By Emma Hughes
15 October 2008, 2:20 PM

ANYONE WHO has been to university knows that the first couple of weeks can be a daunting and somewhat frightening time – which is why the University of Leicester has come up with a solution. Research by those at the university has found that many freshers use the internet to ease the settling in period.

The most obvious solution to the loneliness problem seemed to point to using platforms students were already familiar with, such as social networking sites, in order to help the new arrivals get their bearings. Following this discovery the University of Leicester has decided to take this knowledge and apply it to improving the entire student experience beyond the first two weeks at Uni.

The foundations of these improvements lie in the study which concludes that “Facebook is part of the social glue that helps students settle into university life”. Which sounds unhealthy, but really isn’t. The study looks into how students use Facebook, and how it actually helps with progression through university. The researchers claim, “We know little about how this phenomenon impacts on the student experience and, in particular, if and how it facilitates new students’ social integration into University life.

Our project focused on how pre-registration engagement with the University of Leicester Facebook network influences students’ post-registration social networks and their understanding of the University.” This research went just slightly further still by utilising this online tool to help students with support services and by helping academic departments to enhance the social and academic integration of students.