ACADEMIC POSTGRADUATE HANDBOOK

Right from outset, the Proprietors of Covenant University noted the prime position of postgraduate training for the overall success of the institution and the rapid development of the nation. This was reinforced by the observed shortfall of about 56% in the cadre of qualified academic staff for the Nigerian University system. We were also driven by observed inconsistencies in postgraduate education in the country in such key considerations as duration, quality and need. There was another motivation regarding the quality of viable programmes in such fields as accountancy and architecture as well as the need to firm up on the research thrust to reflect the changing paradigms. These realities led to the proposal to Senate on November 26, 2003, to establish the School of Postgraduate Studies. The Vision and Mission of the School as presented below: Vision To be a leading centre for postgraduate training for the needs of contemporary Africa. Mission To produce very high quality postgraduates by engaging best practices in programme, research and services, deploying life applicable, life promoting as well as cutting-edge techniques in our services and delivery. Objectives Among other things, the objectives of the School have been to: i. develop in the students, the spirit of inquiry through training in research in an atmosphere of intellectuals’ independence and creativity re enforced with a strong sense of team work; ii. foster through instruction, a deeper understanding of key academic concepts and applying fundamental ideas to solve problems of the society; 3 iii. provide training in research for future academics and other high calibre personnel in research and knowledge based organizations; and iv. provide both short and long-term training opportunities to produce high level manpower needed for the rapid development of the nation. These vision, mission and objectives are driven by Committee of the School and fully supported by the University Management led by the Vice-Chancellor. Even before the National Universities Commission (NUC) set up the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Postgraduate Programmes in Nigeria, the School had put in place measures to ensure quality and standards. One such measure has been our “Double Filter” mechanism for thesis processing. This involved the use of Assessors and Examiners for each candidate. We have also emphasized lecture delivery in modular forms. We have attracted the very best of brains from within and outside the country to enrich the quality of our postgraduate training. Many of the renowned scholars in this audience have assisted us in this regard as Visiting Professors, Assessors and Examiners. We remain ever grateful. The cumulative effect of our strategies has been excellence all the way starting from our staff development efforts in the early days. Indeed, our first Ph.D graduate won the prestigious Microsoft Award in Software development. Many of our graduates have won the Fulbright and many other competitive fellowships. By 2009, the NUC visited our School of Postgraduate Studies and granted permission to all our 22 Departments and 32 programmes to run postgraduate courses even for the external context. We have since opened our doors to the world to come to learn and partner with us to birth the critical change we all desire. Covenant University has just made a turn over the first decade. In the last ten years, we laid the foundation for excellence as a prelude to the World-class consciousness. In this new decade, we have a mandate to make it to be the list of the top 10 universities in the world. We are aware that research is a key driver of this agenda. There is hardly any meaningful research without a robust postgraduate programme. Such a programme must run on well-defined 4 parameters. That explains our enthusiasm to produce a handbook of the School of Postgraduate Studies. We express gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor and the Management of Covenant University for providing the needed support in the process of producing this handbook