Time Delay in Engagement Schedules in Tertiary Institutions: a Case Study of the University of Cape Coast

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to examine the incidence of time delays in engagement schedules on campus (University of Cape Coast). The study made use of past records of time delays in starting Committee and Boards meetings from five colleges and two major meetings (Academic Board and University Council) at the University of Cape Coast. The study relied on secondary data extracted from minutes and agenda files of Committee and Board meetings. The Minitab package and Microsoft Spreadsheet were used to analyse the data. The statistical techniques used in the study were the Scatter Plots, Time Series Analysis and Stochastic Processes. The College of Education Studies had the highest average of delay (18.92 minutes) to starting a meeting. There was a significant difference in the means of the time delays among these colleges: College of Education Studies and College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and College of Health and Allied Sciences, and College of Education Studies. The College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences had the highest probability (80.70%) of always starting their meetings on-time in the long-run. The College of Education had the highest probability 0.8119 of starting their meetings with a large delay in the long-run. It would be recommended that the colleges with higher possibility of starting their meetings ten minutes late should encourage its Board or Committee members to be prompt with attending to meeting/schedules. The researcher would again recommend that the University Management should come out with a policy that when a meeting delays for more than an hour that meeting should be rescheduled.