Organizational commitment of university academic staff has and is still a challenge of public universities in Uganda. This study attributes organizational commitment to low professional development practices of university academic staff at Makerere and Kyambogo universities. The study utilized a cross-sectional survey design with both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and selected a study sample of 320 Academic staffs from both Makerere and Kyambogo universities using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. The study data was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and regression analysis, while qualitative data was thematically analyzed. The study discovered that organizational commitment of staffs at both Makerere and Kyambogo universities significantly correlates with professional development practices of academic staffs. The study concluded that, the two practices – informal learning opportunities and formal training opportunities predict the level of organizational commitment of academic staff at Makerere and Kyambogo universities. The study recommended that, university Councils in conjunction with management in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities should create policies that ensure that all academic staffs are involved in informal learning activities and support accorded to formal training.

The study was based on the following objectives: First and foremost, to examine the degree to which professional development practices influence organizational commitment of academic staff in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities. Also, to establish the extent to which professional development practices influence promotions of academic staff in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities. Further, the studied aimed to ascertain the extent to which promotions influence organizational commitment of academic staff in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities.