ACADEMIC MENTORING AND INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, AKURE, NIGERIA

Abstract

It seems that Academic Staff (AS) of the federal university is not committed to the Institutional Effectiveness (IE) because the usual penchant for core duty appears to be no longer in existence especially where some members of AS have to engage in other non-academic activities in order to meet up their needs. The IE may be jeopardized when AS are not performing their primary assignments as expected. In Nigerian universities, AS appear to pay little attention to teaching effectiveness due to high priority place on research publication for promotion and grants. Therefore, this study examined the influence of academic mentoring on IE in Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria. The study employed descriptive survey research design, while population consisted of 800 AS and 4, 533 final year students across FUTA, Nigeria. Accidental sampling technique was used to select 40 lecturers, while two of the students being taught by each lecturer were selected using simple random sampling technique totalling 80 students. Data were collected using Institutional Effectiveness Questionnaire (IEQ) and Academic Mentoring Questionnaire (AMQ). Reliability coefficient of 0.79 and 0.87 were found respectively using Cronbach Alpha method of testing reliability. Descriptive statistics was used in answering research questions while, Pearson Product Moment Correlation was employed to test hypothesis. The study revealed that level of IE was extremely high ( X =3.08) and state of mentoring junior AS was equally relatively high in FUTA ( X =2.93). There was significant positive relationship between mentoring of junior AS and IE in FUTA, Nigeria (r = (0.167), 0.025, P<.05). University management should take the issues of mentoring seriously to help in facilitating effective teaching and delivery of knowledge. All hands must likewise be put on deck to ensure that academic mentorship are encouraged and improved among the academic staff for institutional effectiveness.