Study of WhatsApp Usage in Academic Communication Among Lecturers and Students at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State

WhatsApp has become the de facto communication platform in Nigerian university settings, bridging formal and informal academic interactions between lecturers and students in ways that institutional learning management systems have not achieved. This study examines the patterns, frequency, and academic effectiveness of WhatsApp use for academic communication at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State. A cross-sectional survey was applied to 280 students and 60 academic staff members selected through stratified and purposive sampling respectively. The questionnaire assessed WhatsApp group membership for academic purposes, usage frequency for assignment dissemination, lecture note sharing, academic Q&A, and examination reminders, alongside perceptions of effectiveness, privacy concerns, and boundary issues. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U tests comparing student and lecturer perceptions were computed in SPSS. Available Nigerian university communication literature identifies boundary violation concerns, information overload in large academic groups, and lack of formal institutional endorsement as the primary tensions in WhatsApp-mediated academic communication. The Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Social Presence Theory provide the dual analytical framework. Findings indicate that 94 percent of students and 87 percent of lecturers used WhatsApp for academic purposes, with students rating it more highly for immediacy and accessibility. Recommendations address institutional policies for appropriate academic WhatsApp use, complementary use of official LMS platforms, and lecturer training in digital communication boundaries. Keywords: WhatsApp, academic communication, University of Ibadan, South West Nigeria, digital learning.