If it is a backup to a public university programme, place it lower down. Never put a programme above another one that you actually want more.
- Complete the single CAO application. Fill in your personal details, list your programmes by code, upload your supporting documents and signed Power of Attorney form as set out on cao.ac.za, pay the single administration fee and submit.
- Keep your CAO number and acknowledgement letter safe. You will track your private college application status with the same “Check My Application” tool, using your CAO number, ID number or passport number — and no password is needed in that flow.
After submission, the private college assesses your application against its own requirements and selection process. The status terms you see — “Waiting for a Decision”, “Conditional Offer”, “Firm Offer”, “Short-listed / Standby / Wait-listed” or “Regret Unsuccessful” — are the same official CAO terms used for public university applications, so read them the same way, and respond to any offer within the time given.
Funding: The Biggest Difference to Understand
Funding is the biggest difference between private and public study through CAO, and it is also where applicants make the costliest mistakes. NSFAS funding goes to eligible students at public universities and public TVET colleges. It never pays for study at a private college. So if you list a private college programme among your CAO choices while counting on NSFAS to pay for it, that plan will not work, no matter how strong your application is.
That does not mean private study is out of reach for everyone, but it does mean the funding question has to be answered before you accept an offer, not after registration. Private colleges typically charge their own tuition fees, set by the institution and separate from the CAO administration fee. Ask the college directly, before you list it if you can and certainly before you accept an offer: what is the full tuition fee for the programme, what payment plans are available, what institutional bursaries or merit awards exist, and what happens if you cannot pay an instalment on time? Get the answers in writing from the college, and compare the total cost honestly against a public university or TVET option in your six choices.
CAO on its own does not decide any funding. A CAO application is an application for admission only — not an application for NSFAS or for any other bursary. Funding applications run separately, through each funder's own system, with its own rules and deadlines.
Accreditation and Registration Checks
A college being private does not on its own mean it is unaccredited. It does mean you have to check accreditation yourself. Before you list a private college programme, confirm each of the following through official sources:
- The institution is registered. Private higher education institutions in South Africa must be registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Look up the DHET register of private higher education institutions to confirm the institution's current registration.
- The programme is registered and accredited. Even a registered institution can offer a programme that is not accredited, or one whose accreditation has changed. Confirm that specific programme's status through the institution and, where relevant, the Council on Higher Education and SAQA records.
- The qualification is what it claims to be. Check the qualification type, NQF level and duration in the handbook entry and with the institution. A programme name that sounds like a degree does not prove that it is one — the registered qualification details are what count.
These checks take time, which is another reason to start early. An offer from an institution whose programme you have not verified is not a safe offer to accept blindly, and finding an accreditation problem after registration is far harder to fix than finding it before you apply.
