POOR COMPLETION RATES OF GRADUATE PROGRAMMES: A REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE

Abstract

Despite the growing concern for universities across the globe to perform well in increasing graduate output to participate and function more effectively in the knowledge economy, literature worldwide points to the prevalence of both low graduate output and delayed graduate programme completion. The factors influencing completion are varied, however, the purpose of the paper is to review selected literature on demographic and institutional factors affecting graduate programme completion in universities. The factors include race-ethnicity, finances, study mode, gender, first-generation, and supervisory model, mindset, context, and experience. The article focuses on both quantitative and qualitative studies on completion of the Masters and Doctoral level studies. It covers research questions under investigation, the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used, the methodology used, graduate programmes included, participant inclusivity, the studies’ findings and recommendations. The article critiques the studies with the view to identify the limitations in the studies.