The 2023 academic year has started in earnest for those higher education institutions that follow the January to December academic year. As I write this article, some institutions have closed registration while others have extended their late registration to the end of February, with the hope of mopping up latecomers, for there are always those who make decisions late, for whatever reason. This year’s tertiary academic year in this country started under the backdrop of the hullabaloo caused by the poor performance of the 2022 Grade 11 and Advanced Subsidiary Level (Grade 12) learners. Possible reasons for the dismal failure of these learners have been advanced by education pundits, parents, teachers and by all and sundry, resulting in a fierce blame-game battle that I have no intention to extend here.
Suffice to say that while there were some genuine reasons advanced for the miserable results, there were many people who spoke and wrote about this subject, projecting an infinite deal of nothing, not worth listening to and reading. My purpose today is on freshmen, as first-year students are referred to in the developed world. Female students are also included in the term freshmen, although it looks and sounds gender-insensitive.
Vast experience in higher education has allowed me to interact with freshmen each year, and I am convinced that each group faces more or less the same anxieties, fears, disillusions, hopes, likes and dislikes about the academic and social situations they find themselves in as first-year students at a higher education institution.
Naturally, the academic environment at university or college can be daunting and threatening to first-year students for various reasons. The imposing university or college infrastructure can be threatening too to the timid mind of a freshman. The programmes and curricula students register for can be intimidating, as they encounter some terminologies and concepts that they are not familiar with. Lecturers and professors who teach these students use various methods of teaching that may put new students off for some time until they get used to their mentors. Equally frustrating sometimes are assignments that lecturers and professors give students without coordinating due dates when these assignments have to be submitted. A barrage of assignments, notes, class presentations, reading books in the library and other tasks from mentors overwhelm some new students, to the point that some of them drop out of college because they tell themselves that they cannot cope with the academic demands of a college or university.
While terminating one’s studies for academic reasons might look ridiculous and far-fetched, this happens every year, for there are always students whose academic stamina is questionable, despite the high points or grades they scored at the high- school level.
There is overwhelming evidence from literature that shows that maladjustment to university requirements is one of the major causes of first-year students dropping out of higher education. For instance, a study conducted by Aulck and his colleagues in 2021 found that “One way in which universities have combated freshman attrition and attempted to improve the college experience is through the implementation of freshman orientation seminars (freshman seminars). Freshman seminars are courses focused on helping incoming students transition to college life, both socially and academically.”
The socio-cultural background of new students may be a hindrance when they encounter a cosmopolitan society with all diversity at university or college. Having been used to an ethnic society in their home schools, social skills are needed in an environment that is multicultural, like that of a university. It is not an overstatement to say that new students from closed societies find it difficult to function well in a multicultural and multilingual setting like a college or university. In such cases, new students feel lost in the big university or college crowd; this may lead to isolation, causing students distress. Research on this has shown that many students overcome this cultural shock by taking part in extracurricular activities like sports, music, debate and other social clubs. This gives freshmen a sense of belonging to a group or a community, which is necessary to assist them in coping with the new academic and social environment.
Usually, the offices of the students’ representative council and the dean of students in colleges and universities mount freshman programmes that go a long way in integrating first-year students into university or college life. In addition, departments and faculties in which these students have registered hold orientation workshops which are highly informative and useful.
Furthermore, university library staff offer courses to first-year students on how they can get library resources and use them in their studies. If well-executed, all these efforts will dispel fears and anxieties among first-year students, and motivate them to do their academic work. Let me end by emphasising that as freshmen at universities or colleges, you must learn to take responsibility for your actions. If you attend all orientation programmes in various departments, you will definitely get the guidance and counselling that will make your university or college life easier and more enjoyable.
University or college staff are there to give you professional advice that you may need about programmes, disciplines, combinations of subjects and the resources you may need in your studies. Above all, do not be a victim of peer pressure, as this is likely to disrupt your studies and ruin your life. Finally, remember that even the greatest were beginners.
Email: kjairos@gmail.com