Abstract

The report aims to investigate the opinions of students on the challenges they face in their first
year of studies at The University of The South Pacific. The report was compiled by distributing
20 questionnaires to first year students and conducting two interviews a parent of first year
student at the university and a tutor. The main results of the research depicted that there were
challenges such as financial difficulties, peer pressure, new learning environment and time
management experienced. Furthermore, financial difficulties and new learning environment
were identified as the most difficult and least difficult respectively to overcome. The two major
aspects of life challenges that these challenges affected were academic and financial. Finally
help from tutors, lectures and peers, assistance from student learning support and attendance at
workshops or seminars were highlighted as steps to overcome the challenges. Finally, there are
many challenges the first year students face in the duration of the studies at the university and
there are actions which can overcome these challenges. Towards the end of the report
recommendations would be made on how the challenges affecting first year students could be
rebutted.

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 PURPOSE OF STUDY
The report aims to investigate the opinions of students on the challenges they face in their first
year of studies at The University of The South Pacific.

1.2 BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Studying at university can be a challenging task for a first year student. There is a difference in
university life in comparison to school life. For instance, it would be the first time for majority
of students to live alone and adjusting to living alone could difficult. Furthermore, renting or
living alone gives students plenty of freedom. Adjustments need to be quick otherwise students
would adrift from their studies. Involvement with the wrong crowd could be another effect of
increase in freedom.
There is a difference in the learning methods used at university in contrast to high school.
Students find it difficult to fit in to this learning environment. University requires students to
attend lectures where the lecture discusses majority of the matters from the front. A lot of work
has to be done by the student and the spoon-feeding idea of school is left behind.
The workload relating to studies are immense and a timetable needs to be strictly followed.
Moreover, adaptation to immense workload and the external university factors are difficult to
cope up with. Students have to study for longer hours to keep up and for their progress, and at
the same time do household choirs, which is even more when the students are living away from
their parents (Studymode, 2014).. Other external influence include peer pressure, socialising
and partying with friends also affects a first-year students life and studies. Henceforth, it is a
challenge for first year students to cope up with the immense workload.
The university life is times of significant transition and challenge for an individual. Another
challenge identified is that first year students face many issues and adjustments at the

beginning of university life. Few of these adjustments include sharing a residence hall room to
more demanding coursework, managing limited time and finance from allowances or the cash
parents provide to encountering a broad diversity of people and ideas.

Furthermore most students are forced to live away from their own families while transitioning
to be on ones own. Furthermore, maintain a balance between academic and social life is
another challenge majority of the students face. In addition to this, using unhealthy coping
behaviours such as binge drinking and inappropriate study and academic skills are also some of
the challenges faced. Finally, loneliness homesick, social life, roommate conflicts or
relationship issues, depression and anxiety are few other problem students face.
Moreover, there are some other challenges and these include firstly, choosing a major for study.
Majority of students take a lot of pressure upon themselves when choosing a major (Garfield
Gates 2014). Many have a viewpoint in which they think that a major will determine their
future career and how much income they have in future. Although university majors do have an
importance they do not chisel future of students. Secondly it identifies romantic relationship as
another of the challenge encountered by the students. Relationships are essential but at times
they become a nuisance when disagreement starts to occur (New Zealand Herald 2012). This
can result in distraction from studies and add on to the existing high stress levels. Breakup
could lead to a great amount of depression. Thirdly sickness and health conditions are another
challenge encountered. With stress levels already high and the lack of sleep because of
workload health problems could occur. Living in dormitory which are very close could also
increase chances of increasing students chances of contracting virus or other sickness.

1.3 SIMILAR RESEARCH

Two similar researches were taken into account during the compilation of this research. The
first report was the Findings from the 2007 Administration of Your First College Year (YFCY):
National Aggregates. It was done at Brevard College .This research was by Amy Liu, Jessica
Sharkness, John H. Pryor and it was done in California, Los Angeles during May 2008. The
results of the report were as follows; some of the challenges of first year students were time
management, financial concerns, interrelationships, homesick, isolation from campus life and
social networks. Furthermore the report also indicated that these challenges sometimes have
positive or negative or even both positive and negative outcomes on students life. The report
also outlined several solutions to the challenges faced such as help from the lecturers, peer
mentors, social awareness and racially diverse interactions between first year students. The
report finally identified that there would be few students who would still face challenges at
university due to various reasons such as financial difficulties still experienced or assistance
not derived from educators from the university. (Findings from the 2007 Administration of
Your First College Year (YFCY): National Aggregates, 2008).
The major similarities from the research were the common challenges and solutions to these
challenges. Another similarity was the research was also conducted on first year university
students and on one university only. The major difference in the report was that the sample size
was much larger in comparison to this research. Another major difference was that the research
did not include any graphical representation of the data but only contained tabulated results.

Secondly another research which was similar in nature and taken in consideration was The
First Year Experience in Australian Universities. This research was done by Richard James,
Kerri- Lee Krause and Claire Jennings. It was conducted from the year 1994 to 2009 in
Australia.

The report identified some 30 challenges of which the major ones include the decline in the
amount of time students spend on campus per week and the time spent on studies has
decreased. The full time student has also declined and the major challenges of first year
students include peer pressure, financial problems and time management. The research further
stated that the challenge could have both a positive and negative impact on students life. The
outcomes of the challenge could be negative because it would lead to students having severe
headache, trauma, depression and even frustration. On the other hand students can have a
positive outcome if the challenge was easy to overcome thus giving less tension. The report
also identified that the aspects of life of the challenges affect and these were academic, social,
psychological and financial. Furthermore, some students very effectively overcame the
challenges they faced while other were least effective with overcoming the challenges. Some
also overcame the challenges moderately. The report summed up by stating that few students
would still experience challenges at the university (The First Year Experience in Australian
Universities 2009).
The major similarity of the research was all the data collected was derived from surveys on
first year students. The research also included graphs and figures. The major differences were
the sample size was much larger that is 2422 students were used, the research also had lower
response rate (24%) in contrast to this research and all questionnaires were distributed by
emails rather than face to face interactions.

1.4 TERMS OF REFERENCES

1. To identify the principal challenges first-year students at tertiary level education encounter.
2. To assess the effects of these challenges on the students lives.
3. To analyse the reasons why these challenges occur.
4. To make recommendations on ways and means through which these challenges can be
managed and overcome.

1.5 HYPOTHESIS
It is hypothesised that first year students at the University of the South Pacific face many
challenges which affects their lives in different ways. Some of the major challenges they face
include financial difficulties, peer pressure, time management and new learning environment. It
seems likely that these challenges could be overcome by seeking helps from lecturers/tutors
and peers, attending workshops and taking assistance from Student Learning Support (SLS).

2.0 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Questionnaire
A questionnaire was designed to obtain information about the challenges first year students
face at university. A total of twenty questionnaires were distributed to the first year students of
The University of the South Pacific. The distribution was equal in respect to gender as ten male
and ten females were the respondents. Furthermore, a racial diversity was also considered
during the distribution of the questionnaire as students from all works of life answered the
questions. Almost all were sponsored students either by their respective governments and a few
were sponsored by the university itself. Students were given a duration of 5 days to complete
the questionnaire after which they were collected.
The questions in the questionnaire focused mainly at the challenges faced by first year students
at university level. Questions also focused at how these challenges could be overcome and how
it affected students life. Students were also asked to identify which challenge was the most
complex to cope up. (See appendix 1 for copy of the questionnaire).
2.2 Interviews
2 interviews were conducted and these were of a parent and a tutor based at the Laucala
campus of the university.
Parent: a parent was interviewed with regards to the challenges faced by his child. Questions
generally focused on the challenges the child faces and how the parent assisted with the
challenges. The interview was done through a telephone conversation.
Tutor: The questions for the interview were prepared beforehand. The viewpoints of a tutor
were taken on the challenges faced and how these challenges could be overcome. The
questions were asked face to face.
The information retrieved from the above was analysed, graphed and discussed.

2.3 Materials
The questionnaires were distributed to the twenty respondents which contained questions that
fulfilled the terms of reference criteria. Firstly, questions were based on the main challenges
experience in the first year of study. Secondly, it focused on the effects of these challenges on
students life. Thirdly, it evaluates the reasons for the challenges faced by the students. Finally,
it discusses the recommendations on overcoming of the challenges encountered.
2.4 Procedure
Firstly, questionnaires were prepared and distributed to twenty respondents. While the
questionnaires were being answered by the respondents, library research and internet was
accessed in order to collect relevant information pertaining to the research assignment. Two
people were interviewed by me and within one week period all information on the research
topic was gathered and all the twenty questionnaires were collected within that week. Finally,
the data gathered was analysed using Microsoft office suite software Excel which was used to
graph the data.

3.0 RESULTS
Table 1.0 : DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF RESPONDANTS
CONTEXT

DESCRIPTION

Gender

10 males and 10 females

Race

Variety of races

Sponsorship

18 sponsored and 2 private

Full Time/ Part time

All full time (20)

Local/ Regional Students

15 local and 5 regional

Table 1.0 highlights the description of various types of students consulted for the research. It
can be seen that gender and racial diversity were taken into consideration when the
questionnaires were distributed as there were equal of 10 male and 10 females answering the
questions. It seems that majority of the students were sponsored as only 2 were private
students. It is possible that all 20 of the students who were the respondents are full time
students and 5 of them are regional students.

Figure 1: Challenges encountered by first year students

Yes

No

100%

Figure 1 highlights the percentage of students and their responses to whether they encountered
challenges in their first year of university studies. It can be seen that all 100% of the
respondents encountered challenges and it appears that all had difficulties in their first year of
studies.

Figure 2: The main challenges experienced in the first year of studies.

5% 10%
Financial diffculties

25%

New learning environment

Time management
Peer Pressure

60%

Figure 2 demonstrates the main challenges experienced by students in their first year of studies.
It is evident from figure 2 that 60% of the respondents had challenges with the new learning
environment. On the contrary, a lower percentage identified time management as a challenge as
it was only 25% of the total survey response. The other two challenges that is financial
difficulties and peer pressure had 10% and 5% respectively.

Figure 3: Outcomes of the challenges on students life

70%
60%

60%

50%
40%

Outcomes of the challenges on students life

35%

30%
20%
10%

5%

0%
Negative

Positive

Positive and negative both

Figure 3 sheds light on the outcomes or effects of the challenges on the lives of the students. It
is evident that a negative outcome is significantly high that is at 60%. In comparison to this

35% had both positive and negative outcomes on their lives while 5% had negative outcomes
on their lives.

Figure 4: Two Aspects of life the challenges affected

40%
35%
30%
25%
Aspects of life the challenges affected

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Academic

Social

Psychological

Financial

Figure 4.0 represents a column graph showing the percentages of the two aspects of life the
challenges affected. The respondents were expected to choose two answers for this and after
that the graph was derived. It is clear that out of the two aspects of life chosen academic ranged
in the highest response. 40% of the students chose this as an answer. On the other hand it had
been found that the 3 given options ranged in a lower percentage with social at 25%, financial
at 20% and psychological at 15%.

Figure 5: Reasons for challenges faced

Financial Background

Poor Literacy skills

5%

Lack of resouces

15%
5%
10%

30%

20%

Poor Time management

Peer Pressure

Failure to adopt to new environment

15%

Work load

Figure 5.0 represents a pie chart showing the reasons for the challenges they faced. The
respondents were to choose from 7 options given or provide their own answer. All the
respondents chose from the given options where 15% selected financial background, poor time
management was at 20% while 30% choose failure to adapt to the new environment. 15% also
selected peer pressure as a reason for the challenge they face. Lack of resources was at 10%
while both workload and poor literacy skills was at 5% each.

Figure 6: Effectiveness of coping with the challenges

15%

Most effectively
Least effectively
Moderately
25%
60%

Figure 6 demonstrates the percentage of effectiveness of coping up with the challenge. It can
be seen that 60% of students coping up with the challenge was very effective. On the other
hand a lower percentage coping of challenge was least effective that is at 25%, while coping up
with the challenge moderately was at 15%.

Figure 7: Are the challenges still faced

30%

Yes
No

70%

Figure 7 shows the percentage of students which still face challenges and those who have
successfully overcome these challenges and no longer face the challenges. It can be visualised
that 70% of students no longer encounter challenges, on the contrary a lower percentage that is
30% still face the challenges.

PART B OF RESULTS: INTERVIEWS

Two interviews were conducted and one of the tutors at the university was interviewed and
another was a parent consulted with the questions. Both agreed that all first year students face
difficulties at university. The summaries of the answers to the questions were as follows. Some
of the challenges the students face were identified by both as time management, financial
difficulties and adjusting to new environment. Furthermore the reasons for the challenges faced
were lack of devotion towards studies, peer pressure, financial constraints and lack of resources
such as text books. The tutor was asked of her role in assisting students in overcoming the
challenges and the reply was through counselling and providing assistance during consultation
hours. Both identified that the main impact of these challenges would be on the students having
poor academic performance. Finally, some of the suggestions to overcome challenges were
developing a proper personal time table, not getting influenced by friends and using financial
resources properly.

DISCUSSION
Table 1.0
10 males and 10 females were consulted to be the respondents of the questionnaire. This is
because the results would show the problems faced by both genders. A variety of races present
at the Laucala campus were consulted to avoid racial discrimination. Furthermore, there were
18 sponsored students and 2 privately seeking education at the university. The number of
sponsored students could be quite high because of the latest initiative provided by the Fijian
government through student loan scheme. All 20 students were full time students with 5 of
them from other regional countries.

Figure 1: Challenges encountered by first year students

The results indicate that all first year students faced challenges in their initial year of university
life because of various reasons which are explained in detail further in the report. This is
supported by the two interviews conducted. The interviewees generally concluded that all first
year students do face challenge in their first year of studies

Figure 2: The main challenges experienced in the first year of studies

It seems that a vast majority had problems adjusting to the new environment at the university.
This is evident as 60% chose this as one of their challenge. This could be due to the change in
the pattern of teaching at The University of The South Pacific. As university exposes students
to a lecturer who speaks from the front during majority of the session. The learning method
also changes at the university as Moodle become the main source of interaction for learning
resources. Furthermore, part of the new learning environment is also the change in spoon
feeding done during high school which is halted at the university levels. Students also have
problems locating classrooms. Moreover, time management is another challenge the first year
students encounter at university level. This could be due to devoting less time towards studies
and doing unnecessary things when the time is allocated for studies. Not devising a proper time
schedule could also be a leading factor for having time management as a challenge. It also
seems that financial difficulties were another challenge the first year students come across.
Although majority are sponsored students other financial problems could be experienced apart
from fees. The high price of textbooks for instance could be a challenge and the paying of
accommodation is another financial problem. Regional students would also have problems
because they stay away from their families and have to live independently thus doing
additional work such as household chores in addition to studies. Finally peer pressure was the
least favoured challenge, however few did experience this and his could be because of the
influence from friends which leads to distraction from studies.
This supports and adds to the findings by Amy Liu, Jessica Sharkness, John H. Pryor (2008)
and Richard James, Kerri- Lee Krause and Claire Jennings (2009) who showed similar results
for the challenges faced by first year students. Both the studies identified new learning
environment and time management as a major challenge faced by students in two different
countries. It may be the case that almost all first year students in any country suffer from these
challenges discussed above. It further adds that students away from their home would face

additional problems than those staying in their home country. It is also clear that the challenges
are unavoidable and part of the first year university life.
Figure 3: Outcomes of the challenges on students life.
From the survey, it is evident that many first year students have a negative outcome of the
challenges on their lives. This could be because the challenges makes their life more difficult
and sometimes causes depression and frustration. The results also suggest that there were few
students who had both a positive and negative impact on their life. This could be because of
some challenges teaching them life lessons for instance, managing with limited finance and
using time wisely. Also it is highlighted that there was a student who had only positive impact
of the challenge. This would be because the student had overcome difficulties with ease. This is
supported by the findings of Amy Liu, Jessica Sharkness, John H. Pryor (2008) and Richard
James, Kerri- Lee Krause and Claire Jennings (2009) as both highlighted the reasons
explaining why the outcomes of the challenges were positive, negative or both. The researchers
also stated that if a challenge is overcome with ease it could have a positive outcome on
students life.

Figure 4 : Two Aspects of life the challenges affected

It has been reported that, the main aspect of life these challenges affect is academic. This could
be because the students get lower marks in exams or have unsatisfactory grades in final exams.
Furthermore, the second most common aspect of life affected is social. It is a possibility that
students lose their social life because the challenges are difficult to cope up with. The last two
aspects that these challenges affect are financial and psychological. This could be because
students are not able to manage their funds and have an impact on their mind as a result of
these challenges. These above arguments are supported by the report The First Year Experience
in Australian Universities. It identified the above four aspects of life affected of students. All
four aspects of life identified in the research were the same as this research conducted.

Figure 5 : Reasons for challenges faced

It appears that failure to adapt to new environment was the major reason for the challenge
faced by the first year students. This could be because students have to adapt to a new way of
teaching with lectures and tutorials. Furthermore, locating new classrooms is also one of the
reasons for the challenges faced. Secondly, poor time management was also one of the reasons
for the challenges faced. This could be because of the students not managing their time wisely
and leaving revision for exams and completion of assignments for the very last minute. Time
management at university education is essential as all success at university is based on the
amount of time devoted. Thirdly peer pressure is another major reason for the challenges faced.
This could be because of friends influence on students which can lead to missing lectures and
tutorials. Financial background, lack of resources and poor literacy skills were the other
reasons for the challenges. Students without resources such as textbooks and lecture notes
could lead to lacking behind in lectures and tutorials. This is supported by the interviews
conducted as both the tutor and parent identified failure to adapt to new environment as the
reason for the challenge faced. Both claimed that if adaptation is not done at a regular pace it
could be suicidal for the students.

Figure 6: Effectiveness of coping with the challenges

The results indicate that different students cope with the challenge at their own pace. They
either are very effective with overcoming of the challenge, least effective or cope moderately
with it. This could be because of various reasons such as the time devoted for the challenge or
the type of assistance taken to overcome these challenge. The results are supported by the
report of First Year Experience in Australian Universities in which the above are also
highlighted supporting how effective students are able to cope with the challenges. The report
identified some very effective in overcoming the challenges while others were moderate and
least effective.

Figure 7: Are the challenges still faced

It appears that a higher percentage of students no longer face challenges at the university. This
could be because the financial challenges would have been solved through the receiving of
scholarship or part time jobs, time management would have been solved through proper time
tables devised and new learning environment would have been adjusted to during the duration
of study.
While there are also few who would still come across challenges because of various factors
such as financial conditions still not solved or the allowance not received. This is supported by
the two researches explained in the introduction where it states that students could overcome
challenges if they manage their time and finances wisely or take assistance on time.

5. CONCLUSION

To conclude, the summary of some of the results the report demonstrated were firstly all
students at the University of the South Pacific in their first year of studies encounter
challenges. Moreover, some of the challenges that these students encounter are financial
difficulties, new learning environment, peer pressure and time management. These challenges
had positive and negative impact on the life of students. The major aspects of life that these
challenges affected were academic, social, psychological and financial. In addition to this the
reasons for the challenges encountered were financial background, poor literacy skills, peer
pressure, lack of resources , poor time management and work load encountered at university
level. Finally, financial problem was the most complex challenge to overcome while social was
the least and it was also concluded that there are students that still encounter challenges.
The hypothesis of the report which was that all first year students at the University of the South
Pacific face many challenges which affects their lives in many different ways. This hypothesis
was achieved as all questionnaires carried the same response that they do face challenges in
their first year of study. This hypothesis is also supported by the interviews conducted and the
two similar reports used in this research.
Furthermore, the report is based on the terms of reference that was provided in the assignment
question. The terms of reference was evaluated through distributing questionnaires, whereby
the answers of the twenty respondents were evaluated from which the graphs were formed in
the results and information was gathered for the discussion..
However, there were many difficulties faced while compiling information for this research
report. A major difficulty was that the questionnaires were not returned on time thus delaying
the analysing and discussion of data. Secondly, the sample size for the research was small and
did not do a proper representation. Thirdly, the conducting of interview was also delayed due to
the busy schedule of the tutor. Finally, few questions were not answered in the questionnaire
and this led to difficulties in graphing of data.

Therefore, some improvements can be made for future attempts when doing such research
topics. When the questionnaires are distributed out to the people, one must be given sometime
to answer the questions and collected the same day on the spot, but incase if the respondents
requests to answer the questionnaire after sometime and return the next day, one must note
down the persons contacts in order to reach the respondent on time and collect the
questionnaires. Furthermore, the schedule of interviewee should be noted in advance to prevent
any problems in future.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are suggested to overcome challenges faced by first year
students at The University of the South Pacific :

Attend workshops and seminars organised by various faculties to learn things such as

time management, assignments and study skills.

Take assistance from various faculty student learning support (SLS) on matters such as

financial assistance and counselling sessions

Request for assistance from peers, lecturers, tutors and mentors on academic matters.
Attend orientation sessions in the beginning of the semester to find ease in locating

classrooms and lecture halls.

Manage resources such as finance and time wisely to prevent facing difficulties.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-Garfield Gates, 2014, First year university students viewed 3 October, 2014,
www.garfieldgates.com
-Janes, R. Krause, K. and Jennings, C. 2009, The first year experience in Australian
Universites,
Australian Nation University, Sydney
-Liu, A. Shrakness, J. and Pryor, J.H. 2008, Findings from the 2007 Administration of Your
First College Year (YFCY): National Aggregates, Brevard College, California.
-New Zealand Herald, 2012, First Year University Students, 10 June, p.8.

- Studymode, 2014, Challenges faced by first year students viewed 5 October, 2014,
www.studymode.com