Combining international student social and academic transition online

The social and academic acculturation of a large number of newly arrived international students challenges even the most prepared of UK higher education institutions. How best to facilitate students’ social need to form new friendships with that of formally preparing them for the often unfamiliar academic demands of a different educational system? This paper will present a pre-arrival online course delivered to over 2,000 international students each summer, which combines student-centred socialisation with institution-driven academic preparation. From the initial data, it will draw some tentative conclusions about how far this approach could help facilitate students’ transition in advance of their arrival