Availability and Utilization of Evolving Information and Communication Technology Tools and Effective Students' Support System in Private Universities in Oyo State, Nigeria
The provision of support services to students as well as the effectiveness of these support services in meeting the pressing demands of the students in private universities is a function of the availability and utilization of recent Information and Communication Technology tools. Globalization and the ever-evolving nature of digital technology has made every facet of human endeavour (including education) at the mercy of these evolving ICT tools. This study therefore investigated the extent to which private universities in Oyo state, Nigeria provide support services to students using recent ICT tools; with a view to find out the effect of evolving ICTs in the achievement of effective student support system. A descriptive survey research design was adopted and questionnaires were used for data collection. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select two (2) out of the (5) functional private universities in Oyo State. One hundred and fifty-five (155) students were sampled, with all (15) ICT personnel, making a total of one-hundred and seventy (170) respondents. Findings from the study revealed that, the utilization of evolving ICTs have significant effect on effective student support system in private universities in Oyo state (r =-0.317, p<0.05). Recommendations on plausible remedies were therefore made to private universities in Oyo state on how student support system could be better improved on.