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The gender equity issues regarding access, curriculum transformation and staff development within the faculties of technology and agriculture at the University of Ibadan is described. It is seen that while gender is not explicitly on the University's agenda, women's access to Faculty of Technology is hampered by poor preparation at lower levels of education, male dominance of time and space and societal expectations of work from women.

The assessment of the trends of the academic usage of information technology facilities, by the students of Nigerian universities, is presented.

The comparative study of the technical skills of the staff of university libraries, in the former colonies of Britain and France in West Africa, is presented.

Use of the global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology provided at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and factors that can improve its usage are discussed.

Byline: Agatha U. Onwunli (1), Augustine O. Agho (2) Keywords: consultation; faculty opinion; faculty satisfaction; governance; higher education system in Nigeria; shared authority Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to (1) describethe characteristics and governancestructure of higher education at the FederalUniversities in Nigeria, and (2) examine (a)how academic decisions are made, (b) thelevel of academic staff participation inuniversity governance, and (c) the extent towhich academic staff is consulted on keypersonnel issues. The results of theinvestigation revealed that (a) academic staffmembers believed they are consulted onacademic matters through their representativesin the faculty senate, (b) their participationin decisions related to non-academic matters isvery limited, (c) academic decisions related toadmissions criteria and accreditation standardsare made by external bodies, (d) administratorsmake administrative decisions with very limitedinput from academic staff (e) compared to lowerranked academic staff members, higher rankedacademic staff members perceived the governanceprocess to be very effective, and (f) academicstaff members are dissatisfied with the generalworking conditions and the governance process. Overall, the results of this study stronglysuggest the need for improvement in theconsultation process, and more involvement ofthe academic staff in other governance issuesespecially the selection and appointment ofadministrators, including Vice-Chancellors. Author Affiliation: (1) Assistant University Registrar, Florida A&amp M University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32307 (2) School of Health Professions and Studies, The University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, Michigan, 48047 Article History: Registration Date: 19/11/2004

This paper focused on three dominant psychological theories--Cognitive Dissonance, Relative Deprivation and Campus Ecology that have been evolved to explain student unrest, to determine their ability to account for the [...]

Byline: Tight Malcolm (1) Keywords: academic units; disciplines; diversity; fields of study; knowledge forms; university organisation Abstract: How is academic knowledge organized? Does thisvary from country to country, and, if so, how?This paper explores these questions through anexamination of some of the data included in theCommonwealth Universities Yearbook 2001.In particular, an analysis is presented of thedifferent names given to basic academic units(departments, schools and/or faculties) inAustralia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.Evidence is provided regarding forms ofinstitutional organization, and of the varyingstrength of different disciplines or fields ofstudy. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Continuing Education, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL Article History: Registration Date: 11/10/2004

This article examines the role of academic unionism in the perennial crisis bedeviling the university system in Nigeria. It is the contention here that contrary to officially sponsored opinion, the crisis can be linked to external factors, especially the government's handling of industrial disputes. The crisis in the system, which started in the early 1990s, can be seen as the direct off-shoot of the macroeconomic adjustment programs foisted on the country and the subsequent decrease in government funding of the education sector. Nevertheless, the repressive practices of past military regimes have contributed immensely to the crisis, as have the frequent strikes of the the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU). The articles suggests that the crisis can be tackled only with an amelioration of the fundamental problems confronting the system--ranging from underfunding and poor working conditions to excessive government meddling in university governance--and a rethinking of strategies by both the government and ASUU.

Byline: Kola Adeyemi (1) Keywords: access; admission; chatchment; equality; quality; wastage Abstract: The objectives of the study were to criticallyexamine the desirability of the catchment areapolicy in the admission process in Nigeria andto analyse the implementation and implicationsof catchment factor as one of the criteria usedin the admission process into NigerianUniversities. Three federal universities were purposefullysampled for the study. Data were obtained fromthe universities' admission officers,examination and record officers, faculty anddepartmental examination officers. Data werealso collected from the Joint Admissions andMatriculation Board, the National UniversitiesCommission and the Federal Ministry ofEducation. Data were collected through a preparedchecklist. Two research questions were raisedand two hypotheses formulated. The obtaineddata were analysed by using simple percentageespecially for the trend and comparativeanalysis. The t-test statistic and anova wereused to test the hypotheses, while simplepercentage and ratios were used to compute thewastage rate difference. The major findings include: that admissionratio into the universities among states wasnot proportional to the size of enrolment atthe terminal grade of the secondary schoollevel in these states which justify affirmative policies such as the one in focusto redress the imbalance that the universitieshave been implementing faithfully the policyaccording to the laid-down guidelines that themajor groups in the catchment area of eachuniversity predominate admission, except wherea major group is absent and that there was asignificant difference in the quality ofperformance of students admitted on merit andthose admitted through catchment area policywhile a no significant difference was found inthe academic performance among studentsadmitted through catchment area, universitydiscretion and educationally disadvantagedstates and that the wastage rate of those onmerit was lower than those through thecatchment area policy. Based on the findings, the study suggested thatthe policy should be retained, but finetuned soas to effectively serve as a measure throughwhich the imbalance in university educationcould be minimized and increased access touniversity education by the various groups inthe country would be assured. However, thepaper suggested that the percentage allocatedto this factor be reduced in the light of itsnegative implication on the quality of studentperformance and subsequently the primaryobjective of university education. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Educational Administration and Foundations, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria Article History: Registration Date: 10/10/2004

Byline: Joel B. Babalola (1) Abstract: This study attempts to offer practical explanations on how to move recurrent resources from areas where there is overspending to where there is underfunding with respect to the costing parameters recommended for Nigerian Universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC). Supplementing available data from files and documents of universities as well as from the NUC with an interview with top officials from six of the ten sampled universities stratified according to age and geographical location, a regression model was used to relate the 1991/92 expenditures per student with eight explanatory variables namely: enrolment size, junior/teacher ratio, goods costs per student, type of curriculum offered, grant-effectiveness ratio, and spending deviation. Using a descriptive statistics, it has been revealed that there were overspending on general administration, general academic and retirement benefits at the expense of research and public service. Furthermore, the study shows that non-NUC grants, gifts and external aid require further tapping to supplement the NUC which supplied over 80 percent of the total revenue. The regression equations predict that by increasing the enrolment size as well as the junior staff ratio and by reducing non-academic/academic staff ratio the student/teacher ratio, the goods cost per student, the curriculum cost and the spending deviation, it will be possible to increase the average expenditure on research and public service hitherto neglected and simultaneously reduce unit administrative supports costs. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Educational Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria (Fax Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004