Veritatis Gaudium: Multidisciplinary Journal of Postgraduate Studies

This study examines whether the expanding digitalisation of administrative functions in Nigerian public universities has been matched by comparable progress towards institutional integration and administrative efficiency. It uses a systematic evidence review and structured policy-document analysis, drawing on 31 scholarly and policy sources, with most evidence from 2018-2026. The evidence synthesises digital adoption, interoperability, institutional capacity, and administrative outcomes. The findings show substantial but uneven transactional digitalisation in records management, registration, payments, human-resource administration and information processing. These developments are associated with gains in speed, accuracy, accessibility and responsiveness. However, evidence of institution-wide interoperability, coordinated workflows and seamless data exchange remains limited. Fragmented platforms, weak inter-unit coordination, infrastructure deficits, inadequate digital competence and uneven policy implementation continue to constrain systemic efficiency. The article conceptualises this condition as the digitalisation-integration gap: the institutional distance between digitalising separate administrative functions and connecting them through interoperable, coordinated and end-to-end processes. Digital Era Governance and Institutional Theory explain, respectively, why administrative reintegration is central to mature digital government and why visible technological adoption may coexist with limited organisational change. The study concludes that Nigerian public universities should prioritise integration of existing systems, process redesign, data governance and staff capability rather than continue accumulating standalone platforms.

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