For the first-generation and the students who are living far from their homes, their initial week of living in new accommodation in the UK will be quite stressful. According to the research, these students will normally show below-average performance, and there is a tendency for the situation to get worse if they failed to properly adjust to their new surroundings. But it doesn’t have to be this way, most universities and colleges in the UK will organise the first weeks to help their student adjust.

1. First-Generation Student Classroom Activities

In the first year of their classroom activities, students will tend to conduct activities and exercises more than they initially anticipated doing, such as taking detailed notes while the class is ongoing. However, there are some areas that they seem to fell short in, such as the application of their education materials on the various aspects of their life and actively participating in class discussions. Educational institutions have the option to enhance the students' engagement to encourage their success.

2. Advising

Providing high-quality advising is one of the essential things that an institution can do in order to help the student adjust to their university life. A study shows that there is a higher chance for the students to interact and engage when they receive an excellent advising from the faculty. They will perceive the institution as supportive, and that will improve their first-year college experience.

3. Support

During their first year in a UK University, only a small percentage of students are utilising the various university and college support system, such as the writing centre. By the end of their first year, only 50% of the students will be aware of the academic support that the university provided. Fifteen per cent of the entire first-generation students will never use any support during their initial year. This is despite the fact that the students will be required to find an access to the computer in order to accomplish their academic work. Making the computer ubiquitous will help the university at increasing the engagement level of the students. 78% of the entire college population will frequently access the computer and 92% of the first-generation students occasionally use the computer.

4. Grades

When it comes to the grades of the first-year students, they generally expect that they will perform better in school and most of them expect to receive a grade higher than C. Unfortunately, 6% of the students will receive a below-average grade after their first year and only 14% of them achieve an A.

All in all, the engagement of students during their first year in any UK University will normally help them overcome the demands that are presented to them. Low expectations can produce a low amount of engagement, and the institution bears the responsibility of allowing their students to realise their expectations when they are just starting.