Students from Savai’i planning to enrol this week at the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.) will now be able to register on the big island without needing to travel.

The N.U.S. administration announced the registration option for students currently living in Savai’i in a post on its Facebook page on Saturday.

The change would mark the first time since the university's establishment in 1984 for students in Samoa to be also given the option of enrolling in Savai’i. It also means Savai’i-based students will be able to avoid the long queues, which has become a familiar sight every year at the start of the N.U.S. enrolment week.

In the previous years the daily ferry services to Upolu on the week of the N.U.S. registration were normally crowded with parents and students traveling over to Upolu to undergo that process.

The registration of all new and returning N.U.S. students in Savai'i will commence this week with parent-student consultations on Monday and Tuesday and official registration scheduled to begin on Wednesday and close Friday. The student enrolment will be held on the second floor of the Salelologa market from 9am to 2pm. 

Parents have welcomed the announcement by the university, telling the Samoa Observer that it will save families costs and is convenient.

Ituau Tauinaola of Saipipi, a mother whose youngest son is hoping to register for the Foundation Program at the university, while welcoming the announcement lamented how much it cost in previous years. 

"We have just received my son's results earlier today (Saturday)," Mrs. Tauinaola told the Samoa Observer. 

"That was the first thing that came to mind when we received his results was his enrolment.

“You know for us here in Savai'i, one of the things we have to do after our children graduate from college is finding a place for them to stay in Upolu.

"Then we wait for the results and prepare for the registration and for some of us parents, we usually accompany our children when they go to enrol for the first time and it's usually very costly.

"From experience, the enrolment process in Upolu is usually very long and takes up a lot of time."

Mrs. Tauinaola then commended the leadership at N.U.S. for the initiative, saying: "This is good news for all of us here in Savai'i. 

“We commend the university for opening this opportunity for the children of Savai'i. 

"This will save us a lot of time and money and we get to spend more time with our children before the academic year starts."

Another parent Lufi Mamea Taulauniu, whose eldest daughter is going to enrol this year in the Foundation Program after graduating from college last year, said they will make good use of this opportunity.

A returning N.U.S. student from Safotu, Albert Alapati Gaina, was also pleased to hear of the registration option for Savai’i residents. 

"Finally! This is great news for all of us here in Savai'i," the second-year nursing student said.

"We have been wanting to have this opportunity and now that it's happening we are so grateful.

"We will definitely make good use of this opportunity."

A final year N.U.S. student from Faletagaloa Safune, Salai Esela, expressed similar sentiments and praised the N.U.S. management and its leadership. 

"I am sure all the parents and students of the students in Savai'i are happy to hear about this news," the 21-year-old said.

"For the past three years, it has been a hassle for my parents to get money so we can travel over to enrol, on top of getting the registration fee every semester. 

"But I am so glad now that I'll only have to find money for registration for this semester."