•  Many of the issues associated with the difficulties in transitioning to university are particularly exacerbated for first-generation and underrepresented students. This especially relates to their sense of belonging and their understanding of expectations and the rules of the game. This is particularly the case for first-generation and other underrepresented college students; or students at-risk of dropping out. (See: Hagler et al., 2021; Elffers, 2012)
• Making expectations about your course explicit without assuming any prior knowledge about university life can be particularly important for these students. This concerns assessment expectations, but also things like how best to contact you or ask questions.
• Good teacher-student relationships (trust & rapport) have been shown to be key for student engagement and achievement, for student feeling they belong, for students coping with “difficulties in the academic context” & for students’ academic adaptation (Li, 2022: 539; see also: Brooman & Darwent, 2014; Gill, 2021; Kyne & Thompson, 2020; Meehan & Howells, 2018; Piel, 2018; Timmis & Muñoz-Chereau, 2022; van Herpen et al., 2020; Young Ahn & Davis, 2020).
• Help students “‘imagine’ themselves as students” – because (some students) “do need that reassurance about ‘could I be a student’.” – especially if students come after having worked, when they are older or if they have followed a less traditional/academic track – “That lack of confidence, that is really big. And there are barriers about ‘I haven’t studied for a long time’ or ‘I don’t have the academic background’ and you do need to break these down.” (Goodchild, 2019: 783).

• Students not only struggle understanding the ‘rules of the game’ of the university environment but also adapting to the existing diversity of rules across teachers, courses, and university services.
• Making explicit the expectations, requirements, and procedures at the beginning of the course, and keeping this information readily available throughout (e.g. by putting it on the online platform) can help students navigate these rules. 
• Make clear expectations about assessment, attendance, work, and contact procedures.
• Help your students to navigate the ‘unspoken rules’ of academia and do not assume that they have prior knowledge about how the university works. Remember that the ‘unspoken rules’ are in many cases things that we assume everyone knows, e.g. the need to work and read outside the classroom, what constitutes proper email etiquette, what do we mean by ‘reading a text’, or the meaning of common terms such as ‘peer-reviewed journal article’.

See: Pownall et al., 2022

• Giving feedback on their performance and assignments in ways that allows students to build on this feedback for future tasks is key. This can sometimes include not only giving feedback on the content of assessed work, but also helping students understand how their performance is connected to broader skills: e.g. if they have not spent enough time on independent work, if there are language issues that need to be addressed etc.
• Explicitly discussing learning strategies in class, such as how to make use of their time most effectively or how to read an article, can help students develop learning autonomy.
• It is helpful to make the differences between high school and university approaches explicit. This comparison helps clarify new expectations about learning.
• First-year students struggle navigating the complexity of the university system. Pointing them to resources within the university where they can tackle broader issues can help them address them.

• Students are used to the teacher being the main point of contact, and find a more complex environment like a university difficult to navigate.
• You can help them in this transition by providing clear and readily available information about who to address for different situations (library, student services, etc.) and how to contact  them.
• Students may not know how best to contact you or ask questions. Providing clear and readily available information about your preferred mode of contact can ensure that all students who need help will be able to ask for it.

• Research tells us that both the feeling of connection of students to the university and their broader feeling of belonging are key in determining student success. What happens in the classroom can help with both these elements (See, for example: Sources: Gill, 2021; Meehan & Howell, 2019)
• Small teaching adjustments can be very helpful in fostering relationships and sense of belonging. Small in-class group discussions, for example, can help students get to know each other and build a supportive social environment.
• Welcoming questions, and explaining how they can ask them for your class (in office hours, via email, in individual appointments) can help lower the burden for those students who may feel less secure about their belonging at university.