Growth in undergraduate student enrolment in Kenyan public universities is phenomenal as public universities admitted 25% more students in 2011/2012 compared to 2010/2011 academic year. This is a positive response to public and private demand for highly trained human resource necessary for social and economic development of the country. However, the unprecedented rapid growth is posing challenges to both students and management of Public Universities. The study was set to compare on access to academic resource by undergraduate degree students in local Universities in Kenya. Key to this paper will be students’ access to morning and evening lectures, library and co-curricular activities. Kisii and Laikipia Universities were purposively chosen for the study. A cross sectional survey was used to select a target population of 607 and 332 parallel and regular degree students and 15 full time lecturers in Kisii University and 191 and 177 parallel and regular degree students and 25 full time lecturers in Laikipia University respectfully. The study adopted an analytical survey design as it was appropriate in analyzing varied data from different groups. Data was obtained by use of Likert scale and close ended questions in the questionnaires. Key findings were that the parallel degree students had more challenges in accessing sports facilities, lectures and teaching and learning resources.
Keywords: Academic Resources, Parallel Degree, Regular Degree, University
