UCU Digital Institutional Repository(UCUDIR)
Welcome to the Uganda Christian University Digital Institutional Repositoy (UCUDIR). This is the University's official Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of UCU. This growing collection of research includes peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, working papers, theses, and more.
- The Repository ingests documents, audio, video, datasets and their corresponding Dublin Core metadata
- The aim is to open up this content to local and global audiences, with have optimized well for Google Scholar so your items here shows up on Google Scholar searches
- we also issue permanent urls and trustworthy identifiers, including optional integrations with handle.net and DataCite DOI
Not Registered? click here to Register or or if already registered: Click To submit your Item ::For more information visit any UCU Library branch
Communities in UCUDIR
Select a community to browse its collections.
- Items in this community present a concise summary of information that can help readers understand, and likely make decisions about, government policies.
- This is a collection of Masters and Doctoral theses and dissertations submitted in electronic format to the Uganda Christian University.
Recent Submissions
Perceptions of Student Enrollment Factors in Uganda Christian University
(East African Nature & Science Organization, 2026-04) Halima Nassanga; Mary Jakisa Owor; Joseph Jakisa Owor; Ronald Kyagulanyi
This study investigated perceptions of factors influencing student enrollment at Uganda Christian University (UCU), with specific attention to institutional, academic-related, and financial-related determinants. Anchored in Human Capital Theory and Student Choice Theory, the study sought to explain how prospective and current students evaluate universities in an increasingly competitive higher education environment. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, using a mixed-methods approach that combined questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were collected from undergraduate and prospective students, while qualitative insights were obtained from admissions, marketing, and public relations staff. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and content analysis. The findings revealed very strong positive correlations between student enrollment and financial factors (r =
0.991), academic factors (r = 0.993), and institutional factors (r = 0.992), suggesting that enrollment decisions are shaped by multiple interrelated dimensions. However, regression analysis showed that academic-related factors (β = 0.465, p = .008) and institutional factors (β = 0.426, p < .001) were the strongest significant predictors of enrollment, while financial factors
(β = 0.105, p = .475) were not statistically significant when the other variables were controlled. Qualitative findings reinforced these results by highlighting the importance of program relevance, lecturer competence, graduate employability, institutional reputation, campus facilities, and alumni success in influencing enrollment decisions. The study concludes that private
universities can strengthen enrollment by prioritising academic quality, institutional credibility, infrastructure improvement, and supportive financial access mechanisms.
Digital Capability, Knowledge Capital, and Governance in East African SACCOs: A Systematic Review of Drivers of Financial Inclusion
(East African Nature & Science Organization, 2026-03) Joseph Jakisa Owor; Sandra Namisango; Ronald Kyagulanyi
Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) remain central to financial inclusion in East Africa, particularly for rural and low-income populations excluded from commercial banking. However, despite their growth, SACCO performance across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania remains uneven due to technological, governance, and knowledge constraints. This study undertakes a theory-driven systematic review of SACCO performance between 2020 and 2025 to examine how digital capability, financial knowledge, governance quality, and community embeddedness shape inclusion outcomes. Grounded in Institutional Theory, Resource-Based View, Agency Theory, and Technology Adoption frameworks, the study synthesises peer-reviewed literature, regulatory reports (Kenya Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), Tanzania Cooperative
Development Commission (TCDC), Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA)), and global datasets (Global Findex, GSMA, WOCCU). Using structured thematic coding supported by qualitative synthesis procedures, the review identifies four interdependent drivers of SACCO sustainability: digital integration capacity, member financial literacy, governance and oversight quality, and social capital density. Findings indicate that digital adoption improves outreach and transaction efficiency, but its impact depends critically on member knowledge and regulatory capacity. Weak governance and agency problems remain primary predictors of SACCO failure, particularly in poorly supervised environments. Community networks enhance repayment discipline and savings culture, but cannot substitute for institutional accountability. The study contributes
by integrating fragmented SACCO literature into a coherent systems framework and proposing a SACCO Institutional–Digital Capability Model for future empirical testing. Policy implications emphasise coordinated investments in digital infrastructure, governance reform, financial capability development, and predictive oversight systems.
Assessment of the Socio-cultural Viability of Integrated Waste-to-energy Systems for Uganda
(International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, 2020-12) Miria Frances Agunyo; Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo; Sarah Kizza-Nkambwe
Application of waste-to-energy systems could be the solution for urban areas in countries like Uganda where municipal solid waste is composed
of atleast 70% organic matter and sewage and faecal sludge management is limited to about 20 treatment plants. Projected increase in urbanisation to 50% in 2050 will only constrain the existing sanitation facilities, resulting in public health issues and competition for land use. This study investigates application of integrated waste-to-energy systems consisting of a combination of anaerobic digestion, incineration and composting to treat organic waste streams from urban areas. Despite the benefits of such systems related to resource recovery in form of biogas and organic fertiliser, little is known about their socio-cultural viability. A survey carried out at Uganda Christian University showed respondent`s beliefs and cultural backgrounds influenced their attitude towards utilising resources recovered. Also, sensitisation and quality assurance of resources recovered boosted system acceptability.
The Changing Role of Higher Education Institutions on Research and Innovation in Africa: A Systematic Review
(International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2022) Shallon Atuhaire; Frankline Higenyi; Elizabeth Bacwayo; Annet Mugisha; Christine Mwebesa; Rachel Nambuya
Research and innovation are crucial in the process of achieving sustainable development goals. Given the significant role Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play in research. Africa is still grappling with both the changing higher education global landscape and fostering of a research culture that addresses its own societal needs. This study explored the changing role of HEIs on research and innovation and the bottlenecks to its’ realisation in Africa. E-literature was searched from online databases mainly Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase and African Journals Online. The search strategy considered relevant content on the subject by use of keywords, purpose of the study and year of publication (2010 to 2021). Overall, the search yielded 889,264 results. From Google Scholar, 805,000 were found, ScienceDirect; 9196, PubMed; 1168, Embase; 63100, and African Journals Online; 10800. The Cochrane review protocol and the PRISMA flowchart were used to assess the relevance of these articles. Eventually, 107 full articles were critically analysed for legibility resulting in 16 studies, which were included. Research and innovation as well as the role of HEIs to the two are keywords of the time. This role has been changing to meet up with globalization demands and increase in population. While their indigenous role was co-creation of knowledge and transfer, they have of recent past surged to create innovation ecosystems, transfer technologies, promotion innovation and research and its’ management. They have gained an ascendancy in sustainability debates as engines of innovation most especially in science, technology, and human progress. This changing role has been compounded by shortcomings such as inadequate competences in the use of emerging ICTs, inadequate funding, curriculum content that does not clearly spell out practical life skills, innovation opportunities, and corporate social responsibility that is still very low. The changing role of HEIs in research in Africa is evidently clear and has been from creation of new knowledge and its transfer to one that is need-driven, entrepreneurial, transformational, and able to reconfigure the status of innovation systems for regional socio-economic transformation. The limitations to its realization could be mitigated through institutional collaboration, funding and customization of research.
Enhancing Adoption of Agroforestry in the Eastern Agro-ecological Zone of Uganda
(International Journal of Ecological Science and Environmental Engineering, 2016) Twaha Ali Basamba; Clement Mayanja; Barnabas Kiiza; Bob Nakileza; Frank Matsiko; Paul Nyende; Elizabeth Bacwayo Kukunda; Ann Tumushabe; Kassim Ssekabira
Widespread deforestation and increasingly intensive use of land to sustain a growing population has increased soil erosion, lowered soil fertility and reduced agricultural productivity in Uganda. This has raised concern over sustainability of farming systems in the Eastern Agro-ecological zone of Uganda. There is growing evidence that agroforestry can be a potential solution to these problems. However, enhancement of adoption of agroforestry as a viable alternative for farmers in diverse ecological and socio-economic conditions has remained low. The objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing the enhancement of adoption of agroforestry by smallholder farmers. Primary data on household, farm and technology characteristics was collected from 153 farming households. Results show that boundary planting, scattered tree planting, row planting and homestead gardening were the most commonly adopted agroforestry technologies in the study area. The Tobit model showed that sex, age,
household size, education level, group membership, access to credit and extension visits had significantly positive effects on enhancing adoption of agroforestry. Mobilizing farmers to join groups, improving the quality and coverage of extension services, consideration of gender issues and intensifying agroforestry training among farmers with low levels of education were suggested as avenues to further enhance adoption of
agroforestry in the Eastern agro-ecological zone of Uganda.