Problem of First Year Students

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nIntroduction

nBeginning first year at the university can be a discouraging experience and a huge adjustment problem for new students. Some students have difficulties to adjust quickly and survive on campus. If the first year in the University succeeds, students have a higher chance to pursue their academic goals (Johnston, 2010, p. 101). The year sets the pace of successful future careers and campus study of a new student. However, if a first year student fails to adjust quickly he or she may easily get disengaged, which reduce the academic performance and may drop out. The university admits first-year students with various social and academic skills and from diverse cultures and backgrounds (Göransson & Brundenius, 2011, p. 58). Many of the students make their first adjustments in life since they live away from their parents and homes. In spite of students diverse cultures, the University requires all the students to learn (Race, 2000, p. 92). Australian Universities have admitted large numbers of students, but the rate of attrition is very high.

nWhen joining campus students are excited to meet new friends, experience university academic setting and pursuing an academic career. However, adjusting to foreign academic setting generates culture shock as the new students attempts to cope. As the newness of the university cultures starts to decrease, first year students begin to realize different adjustment they are experiencing (Nathan, 2005, p. 66). They have to deal with persons with diverse cultures and backgrounds and sharing their living places. New students begin to deal with reality of accepting new responsibility, creating identity and becoming self-reliant. Furthermore, the University cultures demands that students should not only concentrate on the academic work but should deal with social excellence such as developing new relationship with peers, solving conflicts, dealing with resultant anxiety and separations from their loved ones at home (Leibowitz, Van der Merwe & Van Schalkwyk, 2009, p. 77). New students encounter a different experience that offers a huge positive change, but at times, it provides intense personal anxiety and conflict. If a new student deals with unfriendly new culture, he or she is unable to think adequately and behave inappropriately in the university (Jones & Siraj-Blatchford, 2013, p. 119). The ability of new students to adapt to a new culture affect the way he or she copes with socio-cultural adaptation.

nIn university, one of the critical factors of success is time management. Students utilize less of their time in class and they are required to do more research outside the classroom (Kuh, 2005, p. 121). The professors usually give huge amounts of research work instead of smaller daily assignments. In addition, students at campus spend limited time in organized events than they did in high school. First year students engage in off-campus or campus jobs that consume much of their time (Leibowitz, Van der Merwe & Van Schalkwyk, 2009, p. 209). Therefore, they fail to focus on the coursework and obligations because they are poor planners. In this respect, they do not concentrate on observing deadlines, appointments and assignments.

nFirst-year students face considerable challenges in languages if it is not their first language. For instance, the majority of international students in Australian Universities needs to adjust to a new language. Though they are admitted after taking an English language test in the campus, only a few students adjust to the Australian accent and speech style applied in tutorials and lectures (Jones & Siraj-Blatchford, 2013, p. 99). They try to solve language difficulties by utilizing their time learning outside the class time. Consequently, it minimizes the amount of time that can be used in social life on campus and establish proficient oral language skills. First year students, particularly from other countries usually complain that instructors speak very fast and utilize abbreviations or idioms not conversant with them (Haberland, Lønsmann & Preisler, 2013, p. 78). Moreover, many first year students do not like to seek assistance, favouring to spend more time on their assignment and essays prior to seeking help from their instructors or language advisers.

nAs a university student enters the institutions, he or she shifts to a new social world. They begin their career and need to re-establish their social world. First year students joining Australian universities leave their family and friend networks that provide social support in their lives. Therefore, in campus they find themselves in relational deficit and social isolation at a critical moment in their lives (Andreatta, 2009, p. 213). They face daily living, accommodation and new setting problems and must adapt to unfamiliar institutional regulations. Lack of social support establishes loneliness in their campus lives, therefore, the sorrow and feeling of distress increases. Inadequate social integration and social ties cause loneliness. They must also learn to live with someone new such as roommate with different living habits (Björk, 2003, p. 33). Sometimes it leads to conflicts because of failure to communicate their expectations and needs.

nConclusion

nFirst year students in Australian Universities face several challenges in their campuses. These include cultural shock, social support, time management and language. The student needs to adjust to specific and general cultures of universities (Nathan, 2005, p. 67). They need appropriate life skills to balance between academic work, campus duties and social life. The University management should offer guidance and support to new students to enable them acquire the appropriate cultural, social and academic competencies (Race, 2000, p. 101). In this regard, they can challenge hostility, loneliness and social isolation in the universities.

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nReferences

nAndreatta, B. (2009). Navigating the research university. New York, N.Y.: Wadsworth Publishing.

nBjörk, L. (2003). Teaching academic writing in European higher education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

nGöransson, B., & Brundenius, C. (2011). Universities in transition. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

nHaberland, H., Lønsmann, D., & Preisler, B. (2013). Language alternation, language choice and language encounter in international tertiary education. Dordrecht: Springer.

nJohnston, B. (2010). The first year at university. Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

nJones, M., & Siraj-Blatchford, J. (2013). Researching into Student Learning and Support in Colleges and Universities. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

nKuh, G. (2005). Student success in college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

nLeibowitz, B., Van der Merwe, A., & Van Schalkwyk, S. (2009). Focus on first-year success. Stellenbosch, [South Africa]: SUN Media.

nNathan, R. (2005). My freshman year. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

nRace, P. (2000). How to win as a first-year student. Buckingham: Open University Press.