A Study of the Management of Student Records in Academic Registrars’ Offices in Kenyan Universities

Abstract

This study assessed the management of student records in academic registrars’ offices in Kenyan universities. A descriptive survey design was adopted in carrying out the study. The study targeted 49 chartered private and public universities in Kenya. The researcher classified the universities into private and public, and further, into two sets; those in the western region and eastern region of Kenya. The researcher then purposively chose in each region the youngest and the oldest public universities and similarly private universities. Questionnaire was used in the collection of data. The findings show that were clear ways of storing students’ records.  However, the adoption of electronic records management was fifty-fifty. Though most of the universities had some form of electronic document use, some had not fully embraced electronic records management. The major challenges encountered were information breakdown from the registry, problems with credit control among others. The following recommendations were made based on the findings of this study; academic registrar’s office need to have a clear policy explaining the “who, where, when and what” of records management; there is need to avail adequate finance for record management processes starting from record creation, storage, communication and retrieval as well as disposal; right equipment such as cabinets, safes, locks, fire-extinguishers, trolleys, etc. should be procured; the university should develop and constantly upgrade recommended record management systems with extensive server capabilities to meet the needs of all students and other users; and members of staff should also be periodically trained to strengthen their capacity to handle the changing demands of record management as most of it migrates online.