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Title: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE COMPLETION
RATES OF DOCTORAL STUDIES IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA
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Authors: Dr. Joyce M.A. Lugulu ,Kenya |
Abstract: This study addresses students’ perception of factors that influence completion rates of doctoral
studies in public universities in Kenya. The study adopted qualitative research with a retrospective
design. The target population, selected through purposive sampling was thirty (30) respondents,
composed of 60% males and 40% females. 19(63.3%) of the respondents were on duty full-time,
and the rest on study leave. Instruments for data collection included questionnaire, Focused Group
Discussion (FGD) for students, document analysis and interviews for Deans of schools. The
objective of the study was to examine students’ perception on completion rates of doctoral studies
in public universities. The findings indicated that causes of delay included students not only on
full time duty with minimum time for studies, unaddressed social and academic challenges but
also financial constraints, unsupervised supervisors with many duties but take responsibilities in
other institutions, inadequate provision of quality resources and poor working environment by
public institutions. It was concluded that public universities need to implement effective
mechanisms to, monitor and evaluate supervision process of doctoral studies, train and re-train
supervisors to adopt best practises in their duties, and establish counselling units at school level to
meaningfully deal with students’ various issues. It was recommended that for public universities
to retain their role in national development through production of high skilled labour, adequate
quality services have to be provided, strengthen monitoring and evaluation of doctoral supervision,
and encourage students to get study leave for quality study time.
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