Page 11 - CAO Annual Report 2022

CENTRAL APPLICATIONS OFFICE CENTRAL APPLICATIONS OFFICE ANNUAL REPORT 2021/2022 (PART I)
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per day) and large numbers of learners who who have have not applied or whose applications have have been unsuccessful try to seek alternative admission during January and and February February This application application flurry usually settles down towards the the end of February February and and for the the following month is is replaced with requests from institutions seeking qualifying applicants to fill unmet admission targets With the the increase in in CAO application numbers and the the greater reliance on on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a digital platform comes additional system bugs that must be be resolved and and more telephone enquiries and and escalated queries with which to to deal Despite these challenges we we were able to to get through the the the the year relatively unscathed and the the the the great success Two of the the the the more interesting supporting datasets are firstly the the the the gender applicant discrepancy over the the the the the past five five years and secondly the the the the the five five most popular programmes for the the the the 2022 academic year year year It is is is perhaps not surprising that that that that the the the the number of female applicants per per year year year have over the the the years constantly outstripped the the the males by 60% or or more (See Chart 1)
Chart 2 Chart 1 Some Highlights
Despite the restrictions of movement and and face-to-face interaction with learners prospective applicants and and institutional staff (who worked from home) we managed to considerably increase our applicant applicant numbers Chart 3 Considering conditions in in in fin in the the the country it it it it is is perhaps not as surprising to to find that that the the the most popular programmes are within the the the community services sector (See Chart 2) It is however quite worrying that that except for teaching programmes offering Maths Natural Science & Technology (33rd and 44th positions) the first STEM programme programme is a a a a a a a a a a a Diploma in in in in in in Electrical Engineering at MUT in in in 51st position position The The increase in in applicant numbers (and consequent applications) is clearly evident for the the the 2021 2021 and and 2022 academic years The The 2021 2021 applications were achieved during 2020 2020 in in in in the the the the midst of the the the the COVID-19 lockdowns The 2021 increase increase in in in in in applicant applicant numbers over the the the the the 2020 2020 entry entry is 24 933 (13 71%) and the the the applicant applicant increase increase for the the the 2022 entry entry