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Based on a study of our own student population, this article attempts to understand the factors that contribute to cours attendance as well as to exam success for first year students in sociology in a provincial French university. We also examine their assessment of the cursus and their demands regarding teaching methods and find that they are closely linked to their academic performance in high School as well as to their future academic and professional prospects. Finally, after describing a number of teaching techniques adopted in reaction to the specific circumstances of teaching large groups of students, we examine the question of how different faculties and disciplines adapt to “new audiences” that are present today in institutions of higher Education.