The article is devoted to the issues of forming student groups in universities in modern conditions of the influence on young people of two opposing ideological trends: collectivism and individualism. The positive effects of collective education in the field of higher education are listed. Differences in the understanding of the terms “small group”, “work collective”, “team” and “team”, which have developed in the academic and business environment, are identified, from the point of view of value bases and group dynamics. The results of a diagnostic study of the adaptation of first-year students are presented, which allows us to draw a conclusion about the influence of the individualistic and collectivist strategy of integration into the group on the results of students’ adaptation. Options for scenarios for the formation of a group as a “collective” or as a “team” are proposed, which make it possible to differentiate approaches to pedagogical support for the development of student groups depending on the prevailing value systems of its members and the degree of readiness for collective action.