Influence of Integration of ICT on Academic Management in Kenyan Public Universities

Abstract

ICT has become an important tool in modern management of universities. This is because information is a critical ingredient in facilitating decision-making and therefore, ICT is being seen as a crucial tool that can help ease information management in the institutions. Despite the many efforts and initiatives that have been put into place by the Kenya government, the private sector and the institutions themselves to leverage the use of ICT in public universities, little is known on how this integration has enhanced the provision of effective and efficient institutional management services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of integration of ICT on academic management in public universities in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of all the students in the 2012/2013 cohort, lecturers and senior administrators in public universities in Kenya totaling to 47,112.The three oldest public universities in the country namely: University of Nairobi, Moi and Kenyatta Universities were purposively sampled to participate in the study. All the registrars' academics participated in the study. The determination of sample sizes for the lecturers and students was done using the Cochran's (1977) formula. Proportionate random sampling was used to obtain samples as follows: 132 students from the University of Nairobi; 123 from Moi and 119 from Kenyatta. The same was applied to obtain 167; 77 and 100 lecturers from the three universities respectively. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)version 22 computer programme. The study established that integration of ICT had a positive influence on academic management processes based on students' and lecturers' responses.