Postgraduate Students' Self-Perceived Readiness to Graduate on Time

Abstract

Postgraduate (PG) study is fast becoming a field of interest among researchers and one of the main aspects that keeps surfacing is the issue of postgraduate students' readiness for postgraduate study in order to graduate on time (GOT). Global records reveal that close to 60 percent of postgraduate students fail to graduate on time and attrition rates in institutions of higher learning are also increasing. In Malaysia, one out of every five candidates are said to have dropped out of the programme. This loss is crucial as it has both economic and financial implications on a country's budget. Therefore, this exploratory study investigated students' self-perceived readiness for postgraduate study based on three main factors, namely students' basic competencies, motivational and institutional factors. The study involved a group of 110 postgraduate students in their first year of study at a private university located in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected via a questionnaire which were analysed employing both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that respondents perceived they were moderately ready in terms of being equipped with basic competencies for postgraduate study and were motivated to study for future career development and self-fulfillment. Respondents also expressed moderate satisfaction with regards to institutional facilities and support. The Pearson correlation analysis further indicated a high and significant relationship between these three factors implying that they are closely related to each other and do influence postgraduate students' ability to graduate on time. These findings imply that universities have a major role to play in ensuring postgraduates students are ready for postgraduate study in order to GOT.