Challenges and coping mechanisms of Muslim students in a Catholic higher education institution Genesis B. Naparan , Noraida A. Balimbingan * Saint Columban College, Pagadian City, Philippines ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Challenges Coping mechanisms Phenomenology Pagadian city Philippines ABSTRACT Being in an unfamiliar situation contributes stifling experiences to a student. He/she needs to adjust to his/her new environment. This study dealt with the challenges and coping mechanisms of Muslim college students in a Catholic higher education institution (HEI). The aim for this study is to help those coming from other faiths adjust well in the college run by Catholic administrators. The researchers selected some Muslim students in one of the Higher Education Institution in Region IX, Philippines The researchers employed the phenomenological quali- tative design to highlight the pattern of experiences of the students. Based on the findings, there are ten themes regarding the challenges experienced by the research participants namely: compulsory attendance in religious activities, attending classes on religious education subjects, not being able to pray, having a class on Tuesdays and Fridays: 11:30 – 1PM, minimal Struggles, teachers who are not considering the views of others, very early ac- tivities, disagreement with parents, language barrier and adjustment. Some of their coping mechanisms are respecting the policies of the school, being absent from religious activities and explaining to the authorities. Therefore, it is best for the students to study when they have a welcoming environment in the school. 1. Introduction One of the best treasures that a person can possess in life is education. It prepares him for his workplace in the future. It prepares him for a life that he wants to live someday. For many parents, they want their children to be educated. They believe that their children will become successful in life when they finish college degrees in their lives. In getting educational degrees, parents often choose where they are going to send their children. These Higher Educational Institutions in which they send their children for college degree can be near to their places, have no or affordable tuition fees, where their parents or rela- tives obtained their degrees or those which parents believe their chil- dren can have quality education. Mandic et al. (2017) mention that short distance to school was associated with the choice to enroll in a particular school. Aside from State universities and colleges throughout the country, there are also sectarian universities and colleges that offered quality education. These HEIs accommodate not just only those students who have the same religions with their administrators but also of others. For instance, in Catholic Higher Educational Institutions, there are Muslim students who are enrolling to earn their degrees. Studying in college classes needs a lot of adjustment. Oftentimes, a student needs other students to do well in school. According to Okpych and Courtney (2018), reluctance to rely on others for support decreases student’s persistence in college. When a student feels alone, he has the tendency to quit college. Is it not awkward to see students of other religions enrolling in another religion’s higher educational institution? Is it not awkward for a particular student to be together with students coming from other reli- gion? Nevertheless, this reality is true to many Sectarian HEIs in the country. There are Muslim students for example who are obtaining their college degrees in Catholic colleges and universities. There is a tendency that these students will become closer to a Catholic faith and become afar from the Muslim faith. Kuenzi (2018) mentioned that in Senegal, adult education has a negative effect in religion. As they progress academically, their faith in their religion is not improving. Therefore, this study tries to reveal the lived experiences of these Muslim students who are studying in Catholic Colleges. This aims at finding the significant themes of their experiences to help those aspiring students who want to study in a different religion’s institution to adjust their college life and make their stay in those institutions memorable. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: sccresearchoffice@gmail.com (G.B. Naparan), noraidabalimbingan19@gmail.com (N.A. Balimbingan). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Social Sciences & Humanities Open journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ssaho https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100021 Received 2 September 2019; Received in revised form 22 January 2020; Accepted 28 February 2020 Available online xxxx 2590-2911/© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Social Sciences & Humanities Open 2 (2020) 100021