The Challenges of the First-Year Student in Higher Education Institutions in Cambodia

In the 1990s, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) initiated the privatization of higher education institutions (HEIs. This policy shift led to a dramatic increase in the number of HEIs, expanding from only 8 in the late 1990s to 189 in the academic year 2022–2023. Alongside this growth, students’ enrollment number surged from 175,962 in the academic year 2021–2022 to 237,243 in 2022–2023. The transition from secondary to higher education represents a significant change for students. Currently, there is not many research studies that mainly focus on the first – year student challenges in higher education in Cambodia. This qualitative research aims to explore the challenges faced by first-year students in Cambodia’s HEIs. A semi-structured interviews was selected with the participants purposively selected from six public and private HEIs. In sum, there are fifty-seven participants in total from the six HEIs and other relevant institutions to contribute to the study. The findings indicate that first-year students encounter several challenges such as academic challenges, personal challenges, social integration challenges, transition to career-oriented learning challenges, and adaptation to available student services challenges. The results underscore the need for HEIs to prioritize creating a supportive environment that fosters a smooth transition, encouraging student retention and continuity into subsequent years.