Navigating Academic Challenges: A Phenomenological Study of Undergraduate Students’ First-Year Experiences
type: CreativeWork
description: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative inquiry is to understand (1) how undergraduate students conceptualize their experiences through the formal academic difficulty process during their first-year, (2) the critical supports and constraints that contributed to academic recovery, and (3) the role of belonging in students’ undergraduate experience after a formal academic difficulty standing during their first year. Through phenomenological inquiry, this research explores both the collective and individual experiences of 10 undergraduate students who received a formal academic difficulty notification from their institution during their first year. Study findings uncovered that the existing academic difficulty process is effective in students’ return to good academic standing, however, may not buffer against psychological implications that influences students’ self-perceptions of belonging. This study is intended for practitioners, administrators, and scholars, by providing recommendations to improve the academic difficulty process, such as leveraging sense of belonging and engaging students in the campus community, to create a high-touch structure of support for first-year students’ navigating the formal academic difficulty process.
abstract: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative inquiry is to understand (1) how undergraduate students conceptualize their experiences through the formal academic difficulty process during their first-year, (2) the critical supports and constraints that contributed to academic recovery, and (3) the role of belonging in students’ undergraduate experience after a formal academic difficulty standing during their first year. Through phenomenological inquiry, this research explores both the collective and individual experiences of 10 undergraduate students who received a formal academic difficulty notification from their institution during their first year. Study findings uncovered that the existing academic difficulty process is effective in students’ return to good academic standing, however, may not buffer against psychological implications that influences students’ self-perceptions of belonging. This study is intended for practitioners, administrators, and scholars, by providing recommendations to improve the academic difficulty process, such as leveraging sense of belonging and engaging students in the campus community, to create a high-touch structure of support for first-year students’ navigating the formal academic difficulty process.
author: Huddlestun, Danielle Christine
keywords: academic recovery, belonging, college transition, motivation, qualitative research, undergraduate students, Education, Educational Psychology, Higher Education
date published: 2026-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:17Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University