This study investigated students' communication preferences in educational settings, resulting in an empirical model of effective communication between students and lecturers. Students from a psychology department at a UK university were asked about their preferred communication tool for academic purposes, including social networking, emails, university-internal virtual learning environments, and face-to-face communication. The data was analysed using methods of exploratory data analysis and cluster analysis. Students clearly expressed a preference for social networking sites when communicating with peers due to their frequent and widespread use, fast response rate, and ease of access, but preferred face-to-face meetings when sufficient time was available. When communicating with lecturers, students had a preference to use email. The findings also showed that students preferred to attend lectures over reading lecture slides online. Based on these results, an empirical model of students' communication preferences in educational settings was developed aimed to aid in the effective management of student-lead communication. The study concludes with a critical evaluation of ways students and lecturers can improve communication between each other and how this can positively contribute to students' university experience.