effect of irregular students in socializing

II. Objectives of the Research

1. This researchgives knowledge to other Fine Arts students of the University of Sto. Tomas about the life of the irregular students they encounter every day.
2. To tackle the main cause of why they become irregular students.
3. To enlighten other students that being an irregular doesn’t always mean you failed a subject.
4. To find out how irregular students are affected by their situation.
5. To know how they adapt to the changes that usually comes with being an irregular student
6. Determine the year they usually start being an irregular
7. To imply awareness to each one about this certain issue

III. Problem What are the causes of being an irregular student? What are its effects to the students who are in this situation? How does it feel to be an irregular? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being one? How does being an irregular affect a student’s social life and studies? The first thought that comes in mind when students see an irregular student is perhaps they failed the subject they were supposed to be in. Their reasons may vary. And one could probably be failure to meet the requirements of his past subjects but is not always the case. There are also other reasons that cause these students to be in this certain situation.
Different students from the College of Fine Arts and Design of different year levels and majors will be chosen randomly to be interviewed to enlighten us about the causes that make a student an irregular. Can the reason be because of having difficulty in understanding the lessons involved in a subject? Is the student involved in extracurricular activities? Lack of money, failure due to absences, etc.
Being irregular doesn’t always have to be seen negatively. As mentioned earlier, there are other causes of being one. There may be disadvantages but there are certainly advantages and this depends on the irregular student faced with this certain situation. Each irregular student may have reasons but these reasons that we really are to find out form the irregular students themselves, should be for their good and the good of the other students who fails to understand their situation.

By being able to give answer to each question, we would be able to find more about the lives of irregular students in the College of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Santo Tomas. We would be enlightened about the main cause and its effect on their social lives and studies.

IV. Introduction Oftentimes we think of being an irregular as a taboo, students who do not pass certain subject requirements are doomed to repeat it, thus making a bad mark on his or her transcript of records. And worst, making an impression of failing. In this research we create a whole new perspective of irregular students. As much as possible, this research will analyze the various circumstances that bring students to certain situations like these. There will always be different sides to a certain story and this must definitely apply to how irregular students are viewed.
Irregulars are misunderstood people, some think they do not have high regard for their education, like they just think of it as a free gift given to all, but people don’t really know why they became an irregular in the first place. A survey will be conducted to determine the main cause of being an irregular. There has always been one initial reaction regarding this topic and this research aims to give answers to the many questions that go on concerning a position that irregular student are put into.
Irregulars are students who skip year levels, depending on the subject they failed in (if or example this was the reason); they do not have a permanent block and a given schedule. Irregular students handle their own time, they are to fix their desired schedule on their own, so if he or she is lucky enough, he or she can choose a class that suites his or her preferences. Irregular students are oftentimes the ones who have the most friends because they get to meet and stay with new sets of classmates every semester, if they choose a different class each semester. But not all are can adapt easily to the many changes that go with being an irregular student , thinking that they are better off focusing on passing the subject on their own to get back to where they were really supposed to be.
Irregular students are oftentimes stereotyped. And as a result, they begin to stereotype. As this certain situation is being explained, other people outside the group of irregular students and irregular students themselves begin to understand that being one may affect lives greatly. It may be negatively or positively depending on that certain person.
This research will give a clear statement on the life of irregular students in the College of Fine Arts and Design in the University of Sto. Tomas. This research involves a number of students that can surely relate to this certain situation. Through this research, we are able to impart knowledge, to enlighten other students about a situation like this. To tackle the main cause of why some students become irregular. We are also able to find out the effects of this on the life of a student, his studies and social life. This research will give clear understanding and awareness to those who know little of it.
By being successful in conducting this research, people will be given clarification of what irregular students go through in the College of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Santo Tomas.

Chapter 2

The researchers have decided to build a study on the causes and effects of being an irregular student in the College of Fine Arts and Design. This issue has been significant in all the universities due to its increasing number. But first, let us define what a regular and irregular means. Regular is for something to be normal, usual or customary. Irregular is for something to be not according to rule or unusual. In relation to our study, regular students are those who are following the normal flow of the given subjects to be passed, while irregular students are those who may have difficulties or problems in their given subjects. Those problems and difficulties may be defined or given, but needs further explanation.
“There have been a number of studies researching the factors that affect a person’s grade point average (GPA). Many of these factors include family life, personality characteristics, employment, and extracurricular activities. Lee and Lee (2007) found that family closeness is a key factor in determining a child’s academic performance. Their results indicated that students who rated their family closeness at a higher level displayed an ability to adjust to their schools better, which could enhance academic performance because they were more comfortable in their environment. Although not suggesting that the closeness of the family is a predictor of GPA, the Halawah study (2006) did indicate that children whose parents were involved in their education and encouraged them to do their work had significantly higher GPAs.” (The Impact of Sleepiness Levels on Academic Achievement for College Students Vol. 7) Though it is not a requirement to have personal closeness with the family members, the study have concluded that having supportive parents gives a huge impact on the student’s academic performance. The less the support the student get, the less he/she may respond to the academic requirements.
“Cheung and Kwok (1998) indicated that a student’s participation in extracurricular activities may not help their academic achievement and might actually harm it. This might also include employment during school months. Working an excessive number of hours (35 hours or more per week) may have unfavorable consequences for students. Kulm and Cramer (2006) suggested that students who worked this many hours spent less time preparing for class, which resulted in a lower GPA. Students who worked excessive amounts of hours also did not have time to get as much sleep.” (The Impact of Sleepiness Levels on Academic Achievement for College Students Vol. 7) In college, there a lot of activities to be considered, there are organizations that allow students to enhance their given talent. But those activities should be balance with the student’s academic performance. The imbalance of extracurricular activities and academics may lead to failure of minor or worst, major subjects, which should be highly prioritized. Another problem in academic failure is the imbalance of work and academics. In the Philippines, it is normal for college to students to be working while continuing their studies. But, according to Kulm and Cramer (2006) these students who work excessive hours does not take enough sleep to obtain energy to their next activity which usually is attending their classes. For some health reasons, sleep is a very important part of the life of a normal human being. Having or not having a proper sleep effects the activity of a person during non-sleeping hours. Murphy, Richard, Masaki, and Segalowitz (2005) studied the effects of wakefulness on test taking. The tests were given after four hours of wakefulness as well as after 20 hours of wakefulness. They concluded that participants were less able to recognize mistakes that were made during the tests after extended wakefulness.
“College students are well known for sleep deprivation; therefore, Buboltz, Brown, and Barlow (2001) researched the sleep quality of this age group. There was a high percentage of sleep problems, which supported past research that college students suffer more from sleep problems than the “normal” adult population. McClelland and Pilcher (2007) also examined college students’ self-report on sleepiness. They surveyed 14 undergraduate students and studied their self-assessment of sleepiness during a 28-hour period of sleep deprivation. At the beginning of the night the participants were able to separate sleepiness into two dimensions, state and behavioral. However, as the night progressed the participants could not distinguish between the two dimensions. Baranski (2007) observed adults during a 28-hour period of sleep deprivation as well. The study focused on the metacognitive ability to self-monitor cognitive performance during sleep deprivation. They found that persons’ ability to assess their performance accuracy did not change significantly with sleep deprivation.” (The Impact of Sleepiness Levels on Academic Achievement for College Students Vol. 7) The study on causes and effects of irregular student’s is very wide and broad. There are a lot of factors to be considered. According to Hansen, Joe (B.2000) race, gender and sex can affect student’s performance
McDill, E., 1989, Levin, H., 1986) B.A Chansarkar and A. Mishaeloudis (2001), explained that it is also found that those who live near the university perform better than other students A lot of college students in Manila are living in dormitories, which is because majority of them lives or come from different places around the country. It is believed the Manila is where the best schools and universities are found. It is concluded by McDill, E., 1989, Levin, H., 1986) B.A Chansarkar and A. Mishaeloudis (2001), that those who live near the university perform better than other students. This just shows that distance is also a factor on a students’ academic performance.

Flood, J., Brensinger, J., Cheek, S. (2001). The Impact of Sleepiness Levels on Academic Achievement for College Students Vol. 7. www.con.org. January 10, 2012. http://www.kon.org/urc/v7/flood.html Hijazi, S. T., Naqvi, R. (no date). Factors Affecting Students’ Performance. http://www.scribd.com. January 10, 2012. http://www.scribd.com/doc/5486916/FACTORS-AFFECTING-STUDENTS-PERFORMANCE
Lee, P., & Lee, C. C. (2007). The relationship of family closeness with college students' self-regulated learning and school adjustment. College Student Journal. 41 (4), 779-787.
Halawah, I. (2006).The effect of motivation, family environment, and student characteristics on academic achievement. Journal of Instructional Psychology. 33 (2), 91-99.
Cheung, C., & Kwok, S. (1998). Activities and academic achievement among college students. The Journal of Genetic Psychology.159 (2), 147-162.
Kulm, T. L., & Cramer, S. (2006). The relationships of student employment to student role, family relationships, social interactions and persistence. College Student Journal. 40 (4), 927-938.

Chapter 3

I. Research Design

Descriptive statistics is the term given to the analysis of data that helps describe, show or summarize data in a meaningful way such that, for example, patterns might emerge from the data. They are used in the first instance to get a feel for the data, in the second for use in the statistical test themselves, and in the third to indicate the error associated with results and graphical output. Descriptive statistics do not, however, allow us to make conclusions beyond the data we have analyzed or reach conclusions regarding any hypotheses we might have made. They are simply a way to describe our data. Descriptive statistics is distinguished from inferential statistics, in that descriptive statistics aim to summarize a data set, rather than use the data to learn about the population that the data are thought to represent. This generally means that descriptive statistics, unlike inferential statistics, are not developed on the basis of probability theory. Even when a data analysis draws its main conclusions using inferential statistics, descriptive statistics are generally also presented.

Descriptive statistics are very important, as if we simply presented our raw data it would be hard to visualize what the data was showing, especially if there was a lot of it. Descriptive statistics therefore allow us to present the data in a more meaningful way which allows simpler interpretation of the data. For example, if we had the results of 100 pieces of students' coursework, we may be interested in the overall performance of those students. We would also be interested in the distribution or spread of the marks. Descriptive statistics allow us to do this.

II. Research Method We used the survey method as a way to gather the information that we needed. A survey is a written output given to the respondents to fill up the needed information. We used this method because it only takes a short amount of time to answer. The respondent would only have to tick on the statements that correspond to his answers. As for us, we could give out the surveys all at once to all the respondents. Also, because a survey is a written output, it is easier to compile the data that we have gathered. It is also easier to interpret the information.

III. Research Instrument
SAMPLE QUESTIONAIRE:

NAME: ________________________________
AGE:____
YEAR:______COURSE:____________________
GENDER:
* MALE
* FEMALE
WHEN DID YOU START BECOMING AN IRREGULAR STUDENT?
* 1st Year
* 2nd Year
* 3rd Year
* 4th Year
WHAT TYPE OF SUBJECT CAUSED YOU TO BE AN IRREGULAR STUDENT?
* MINOR
* MAJOR
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE REASONS WHY YOU BECAME AN IRREGULAR STUDENT (PLEASE CHECK ONE)
* FAILING MARK
* FAILURE DUE TO ABSENCES
* FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
* FAMILY PROBLEM
* DROPPED A SUBJECT
* CHANGE COURSE
* BEING SINGULARY HATED BY THE PROFESSOR
CAN YOU EASILY ADAPT TO THE CHANGES OF BEING A IRREGULAR STUDENT?
_________________________________________________________________________________
DOES CHOOSING YOUR OWN SCHEDULE MORE CONVIENT FOR YOU? WHY?
__________________________________________________________________________________

IV. Research Respondent

The study will have irregular students of CFAD in all levels. All of these participants were selected through random sampling. This sampling method is conducted where each member of a population has an equal opportunity to become part of the sample. As all the participants have an equal chance of becoming a research participant, this is to be the most efficient sampling procedure. In order to conduct this sampling strategy, the researcher defines the population first, lists down all the members of the population, and then selects members to make the sample. For this purpose, a self-administered survey questionnaire is given to the respondents to answer.
The irregular students assessed to answer the following questionnaire. No inclusion criteria were applied for the individual applicants; hence, all were made part of the population. However, due to time and budget constraints, the researcher opted for a smaller sample size.

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Summary
A survey will be conducted to determine the main cause of being an irregular. There has always been one initial reaction regarding this topic and this research aims to give answers to the many questions that go on concerning a position that irregular student are put into.
Irregular students are oftentimes stereotyped. And as a result, they begin to stereotype. As this certain situation is being explained, other people outside the group of irregular students and irregular students themselves begin to understand that being one may affect lives greatly. It may be negatively or positively depending on that certain person.
This research will give a clear statement on the life of irregular students in the College of Fine Arts and Design in the University of Sto. Tomas. This research involves a number of students that can surely relate to this certain situation. Through this research, we are able to impart knowledge, to enlighten other students about a situation like this. To tackle the main cause of why some students become irregular. We are also able to find out the effects of this on the life of a student, his studies and social life. This research will give clear understanding and awareness to those who know little of it. By being successful in conducting this research, people will be given clarification of what irregular students go through in the College of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Santo Tomas.
The first thought that comes in mind when students see an irregular student is perhaps they failed the subject they were supposed to be in. Their reasons may vary. And one could probably be failure to meet the requirements of his past subjects but is not always the case. There are also other reasons that cause these students to be in this certain situation. Different students from the College of Fine Arts and Design of different year levels and majors will be chosen randomly to be interviewed to enlighten us about the causes that make a student an irregular.
Being irregular doesn’t always have to be seen negatively. As mentioned earlier, there are other causes of being one. Each irregular student may have reasons but these reasons that we really are to find out form the irregular students themselves, should be for their good and the good of the other students who fails to understand their situation.

Conclusions
Conclusion:
Year Level: It is more likely for CFAD students to be an irregular during their sophomore year, which has a53 percentage of students being irregular during that year and the most unlikely year for CFAD students to be an irregular is 3rd year college, since it only has a16 percent chance of being an irregular during that year.

Gender: Based on our data collected male students have a percent of becoming an irregular student since they are 58 percent more than females which only has 42 percent.

Type of Subject: Students become an irregular mostly on major subjects which has a 54 percent value higher than minor subjects which only has 46 percent.

Reasons: CFAD students’ most likely reason for failing is getting a failing mark and being given an FA or failure due to absences by the professor, by which failing mark has 25% and FA has 23% both are the two highest reasons chosen among the other reasons prepared and listed by the interviewees, the lowest reason for a student to become a irregular would be the office not encoding their subjects which only has 4%.

Recommendations
We recommend the following as a guide for students to avoid being an irregular based on some of their reasons,

· Since failing marks are the highest of all the reasons, students should not take that failing If a student feels that he or she is being treated unfairly, one should always think positively and take it as a challenge given by the professor so that he or she can excel in that certain area.
· In the area of having subject so lightly to avoid repeating it, if they find that subject difficult they should put in extra effort to understand what is difficult for them
· Failure due to absences are caused by plenty of reasons, but still students should learn how to prioritize and time management, with these two one can avoid being marked absent.
· family problems, one should learn how to separate school from home so that it will not affect one’s performance in school.
· In the case of dropping of subjects, think twice before dropping them, because who knows if one was able to strive hard enough to pass then he or she would no longer need to drop that subject and repeat it again