REIMAGINING THE POSTGRADUATE SUPERVISION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY-BASED APPROACH: IMPLICATION FOR TIMELY COMPLETION OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

One of the reasons for the high rate of postgraduate students drop out has been linked 
to supervisors' inability to attend to their supervisory roles at the record time, 
steaming from huge amount of fees for the students. The traditional method of 
postgraduate supervision faces increasing pressure from rising student 
massification, globalized research demands, often leading to supervisory overload 
and student attrition. This study therefore explored how the technology-based 
approach of postgraduate supervision could be utilized for timely completion of 
postgraduate studies in Nigeria. The research posited that technology can 
fundamentally shift the supervisory dynamic from reactive problem-solving to 
proactive, data-driven mentorship. Specifically, LMS offered flexible method of 
managing, delivering tracking educational progress of the supervisees, technology
based tools processed student engagement, progress markers, and communication 
patterns which provided early warning systems for supervisors, flagging students at 
risk of crises of isolation, or dissertation and thesis procrastination long before 
traditional mechanisms would. This shift enabled timely completion, targeted 
human intervention, which is crucial for retaining students in their respective 
programs. Systemic literatures showed a positive contribution of technology-based 
approach on both students' satisfaction and perceived timely completion of the 
program. Furthermore, AI-powered tools offered immediate, scalable feedback on 
lower-order tasks, such as syntax correction, stylistic consistency, and initial 
literature synthesis, effectively managing the cognitive load on both the supervisors 
and supervisees. However, the study also highlighted the critical need for ethical 
management to ensure data privacy, transparency, and equity access, preventing the 
digital divide amongst supervisors and supervisees. Therefore, the integration of 
technology-based approach for postgraduate supervision promises to be more 
efficient, and equitable to postgraduate journey amongst students, significantly 
boosting research quality and student completion rates.