How do First-Year, First-Time Regional University Students Respond to Expectation-Experience Mismatches?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4145

Keywords:

Expectation-experience mismatch, first-year transition, regional university students

Abstract

First-year, first-time (FYFT) students enter university with expectations shaped by institutional recruitment communications, social media, and broader media narratives. During transition, lived experiences may diverge from these expectations, creating expectation-experience mismatch. While student expectations and satisfaction are well researched, less is known about how students respond to expectation-experience mismatch and how these responses influence satisfaction. Drawing on cognitive dissonance and coping response literature, this study examines FYFT students in regional Australian universities. Data were collected through a national survey of 405 students and analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings show that expectations were associated with both positive and negative emotional response outcomes, and that these outcomes influenced satisfaction. Positive emotional response outcomes had a stronger relationship with satisfaction than negative emotional response outcomes. The study reframes expectation-experience mismatch as a common feature of transition and highlights the value of student-driven strategies that strengthen constructive action and student agency during the first year.

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Author Biographies

Courtney Geritz, University of the Sunshine Coast Australia

Courtney Geritz is proud Aboriginal woman, leading dynamic marketing teams to influence strategic decisions around communication, marketing, and brand management. With almost two decades of experience in the higher education and tertiary sector, Courtney has followed her passion for communicating the value of education and rewarding student experiences, through several marketing roles across Australia. After growing up in a regional town without access to a local university, her focus has always centred around opportunity for regional and remote students. As a PhD Research Candidate, at the University of the Sunshine Coast, her research explores student expectations and their experience to further understand these drivers in the context of Higher Education.

Maria M. Raciti, University of the Sunshine Coast Australia

Professor Maria Raciti (Kalkadoon-Thaniquith-Bwgcolman) is a social marketer who uses marketing tools and techniques to bring about social justice and behaviour change. Professor Raciti is co-founder and co-director of the UniSC Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre, co-leader of the education and economies theme in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, a member of the executive of the Australian Association of Social Marketing, board member of International Social Marketing Association, the 2018 Research Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education and was part of an Australian Government departmental task force assisting with the 2019 National Regional Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy. Maria is an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland, Adjunct Professor at Curtin University and a member of the esteemed Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), a QUT Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology Fellow and a member of the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success Grants and Fellowships Committee. Dr Raciti is regularly engaged as an expert advisor and has undertaken several large-scale research projects that have produced meaningful and impactful outcomes aligned with the United Nations SDG4 (Quality Education), SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities) and the National Closing the Gap Target 6 (Further Education) and Target 8 (Economic Participation).

Aaron Tham, University of the Sunshine Coast Australia

Dr Aaron Tham is a Senior Lecturer and researcher in the USC School of Business and Creative Industries, with a focus on tourism, hospitality, and events. He is also the Community Futures Theme Leader at the University's Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre. Aaron has published more than 100 papers in top tourism and hospitality journals and also serves as the Managing Editor of the 'International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration'. He is also an editorial board member and reviewer across several journals. Aaron is Emerald Publishing's first Australian brand ambassador, the 1st Vice Chair of the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE), and also the Co-Director of the Southeast Asian Research Academy. He is also part of the Professional Convention Management Association - Marina Bay Sands Australia Circle to inform and steer business event research and legacies.

Daeul Jeong, University of the Sunshine Coast Australia

Dr Daeul Jeong is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre (ITRC), University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). Her research themes include education for Indigenous peoples, Indigenous economic success, cultural diversity, education policy, and global education frameworks. Dr Jeong’s role as a postdoctoral fellow at ITRC with a focus on Indigenous and minority education, economic success, and global policy frameworks positions her as a rising scholar whose work embodies key ITRC values: cultural respect, social equity, global connectedness and inclusive impact. Her research bridges academic research, policy relevance and social justice, contributing to UniSC’s capacity to influence meaningful, cross-cultural educational change.

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Published

05-10-2026

How to Cite

Geritz, C., Raciti, M., Tham, A., & Jeong, D. (2026). How do First-Year, First-Time Regional University Students Respond to Expectation-Experience Mismatches?. Student Success. https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4145

Issue

Online First

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Courtney Geritz, Maria M. Raciti, Aaron Tham, Daeul Jeong

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International Licence (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.