IMPACT OF DRESS CODE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, MAKURDI, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The study determined the impact of dress code on the academic performance of Undergraduate students in Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. Two research questions and one hypothesis respectively guided the study. The study adopts survey research design and was conducted in Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. The population of this study was 7,261 respondents made up of 5,661 undergraduate students, 430 academic and 1170 non-academic staff of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. A sample of 379 respondents made up of 295 undergraduate students and 84 staff of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi was determined using Taro Yamane formular for a finite population and used in the study. Multistage sampling technique of proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques was employed for sample selection. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled: Impact of Dress Code on Academic Performance Questionnaire (IDCAPQ) developed by the researchers from literature reviewed. The IDCAPQ was subjected to face and content validity by three experts and trial tested on 30 respondents from federal university Lafia, Nasarawa State. Cronbach Alpha method of reliability was used to determine the internal consistency of the IDCAPQ which yielded a reliability coefficient of .71. The instrument (IDCAPQ) was used for data collection and data collected for the study was analyzed using mean to answer research questions and chi-square statistics to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there are eight causes of indecent dressing amongst undergraduate students of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, there are six ways in which indecent dressing affects the academic performance of undergraduate students in Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi and that indecent dressing significantly impact academic performance of undergraduate students in University of Agriculture, Makurdi. Based on the findings it was recommended amongst others that the Guidance and Counseling Unit of the school should educate students on the dangers of indecent dressing and its possible effects on their students. Article visualizations