The use of controlled electronic communication to enhance visibility and impact; a case of the University of Nairobi

Abstract

E-communication has brought about a revolution in the way people communicate in the modern society and in a sense reducing the world into a global village. The University of Nairobi utilizes the website, email and VOIP services as the major forms of e-communication among the staff and student fraternity. Recently, the University revitalized its system of websites and implemented VOIP phones for inter-campus communication within the University intranet. The main objective of the website upgrade drive was to improve support for information sharing within the University community, with partners and associates, and the general public. Email communication has also been enhanced and extended to all staff and students within the university. This is in line with the University's priority of achieving a paper-less office. This paper argues that the revitalized system has enhanced content dissemination and interaction among students and staff. The University thus, has been able to maximize on productivity, enhance teaching, learning and consequently improve the quality of research. The cost and time taken for communication has effectively been reduced and the level of service delivery improved. The University of Nairobi has blended the use of computers with telephones and terminals-VOIP in the outlying campuses to enhance centre-periphery communication. This has greatly enhanced service delivery within the University community and promoted the image of the University as an organization at the cutting-edge of embracing new technological developments. The paper concludes that for the modern institution, electronic tools used to communicate or to facilitate academic discourse must be strictly controlled, monitored and upgraded including merging new and old technology in order to facilitate communication. The University has also faced a myriad of challenges in implementing e-communication including: funding, resistance to technological advances and the cost of bandwidth.