https://doi.org/10.33805/2573.3877.

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Volume 4 Issue 1 | PDF 139 | Pages 4

Nursing and Health Care

Research Article ISSN: 2573-3877
Experiences of Foundation Year Students at
Oman College of Health Sciences
Suad Al Junaibi1*, Asma Nasser Al Yahya’ei1, Aziza Nasser Al Rahbi1, Bushra
Abdullah Al Battashi1, Iman Hamed Al Ghaithi1, Kahwla Abdullah Al
Raqadi1, Maha Ahmed Al Hinai1, Marwa Mohammed Al Farsi1, Nawar
Abdullah Al Suti1, Sameera Said Al Mashari1 and Sara Said Al Sudairi1
Affiliation
1
Nursing Program-Muscat, Oman College of Health Sciences, Sultanate of Oman, Oman
*
Corresponding author: Junaibi SA, Senior Nursing Tutor, Oman College of Health Sciences, Sultanate of Oman, Oman, Tel: +968
99455354, E-mail: [email protected]
Citation: Junaibi SA, Al Yahya’ei NA, Al Rahbi NA, AL Battashi BA, Al Ghaithi IH, et al. Experiences of foundation year students at Oman
college of health sciences (2019) Nursing and Health Care 4: 53-56.
Received: Sep 18, 2019
Accepted: Oct 23, 2019
Published: Oct 31, 2019
Copyright: © 2019 Junaibi SA, et al., This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Joining college for the first time might be a difficult experience for most students as the transitional stage from being a student of secondary
school to one in a college can lead to problems in terms of adjusting to college life. There are multiple aspects that students need to adjust to in
college life such as social, academic, lifestyle, institutional attachment, and personal-emotional aspects.
The aim of this project was to identify the common adjustment issues among first-year students enrolled in the foundation program at the Oman
College of Health Sciences (OCHS). To achieve the purpose of the project, a survey comprising 26 point s and subdivided into four parts was
designed using a Likert-type scale. A sample of 200 first-year students (mean age=19yrs.) at OCHS were randomly selected to be surveyed from
total of 374 students. However, only 188 students participated in the survey: 48 males (25.5%), and 140 females (74.5%). The gathered data were
entered and analyzed through the google forms service. The results showed lack of entertainment to be the main issue with first-year students
followed by concerning economic problems, social and wellbeing issues. The findings indicated that Extracurricular Activities (ECAs) within and
outside the college play an important role in the students’ academic performances and have positive effects on their lives. Such students will also
be able to alter their behavior, improve their learning, develop their personality, and increase their teamwork and leadership skills.
Keywords: Extracurricular activities, First year Students, Academic performances.
Abbreviations: OCHS- Oman College of Health Sciences, ECAs- Extracurricular Activities, GPA-Grade Point Average.

Introduction independence and control” [2]. If the individual fails to be independent

or does not know what they want, this can lead to role confusion.
The transitional stage from being a student in secondary school to one
Furthermore, it has been found by Sheng and Zhu that university
in a college can lead to problems in adjusting to college life. Some
learning is the key period for college students to transition from the
students may even experience long-term emotional maladjustment and
role of a student to a good, socialized individual role [3]. Such a stage
depression [1]. In addition, entering an unfamiliar environment with
is considered to be of great importance in shaping the students’
different responsibilities may cause some maladjustment problems
cognition, emotion, and will, which play a big role in the attainment of
during the first year of most students in certain aspects such as social,
happiness for contemporary college students.
academic, lifestyle, institutional attachment and personal-emotional
adjustments. Further, Extracurricular Activities (ECAs) may also be
Nowadays, ECAs have become an important part in each university
considered as an influencing factor that considerably affects the
and college as it may affect the students’ lives in college. Many
students’ lives.
colleges deal with ECAs as it is a source of joy for the students and
also helps them to identify their talents. Moreover, ECAs increase their
Maladjustment to the above-mentioned factors can significantly affect
involvement in college and their productivity as well. Furthermore,
the academic performance, mental health, personal development,
ECAs play a significant role in developing the characters and
quality of life and other aspects in the life of a first-year college
personalities of the students. In the Oman College of Health Sciences
student. According to Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial
(OCHS), no separate committee exists that is responsible for the ECAs
development, children between 12 and 18 years of age are at a stage of
on campus. The student affairs committee takes direct responsibilities
identity vs. role confusion, and “The individual who receives proper
for the ECAs, and there is a lack of an obvious role for ECAs in the
encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will
college.
emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of
Objectives of the project

Citation: Junaibi SA, Yahya’ei ANA, Rahbi ANA, Battashi BAA, Ghaithi IHA, et al. Experiences of
foundation year students at Oman college of health sciences (2019) Nursing and Health Care 4: 53-
56.
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 Junaibi SA, et al. Nursing and Health Care, 2019 PDF: 139, 4:1

This project aims to: examinations and learned new skills such as working in a team and
 Identify the adjustment problems that can be found among the leadership, while decreasing the likelihood of different problem
first-year students at OCHS. behaviors [7].
 Create and distribute a survey to identify the most common
problems faced by first-year students. Music was found to inspire the students to learn by uplifting their
 Recommend suggestions based on the study findings. moods. It was stated in a study that music was considered to be a fun
activity that the students enjoyed and helped to make them more
Significance of the Project: To evaluate whether the first-year motivated [8]. This study proved that music can change students’
students of OCHS are able to accommodate and adjust to the moods and make them happier and less stressed. Moreover, the study
transitional problems and issues of being a college student. found out that the students who listened to music while studying was
had better academic performances.
Literature review: This project discusses some of the studies that
support the statements related to ECAs at OCHS and their positive Chan also asserted that there is a positive relationship among ECAs,
effects on the students’ lives. Such effects may include improved the learning approach and academic performance [9]. Moreover,
mental status, time management, self-confidence, learning, personality Bakoban and Aljarallah found out in their statistical study that
development, teamwork cooperation and leadership, as well as participation in ECAs affected the students’ Grade Point Average
positively altered behaviors and motivation to set goals. Such a (GPAs) in a positive way as those who participated in ECAs had higher
comprehensive list of positive effects will in turn help them to achieve GPAs than those who did not [10]. They also found that the time spent
high academic performance. This health educational project is on participating in ECAs did not affect the time that students usually
considered to be a supportive study for the fresher students, who are spend on studying.
the primary target of the project.
Billingsley and Hurd state that non-participating students have lower
Studies indicate that participation in ECAs can help adolescents to GPAs and feel bad when compared to students who participate in
develop themselves and set goals during their transition from ECAs and get higher GPAs and who feel more confident about their
adolescence to adulthood while at a university. This will help them to achievement [11]. In another study, Arranz et al., highlighted the more
achieve high outcomes in their academic performance and will also positive effects of ECAs beside enjoyment such as an in increase in the
help them to adjust with their emotional status [4]. Hence, higher students’ awareness, especially when exposed to college trips and
educational agencies should support and direct their students to campaigns at different places [12]. It was mentioned in the study that
participate in these activities in order to adjust with their problems. extracurricular and curricular activities are equally important in a
student’s life. ECAs help refresh the students’ minds and prepare them
When first-year students participate in ECAs in the college campus, it to focus better on their study besides improving their knowledge; for
encourages them to explore their hobbies and capabilities during the example, participating in trips to various places increases the student’s
second year of college life in a way that increases their self-confidence knowledge about those places. It also improves their style of learning
and relieves them from the pressure and stress of only focusing on and communicating with others. This will help them to be more
studies. Researchers indicate that the personality traits and happiness of mentally prepared to attend other college activities.
college students help them to better understand themselves by
recognizing the factors that affect their personality [3]. Research design: This study is conducted using a quantitative
descriptive research design to elicit the information from first-year
This health educational project discusses the existence of ECAs inside students at OCHS regarding adjustment issues with college life.
the campus amongst freshmen. Due to the hardships of their transition
from high school to college, new college students need more activities Setting of the study: The study is conducted in the OCHS main
to explore their emotions and use their energy to be productive and campus in Muscat. The registry of first-year students is accessed
creative. Also, as mentioned previously, for freshmen to perform well through the OCHS registration and acceptance section.
in their academic activities, it is important for them to be exposed to an
entertaining environment and to be provided with good support from Population: There are 374 students registered at the OCHS foundation
the college council by encouraging them to participate in ECAs and program in Muscat (academic year 2018/19).
simultaneously supporting them in their studies. They should be
reassured and guided that with proper time management, participation Sample: First year students who are fulfilling the inclusion criteria
in ECAs inside and outside the campus will not affect their academic after reviewing through the foundation program registry with the help
performance. Additionally, it is important to bring to their attention of the program head are approached for the study. Sample size
that participating in and organizing these activities will help them to calculation=190, total population (374), acceptable error margin (5%).
develop relationships with various people. Confidence level=95%

Sheng and Zhu found that ECAs do not only help the students to relax Sampling technique: Convenient sampling is used. Number of
but also help them to exercise their management ability, organizational samples from OCHS first-year students is calculated based on the
ability, communication ability and other abilities, which add to the proportionate number of foundation students who is admitted during
students’ knowledge and enhance their personal skills [3]. For data collection period.
example, a case study shows that participation in extracurricular
sporting activities had a positive impact on the students’ academic Slovin’s formula for sample size calculation, n=N/(1+Ne2). Where:
performance in higher education as it was found to be associated with n=no of samples, N=total population (374), e=acceptable error margin /
higher grades among students at the university level [5]. It was also margin of error (0.05).
found by Zaman those ECAs such sports, student councils, and music, Hence n=374/1+374 x 0.0025=187
art, and drama clubs can improve the self-esteem and alter the attitude
and behavior of a person [6]. Inclusion criteria:
 Students in the age group of 18 years and above
It could also be argued that if students participate in ECAs, it will  Students admitted in the academic year 2018/19.
increase their collaborative and cooperative attitude whenever there is a
teamwork activity. They will also learn to possess leadership skills, Exclusion criteria: Students who are repeating the foundation
which will increase their self-esteem and confidence. The results of a program.
cross-sectional study highlighted the students who had participated in Data collection instrument: The survey constituted of 26 points that
ECAs such as college clubs generally scored better in their were subdivided into four parts, which were designed and measured by

Citation: Junaibi SA, Yahya’ei ANA, Rahbi ANA, Battashi BAA, Ghaithi IHA, et al. Experiences of foundation
year students at Oman college of health sciences (2019) Nursing and Health Care 4: 53-56.
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 Junaibi SA, et al. Nursing and Health Care, 2019 PDF: 139, 4:1

a 5-point likert-type scale. The four parts were economic issues, social This indicates the importance of the abundance of such activities in
issues, wellbeing related issues and entertainment issues. Such themes colleges in the foundation year and beyond. Zaman listed several ECAs
were carefully selected to help assess the most common issues first- that freshmen students could participate in and which would have
year students may encounter during their college time. A pilot study positive effects on their personalities [6]. Such activities included
was conducted to check the feasibility of the application of the survey. sports, administration activities, and music, art, and drama clubs. The
The survey was distributed among a small sample of students (25 first- other problems that had been stated by the participants also intervened
year students) and was found to be a reliable tool. The survey questions with their academic performance, whether it was in terms of economic
were found to be ideal for the language and knowledge levels of the aspects, social and wellbeing aspects. All of these issues had negative
OCHS students. Therefore, the survey was used as the main tool for impacts in one way or another on the students’ academic performance,
gathering data for the project. and they definitely interacted with the lack of ECAs in impacting
academic performance negatively.
Date Collection
The survey was conducted by randomly selecting 200 freshmen The participants indicated that excessive academic commitments
students (males/females) to answer the survey after being asked for proved to be stressful. Furthermore, the stressful college environment
their consent. Subsequently, the survey was subjected to a descriptive and lack of social support were all harmful to their health, which was
statistical analysis. The target population sample of the survey was 200 ultimately reflected by poor academic performance. Guilmette et al
students (mean age=19yrs.) of the OCHS foundation program, but the clarified that freshmen students achieve better outcomes when they
actual number of participants who responded and contributed to the adjust emotionally [4]. Sheng and Zhu also indicated that the
survey was 188 students: 48 males (25.5%), and 140 females (74.5%). personality traits of college students helped them to better understand
themselves by recognizing the factors that affected their happiness [3].
Hence, by pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses in their
Data Analysis
personalities, the freshmen will be able to adjust emotionally, alter
The survey data were entered using the Google Forms service and then
their behavior, and organize themselves better, which will eventually
using the Excel application for analysis. All the points that were
improve their academic performance. Such positive effects on their
included in each part of the survey were analyzed in detail. The results
personalities and behaviors are a direct result of participating in ECAs,
are presented according to the percentage of responses for each part. In
as stated by Sheng and Zhu and Zaman, and other researchers [3,6].
terms of the entertainment issues part, which highlighted the main
The other social and personal skills that will be gained from
concerns of the survey participants, the results show that 79.3% of the
participating in ECAs are teamwork and leadership skills which will
participants strongly agree that there are no recreational services in
benefit them throughout their academic life [7].
OCHS, and there is no interest in conducting sporting activities at the
college Figure 1.
Furthermore, it could be argued that the lack of academic support from
the college administration, as claimed by the students, is due to the
poor communication and relationship between the students and their
tutors. Many students have stated that some tutors are biased to
particular students, due to which they provide limited support to some
students. This makes them feel disappointed and thus affects their
academic performance. Also, their inability to convey their needs in an
efficient manner to their tutors because of language barriers makes it
difficult for them to express the shortages in their academic skills.
Hence, a good student-tutor relationship is essential for improving the
students’ academic performance to ensure a smooth transition from the
first year to the following academic years.

From the above argument, it is obvious that ECAs are considered to be

prerequisites for improving the academic performance of all students.
Figure: 1 First year student’s response.
Therefore, it is advised that OCHS consider improving the support
services provided to freshmen as it has been proved that they are vital
In the economic issues part, 56.7% of the participants strongly agree
for better outcomes in the students’ academic performances and for
that the high cost for transportation and meals with the lack of
smooth transition from the first-year to the subsequent academic years.
allocation of monthly expenses to the students, which pose serious
economic problems that, require attention. In the social issues, 48.9%
of the participants strongly disagreed with the availability social Recommendations and implications
support services. In the wellbeing issues part, 35.5%of the participants According to the survey results, ECAs are a major issue at the Oman
agreed that they had poor sleep habits and they were sleepy in the College of Health Sciences. Therefore, to resolve this issue, it was
classroom. Also, the meals provided in the canteen were unhealthy, the important to hold a workshop jointly with the student affairs assistant
canteen environment was unclean, and the timing of the lectures was deanship at the college to discuss the ECA matters. Another important
not convenient for them. part is to create a booklet which would help first-year students.
Suggestions include the following:
 Provide a corner in the library with various genres other than the
Discussion of Findings medical and health fields.
The lack of entertainment and recreational services in the OCHS, as  Provide special halls for various events like cultural, sports,
reflected in the results, is considered to be the main issue concerning artistic, and literary activities.
freshmen. As reflected earlier in the literature, participating in ECAs,  Allocate a cinema hall to screen cultural or entertaining movies
whether inside or outside the college, is considered to be of prime every month.
importance for freshmen to help them relieve the various stresses they
 Organize a day for student entrepreneurs to showcase their
encounter in their first year of higher studies. Guilmette et al, Muñoz-
products and projects.
Bullón et al, and Ahmad et al, linked participation in ECAs to higher
 Hold periodical talent competitions to select the best talents such
outcomes in academic performance [4,5,7]. On the contrary,
as the best photographic, best actor, best chef, best singer, etc.
Billingsley and Hurd stated that the non-participating students had
lower GPAs [11].  Have an open day for students-a recreational day-to break their
monotonous routines, which will motivate them to get back to
their studies with enthusiasm.

Citation: Junaibi SA, Yahya’ei ANA, Rahbi ANA, Battashi BAA, Ghaithi IHA, et al. Experiences of foundation
year students at Oman college of health sciences (2019) Nursing and Health Care 4: 53-56.
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 Junaibi SA, et al. Nursing and Health Care, 2019 PDF: 139, 4:1

7. Ahmad M, Rahman MF, Ali M, Rahman FN and Al Azad MAS.

A workshop was conducted to discuss the suggestions that had been Effect of extracurricular activity on student’s academic
raised with the student affairs section and the students’ council well. performance (2015) J of Arm Forc Med Coll 11: 41-46.
The contents of a booklet were also discussed during this workshop
https://doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v11i2.39822
and found to be satisfactory. The student affairs section agreed about
the importance of ECAs in the college. Furthermore, the contents of the 8. Antony M, Priya VV and Gayathri R. Effect of music on
booklet focused on the students’ needs, especially of those residing in academic performance of college students (2018) Drug Invent
hostels. Some examples of the contents of the booklet are contacts of Today 10: 2093-2096.
the nearest restaurants, shopping malls, gyms, and gardens, in addition 9. Chan YK. Investigating the relationship among extracurricular
to other entertaining activities such as camping. The booklet was activities, learning approach and academic outcomes: a case
designed based on the locations in which the students reside in Muscat. study (2016) Active Learning in Higher Education 17: 223-233.
The considered places that will be included in the booklet are Al- https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787416654795
Aamirat, Bawsher, Al-Athaiba, Al-Khuwair, Ruwi, Al-Wattaya, and 10. Bakoban RA and Aljarallah SA. Extracurricular activities and
Al-Qurum. their effect on the student's grade point average: statistical study
(2015) Edu Res Rev 10: 2737-2744.
https://doi.org/10.5897/err2015.2436
Summary of the Findings 11. Billingsley JT and Hurd NM. Discrimination, mental health and
This project clearly highlighted that 79.3% of first-year students who
academic performance among underrepresented college students:
participated in the survey agreed that there was a lack of entertainment
and ECAs inside and outside the college campus, which demanded the the role of extracurricular activities at predominantly white
attention of the college administration. In response to such an alarming institutions (2019) Soci Psy Edu 22: 421-446.
fact, a step by step approach was followed to provide the college https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09484-8
administration with the most appropriate solutions. Consequently, an 12. Arranz N, Ubierna F, Arroyabe M F, Perez C and de Arroyabe
orientation booklet was created to help the students to be aware of the JCF. The effect of curricular and extracurricular activities on
ECAs inside and outside the college. In addition, a workshop was university students’ entrepreneurial intention and competences.
conducted in the college to discuss the matter with the student affairs Studies in Higher Education (2017) Tayl Fra 42: 1979-2008.
sections and the students’ council to come up with most appropriate https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1130030
solutions which will be implemented by next academic year.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this project discussed the issues faced by the first-year
students during their foundation program at the Oman College of
Health Sciences (OCHS). The participants emphasized the lack of
ECAs as the main issue faced by the students. Awareness of the
benefits of ECAs was raised in a joint workshop with the student
affairs section within the college.

Limitations
The student participation was less as the survey was conducted during
the end of the semester (final exams).

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Citation: Junaibi SA, Yahya’ei ANA, Rahbi ANA, Battashi BAA, Ghaithi IHA, et al. Experiences of foundation
year students at Oman college of health sciences (2019) Nursing and Health Care 4: 53-56.
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