Online social adaptation of first-year students and their academic performance

This study investigates factors related to the social adaptation of first-year students. The sample consists of 68 students at a Russian university. The influences of the students' individual characteristics and basic social network indicators from the social networking site Vk.com on their grades were tested using ordinal logistic regression. A higher integration level at the beginning of the semester did not benefit students in terms of performance; however, in the middle of the semester, it was positively related to the students' grades. Individual characteristics, such as the city of origin and academic abilities, were also significant predictors of academic outcomes. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.