Institutional Factors and Doctoral Degree Completion in South-west, Nigeria Universities
Abstract:Enhancing the production of highly skilled professionals is a key objective in university education for fostering
economic and national development. Understanding students' progress in relation to doctoral degree completion
is crucial for institutions seeking improvement. In this study, various institutional factors such as Teaching and
Learning Methods, Skills Development, Assessment and Feedback Mechanisms, and Organization and Management
were evaluated to assess their impact on indicators like professional exposure, learning environment, and achieving
doctoral degrees in Nigerian universities.
The research employed a non-experimental correlation design, involving 126 respondents selected from three South
West universities using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data collection utilized the Institutional Factors and
Doctoral Degree Completion Questionnaire (IFDDCQ). Research questions were addressed through descriptive
statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation.
The findings indicated a significant and positive relationship between doctoral degree completion and factors such
as access to teaching and learning materials (r=0.412, p<0.01), skill development (r=0.395, p<0.01), assessment &
feedback mechanisms (r=0.328, p<0.01), and organizational & management influence (r=0.615, p<0.01).
Consequently, it's recommended that both the government and universities allocate resources to support timely
completion of doctoral programs and organize seminars to educate students on strategies for completing their
PhDs within reasonable timeframes.