Lecturers’ Compliance With Quality Assurance Mechanisms in Public Universities in Delta State: Focusing on Punctuality, Regular Attendance to Lectures and Adherence to the Course Outline

The study investigated the extent to which lecturers comply with quality assurance mechanisms in public universities in Delta State. Two objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population of the study consisted of 1,299 lecturers and 6,826 students from the public universities in Delta State. A sample of 260 lecturers and 409 students representing 20% and 6% respectively of the population which was obtained using the proportionate random sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection was the researchers made questionnaire titled “Compliance with Quality Assurance Mechanisms Questionnaire (CQAMQ). The Cronbach Alpha method was used to determine the internal consistency of the items and it yielded a result of 0.78 and 0.79. The researchers and two assistants distributed 669 copies of the questionnaire and successfully collected 628 copies of the questionnaire administered. The research questions were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation and rank order statistics, while the hypotheses were tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that lecturers’ in public universities in Delta State complied with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures and adhered to the course outline to a high extent. Based on the findings, it was concluded that lecturers compliance with the quality assurance mechanism of punctuality and regular attendance ,adherence to the course outline is high, it was recommended that the university management should encourage lecturers to adhere to the course outline through collegial supervision, and ensure that the course outlines to be used are submitted to the head of departments, the university management should initiate a reward system whereby lecturers that are always punctual and regular in attendance to lectures are given prizes and recognition.


Introduction
The university is the highest institution of learning; university education is the hope of a nation for development. University education was established primarily for innovation and increasing the quality of manpower. Quality, quantity, and the utilization of key inputs such as students, teachers, teaching contents and the teaching-learning process, influence the quality of university graduates (Ogbodo, Efanga & Nwokomah, 2013).Quality education is the goal of every educational system. It is the education that meets the expectation of the society. Quality university education is that education that is worthwhile and empowers the recipients with relevant skills, knowledge, attitude and values needed to make informed decisions and live a self-sustaining life. It is the education that is relevant and adapted to the needs of the society; such needs must meet the standards in health, growth and physical survival in a complex and globalized world (Ndiomu cited in Asiyai, 2013). The quality of university education is determined by the quality of inputs and the transformation process invested by the department. Quality assurance refers to the plans, actions, activities and programs undertaken to ensure that standard is reached and maintained. equipment and facilities, school environment, including quality of educational delivery. It also involves the academic programs and structures that are subject to regular review of the quality of instructional delivery (Ofojebe & Ezeugo, 2010).
Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. "Punctual" is often used synonymously with "on time". It is also acceptable that punctual can also, be related to talking about grammar, means "to be accurate". So punctuality and good time management will produce a class that is well focused and organized and in this way, the target for the semester or the academic year will be achieved. With particular reference to classroom based taught program of education and training, regular attendance to lecture is critical to facilitate learning and progression and to help affirm an educational relationship between teacher and learner. Daily monitoring of attendance, with procedures to detect and prevent poor levels of attendance, contribute to higher levels of academic performance among learners (College of Computing Technology, CCT, 2015).
Continuous class attendance is crucial and often directly related to learner's assessment performance. It is believed that if teachers do not manage time properly during the process of teaching in the classroom, it may interfere with the students' learning. Therefore, time management among teachers in teaching and learning process is also necessary to improve student's time management and punctuality issues. A good time planning is required for each teacher in the process of teaching in order to create systematic teaching environments that attract students following the punctuality in their learning. School discipline such as formulating appropriate rules and regulations are also necessary in order to improve student's time management and punctuality issues. If organization of the school is not systematic in practicing the rules on discipline matters, it might have an impact on student behavior related to punctuality and time management issues (Sultana & Rashid, 2013).
Teacher's punctuality and regular attendance to class and other activities in school is related to the ability to manage time. The extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lecture is related to the extent to which they can manage time. Time management means the maximum use of time for productivity and achievement. It has to do with the management of schedules of work with advanced planning, organizing and implementation in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the organizations. Time management concerns the discovery and the application of the most efficient methods of completing assignments of any length within the required time with quality but do not waste the time (Sahito, Khawaja, Panhwar, Siddiqui & Humera, 2016).
Time management is a process of managing the time according to the need and requirement of work and activities in order to utilize save and do not waste the time for an effective organizational progress and success. Time management includes the construction and implementation of time table, distribution of subjects, total number of periods taken by teachers, lesson planning, regularity and punctuality of teachers in school and class, advance planning of class activities, counseling and guidance of teachers, time allocation to students individually, organization and preparation of co-curricular activities for students. Impact of teacher time management is directly proportional to the performance of students. Teachers who plan actively and intelligently produce more intelligent minds for the future development of the nation. Kayode and Ayodele (2015) found that there is a significant relationship between teachers' time management and students' academic performance. Ayodele and Ige (2012) found that the effective utilization of teachers' time management directly impacts students' academic performance.
Lecturers are a vital part of the university experience. From preparing and delivering engaging lectures in their specialty subjects, to answering questions and spending countless hours putting together assignments; the job of a university lecturer offers variety, social interaction, scholarly inquiry and most importantlythe opportunity to positively shape the future of their students. An added benefit of the university lecturers' job is the ability to combine regular teaching responsibilities with further research in a particular field of interest, adding directly to the body of academic knowledge an institution holds. The roles of the university lecturer include; Preparing and delivering regular lectures for students, conducting tutorial sessions, seminars and laboratory classes (where relevant), guiding class discussions, whilst encouraging debate and feedback amongst students, preparing and marking student assignments, essays, exams and providing one-on-one feedback on academic performance where necessary, supervising the work of Postgraduate and Honors students, as well as tutorial staff attending departmental and faculty meetings with other staff members, participating in course/degree setting committees, curriculum revision and academic planning, conducting further research into their specific field of knowledge/interest, compiling bibliographies of relevant materials for class reading and assignments.
Course outlines are intended to provide lecturers with an overall plan for a course, in order to enable them teach efficiently and effectively in the course. Course descriptions report information about a university or college classes. The course outline helps the teacher plan and clarifies a course; one of the best ways to clarify such communication is through a course syllabus. A poorly written and incomplete syllabus can frustrate both students and teachers and disrupt the whole learning process. One of the easiest ways to improve teaching is to increase the communication effectiveness of syllabi. The course outline for teachers to crystallize, articulate, organize, and communicate their thoughts about a course. The syllabus is the first contact (interaction) a student has with an instructor (lecturer), it is important to consider the impact of syllabus construction on student's perceptions (Richmond, Slattery, Mitchel & Morgan, 2016). Habanek (2005) view the syllabus as a learning tool and suggest including such things as self-management skills, how much time is required outside of class, study strategies, errors typically made by students and sources of help. Bain (2004) indicates that the most successful teacher creates what he refers to as "promising syllabi'', such a syllabus makes a promise to students of what they will learn, invites them to actively engage in assignments that will allow them experience the promised learning and begins an explanation of how students will receive feedback about their learning and progress towards achieving the promise. Sahito. Khwawaja, Panhwar, Siddiqui and Saeed (2016) found out that the course content that is properly and efficiently planned meet the needs, requirement and the interest of the students Appleby [1994] had mentioned that the course outline introduces the teacher to students, makes the teacher share pedagogical philosophy. Through the syllabus students can tell if the learning process is active or passive, the syllabus helps to emphasize knowledge enhancement, skill building, or a combination of both. The syllabus reveals how a course is structured (e.g. simple to complex or chronologically) and the purpose of the organization. Syllabi tell students if the parts of the course are mutually exclusive or whether success in its later stages depends upon skills mastered earlier. The syllabus also reveals the teacher's teaching style, is the teacher organized or disorganized, flexible or rigid, rigorous or lax. A course syllabus provides a roadmap for students to achieve course learning objectives and develop lifelong learning skills; Nilson (2007) felt that a syllabus serves a function analogue to a map or script by guiding students through the complexities of a course, its content and learning outcomes. Nilson (2010.p33) asserted that the syllabus might not only be a road map for the terms foray into knowledge but also a travelogue to pique students' interest in the expedition and its leaders. Slattery and Carton (2005) mentioned that the syllabus communicates the instructors overall tone of personality. In a similar manner, Mckeachie cited in Harnish and Bridges (2011) stated that one source of information students may use (and use repeatedly) throughout a semester is the course syllabus, the syllabus not only informs students about the course and its requirements but also about the personality of the instructor. As such, students can glean from syllabus the instructor's interpersonal style and approach ability and therefore can create a first impression about an instructor and his or her attitudes toward students and learning. Appleby (1994) stated that the tone of that syllabus can indicate how approachable the teacher is, and students often form an immediate impression of whether they will like the teacher and the course by reading the syllabus. This is similar with Harnish and Bridges (2011) who found that a syllabus written in a friendly, rather than unfriendly, tone evoked perceptions of the instructor being more warm, more approachable, and more motivated to teach the course. Slattery and Carton (2005) mentioned that the syllabus provides a road map for the class, motivate students, level the playing field for less prepared students and lay out the rules to which both teachers and students will be held. The syllabus is viewed as a device to communicate with students and provide them with organizational structures and learning tools, the syllabus can communicate learning outcomes, how assignments will help students achieve these outcomes and the responsibilities of both instructor and students in that process (Habanek, 2005). Saville, Zinn, Brown and Marchuk (2010) found out that students generally rate longer and more detailed syllabi, more positively than shorter, less detailed syllabi; students may perceive less detailed syllabus as indicating that the lecturer does not care much about them and their learning and further they may be under prepared for the course. In a similar note, Davis and Shrader (2009) found that students preferred a syllabus with a learner centered approach to one with a contractual approach. Harington and Gabert (2015) study found out that syllabi construction can make a profound impact on how students perceive teachers, Fink (2012)emphasized that the syllabi play a variety of valuable personnel function for a lecturer to evaluate their teaching competency as well as its ability to be used in administrative functions to assess course accountability and vigor. Jenkins, Bugeja and Barber (2009) found that instructors were judged as more competent if they added detailed course policies. Ludy, Brackenbury, Folkins, Peet and Langendor (2016) found that engaging syllabus was rated more favorable in areas related to students' interest and motivation for the class as well as impression of the instructor; as a result the engaging syllabus may be particularly beneficial to instructors who seek to increase students' perception. Richmond, Slattery, Mitchell, Morgan and Becknell (2016) found that students perceive lecturers who composed syllabus in a learner -centered fashion are engaging in teaching behavior , also students perceive lecturers writing learner -centered syllabus are doing things that fosters their learning.

Statement of the Problem
Punctuality is the soul of any business. Successful organizations adopt sound principles and core values that direct their operations. Punctuality, regularity and adherence to course outlines are some of the principles universities cherish. This is the reason universities stipulate time lines and deadlines for its activities. Students admissions, registration, orientation, course duration, teaching or instructional time, examination e.t.c are all programmed. The scheduling of these activities is made possible through the academic calendar and time table.
Teaching, which is one of the main functions of a university is planned and carried out according to the time scheduled.
Lecturers are expected to prepare course outlines for the courses they teach and give same to students on the first day of lectures and stick to or adhere to it during the period of teaching. Moreover, lecturers are expected to teach students according to the university time table, they are expected to be punctual and regular to lectures. Likewise, students are expected to be punctual and regular to lectures. Failure to meet attendance of 70% on the part of the students in some universities attracts sanctions like not being allowed to participate in examination for that course. Time for revision, examination and submission of examination results are also stipulated and defaulters are usually sanctioned. However, some people think that lecturers go to work anytime and any day they like. Furthermore, they think that lecturers are not punctual and regular to lectures and hardly cover their course outlines. They assume that lecturers are not committed to their teaching job because they go about looking for extra job outside their primary job for extra income. Thus lecturers are usually blamed for the seeming lack of quality and poor academic performance of students in universities in Delta State. It is against this background that this study investigated the extent of lecturers' compliance with punctuality, regular attendance to lecturers and compliance with the course outline as quality assurance strategies in universities in Delta State.

Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study was to investigate lecturers' compliance with Quality Assurance Mechanism in public universities in Delta State. Specifically, the objectives include to; 1. Find out the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in Public Universities in Delta State.
2. Ascertain the extent to which lecturers comply with the course outline in Public Universities in Delta State.

Research Questions
1. What is the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures? 2. What is the extent to which lecturers adhere to the course outline?

Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in Public Universities in Delta State.
2. There is no significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers adhere to the course outline in Public Universities in Delta State.

Methodology
The descriptive survey research design was used for the study; the population of the study was 1,299 lecturers and 6,826 students. The Taro Yamane formula was used to obtain the minimum sample size for the population of respondents. A sample of 260 lecturers and 409 students representing 20% and 6% respectively of the population was used for the study, which was obtained using the proportionate random sampling technique. The instrument, a structured questionnaire was subjected to face and content validities. Three (3) senior lecturers in the Department of Educational Management and 2 lecturers from the Department of Psychology (Guidance & Counseling, Measurement and Evaluation) validated the instrument. To establish the reliability of the instrument, copies of the instrument were administered to 20 lecturers who were not part of the sample but part of the population. The Cronbach Alpa was used to determine the internal consistency of the items. The reliability coefficients for the instrument were 0.78 and 0.79, respectively, while the overall reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.88, thus the instrument was considered reliable. Six hundred and sixty-nine (669) copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents by the researchers and two assistants; however, 628 copies were retrieved and used for computation. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using z-test.

Research Question 1
What is the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lecture as a quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State? Table 1. Weighted mean ( ̅ ),Standard Deviation (SD) and mean scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in public universities in Delta State The results in Table 1 revealed the mean scores and standard deviation on items 1-10, the mean score for lecturers range between 2.62 and 3.59, and the mean scores for students range between 2.34 and 3.07. The mean for lecturers indicates a high extent response, this is because the mean scores obtained is above the criterion mean of 2.50, the mean scores of students foritem1-10 has a high extent response ,this is because the mean scores obtained is above the criterion mean of 2.50, while the mean score for item 30 is 2.48 which has a low extent response, because the mean score of item 30 is below the criterion mean of 2.50.This therefore means that lecturers in public universities in Delta State adequately comply with items 11-19 as shown for both students and lecturers response but do not adequately comply with item 30 as indicated by the mean response of students on item 30.Furthermore, the grand mean for lecturers was 3.12, while the grand mean for students was 2.90, these figures are above the criterion mean of2.50, it therefore means that lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to a high extent. Items 21-30 ranked 1 st, 2 nd 5th, 8th, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 6th, 7 th , 10 th as indicated by the average mean scores respectively. Therefore, lecturer's compliance with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in public universities in Delta State is to a high extent

Research Question 2
What is the extent to which lecturers adhere to the course outline as a Quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State? Table 2. Weighted mean ( ̅ ), Standard Deviation (SD), and mean score of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with the course outline as a quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State The result on Table 2 shows the mean scores and standard deviation of the assessed variables. The mean scores for lecturers range between 3.32 and 3.64 and the mean scores for students range between 2.88 and 3.35, which indicates a high extent response, this is because the mean scores obtained for both lecturers and students is above the criterion mean of 2.50. Furthermore, the grand mean scores for lecturers is 3.48 and 3.10 for students, the data revealed that the extent to which lecturers comply with adherence to course outline is high. This implies that lecturers' compliance to the course outline in universities in Delta State is high. Furthermore, Items 31 -40 ranked 2 nd , 6th, 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 7 th , 9 th , 9 th , 8 th , 4 th .

Hypothesis 1
There is no significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers are punctual and regular in attendance to lecturers as a quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State. The table shows that z-calculated value is 2.93 which are greater than the z-critical value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance with degree of freedom of 626. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in public universities in Delta State.

Hypothesis 2
There is no significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students in public universities in Delta State on the extent to which lecturers adhere to the course outline as a quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State. The table shows that the z-calculated value of 5.76 is more than the z-critical value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significant with degree of freedom 626. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant difference in the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with the course outline as a quality assurance mechanism in public universities in Delta State.

Extent of Compliance With Punctuality and Regular Attendance to Lectures
The result revealed that lecturers' compliance with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures in public universities in Delta State is high. This means that lecturers in public universities in Delta State are punctual and regular to lectures as revealed in the high mean rating scores of the respondents on all the items assessed. The hypothesis revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with punctuality and regular attendance to lectures. The result of the findings is surprising because, the researcher expected that lecturers would not be punctual and regular to lectures because of their workload which include preparing for lectures, carrying out research, reading students' projects and theses, preparing records, mark attendance and attend lectures. But the reverse was the case as found in this study, reason maybe that the university management has provided procedures to assess the attendance of lecturers through the student's records/work, also it maybe that the university management have given orientation to lecturers on the influence of punctuality and regular attendance on the academic performance of students. This finding is in line with Sahito, Khwawaja, Panhwar, Siddiqui and Saeed (2016) who found out that punctuality and regular attendance to lecture is directly proportional to the performance of students. Teachers who plan actively and intelligently will be able to produce more intelligent minds for the future development of the nation. In the same vein, Muzenda, (2013) found out that lecturers' regular attendance to lectures affects students' academic performance positively. Also, Finlayson (2009) found that the higher the teacher's absenteeism the lower the students' academic performance. In the same vein, Sahito, Khwawaja, Panhwar, Siddiqui and Saeed (2016) also found that teacher's punctuality and regular attendance to lecture and other activities in school is related to the ability to manage time. Time management is concerned with the discovery and the application of the most efficient methods/strategies of completing assignments within the required time. This finding also agrees with Ayodele's (2017) study on the impact of classroom attendance on academic performance of students in an organic chemistry course, it was found that classroom attendance correlated strongly with and had a significant effect on examination scores in organic chemistry. Sultana and Rashid, (2013) found out that a good time management is required for each teacher in the process of teaching in order to create systematic teaching environment that attracts students following the punctuality in their learning.

Extent of Lecturers Compliance With the Course Outlines
The findings revealed that lecturer's compliance with adherence to course outlines is high. This means that lecturers in public universities in Delta State stick to course outlines. The hypothesis revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean rating scores of lecturers and students on the extent to which lecturers comply with the course outline. The finding is surprising because the researchers expected that since lecturers are bombarded with lots of workload and they are responsible in formulating the course outlines, that there is tendency not to adhere to it but the reverse is the case in this study, reason may stem from the fact that lecturers have been oriented on the importance of the course outlines in teaching, its influence on students relationship with the teacher and the course and on the teaching -learning process. This finding is in line with Appleby (1994) who found out that the course outline improves teaching, allows the teacher share his/her pedagogical philosophy, and enables lecturers to know the pre-requisite skills or experience the students need to do well. In the same vein, Sahito. Khwawaja, Panhwar, Siddiqui and Saeed (2016) found out that the course contents that are properly and efficiently planned will meet the needs, requirement and the interest of the students. Saville, Zinn, Brown and Marchuk (2010) found out that students rated an instructor more highly if the syllabus contained a high degree of details. Similarly, Jenkins, Bugeja and Barber (2009) found that instructors were judged as more competent if they added detailed course policies. Davis and Shrader (2009) found that students preferred a syllabus with a learner -centered approach to one with a contractual approach. Ludy, Brackenbury, Folkins and Langendorfor (2016) found that engaging syllabus was rated more favorable in areas related to student's interest and motivation for the class as well as impression of the instructor, as a result the engaging syllabus may be particularly beneficial to instructors who seek to increase students' perception. Richmond, Slattery, Mitchell, Morgan and Becknell (2016) found that students rated lecturers using learner centered syllabus as more creative, caring, happy receptive, reliable and enthusiastic as well as having more student's engagement in their class than faculty using a teacher-centered syllabus. Harnish and Bridges (2011) found that a syllabus written in a friendly, rather than unfriendly, tone evoked perceptions of the instructor being more warm, more approachable, and more motivated to teach the course.

Conclusion
Compliance with quality assurance mechanisms simply means working in accordance with strategies or techniques of quality assurance in order to attain quality and improve standard. The University lecturer's functions cover teaching, research and administrative duties. Lecturers alone are responsible in the implementation of instructional processes and the degree to which they comply or fail to comply with laid down policies will facilitate or mar the actualization of the goals of University education. Lecturers' compliance with Quality Assurance Mechanism means lecturers following stated policies, strategies, techniques and principles that are operational in their Universities to bring about quality in the products (students).
Based on the findings, the study concluded that Punctuality, regular attendance to lectures and adherence to the course outlines are critical strategies in Universities quality assurance processes. It also concluded that lecturers in Universities in Delta State complied with the quality assurance strategies of punctuality, regular attendance to lectures and adherence to the course outlines to a high extent. It means that lecturers are aware of the importance of their compliance to punctuality, regular attendance and course outlines in the achievement of instructional objectives. It also means that the lecturers are aware of the negative consequences of not complying with the quality assurance strategies on the academic achievements of students. It is the belief of the researchers that, the compliance portrayed by lecturers despite their heavy workload is a function of the existence of procedures that are used to assess the attendance of lecturers, orientation given to lecturers by the Universities management and the lecturers' ability to multi-task.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: 1. The university management should encourage lecturers to sustain their adherence to the course outlines through collegial supervision, and ensure that the course outlines to be used are submitted to the head of departments.
2. The university management should initiate a reward system whereby lecturers that are always punctual and regular in attendance to lectures will be given prizes and recognition. This will make lecturers sustain the attitude of punctuality and regular attendance to lectures.