How can campuses ensure a sense of belonging for diverse student bases?
Dr Samantha Hall, Campus Intuition
Sense of belonging is an elusive term that everyone seems to be talking about. Our Campus Experience Index is a standard set of questions to students about the campus they use. In this, we ask students about their sense of belonging and to tell us what helps or hinders this feeling. We analyse all open-ended responses and I find this the most interesting question in our survey. Belonging is a pulse check into a university’s culture.
The Index data is from almost 12,000 students on campuses in Australia, the UK and Europe. It shows us that belonging is incredibly varied across different campus types and sizes, and also fluctuates based on what is happening in the world. The lowest scoring campus in our Index is 27% and the highest 80%.
Before Covid, our belonging score in Australia was similar to what is seen in the QILT, sitting at around 50%, meaning that only half of students feel a sense of belonging. Whilst this was already quite an upsetting figure, the lockdown of campuses and shifts to unplanned online learning saw this score plummet. We are now in a re-bound; the return to on-campus classes (or at least the choice for on-campus classes) is seeing the score increase.
A sense of belonging is important to wellbeing and performance. Imagine if you entered a workplace everyday and didn’t feel like you were welcome, valued or wanted. Australia has some of the biggest universities in the world. Whilst universities promote a ‘personalised student experience’, realistically, this is very hard to achieve. We have seen the best belonging scores in small campuses where it is easy to make friends, bond with teaching staff and feel like you are welcomed into a community.
The pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns and changes to learning had, and are still having, a significant impact on belonging. Below are the belonging results for a survey completed in 2022 on an Australian campus. Students in third and fourth years were the most impacted by lockdowns, and they gave much lower scores. They were disappointed to be finishing their degree without forming the connections that they had hoped for. They also felt this had been detrimental when compared to their peers. We have seen this pattern on every campus we have surveyed. Whilst first years often have a higher belonging score, we didn’t see a gap of this proportion prior to the pandemic.
“I have had 2 years of COVID teaching online and still don’t really know the people in my own year, let alone the rest of the cohort. There is a general consensus that we have missed out on the school experience and don’t have those lasting bonds with staff, or fellow students or positive memories.”
We see some commonalities in what students say helps or hinders their sense of belonging on campus. For example:
Online/hybrid learning (not necessarily lectures, but tutorials and seminars) offer great flexibility, but limit social connection, especially for undergraduate students. Since Covid we have seen an increase in appreciation for peer-to-peer learning in the classroom (in the UK and Australia, Europe varies).
Clubs and societies provide excellent ways to make like-minded friends. Students who give higher belonging scores mention clubs and societies in their feedback. Campuses with a poor clubs and societies offering always score more poorly. Importantly, these need to meet the needs of the student base otherwise students find them too intimidating.
Students who are mature age and/or postgraduate often feel that the university community is tailored for young undergraduates and is just not inclusive of them.
Outside responsibilities (like caring and work) mean some students do not have the time to participate in extra-curricular activities. In cities where students can’t afford to live near to a campus, this is a double edged sword as the commute makes participation even more difficult.
Students continually mention how it can be hard to meet people. Programs that facilitate connection between students will help create a sense of vibrant on-campus student life.
University strategy and belonging need to align. If the University is pursuing an online model, belonging is not necessarily the right KPI. If the University is building an on-campus experience, it most certainly is.
Adequate social and informal study areas help contribute to belonging; they are places to meet and connect with friends (well-functioning libraries are often mentioned as helping students belong).
“As an older student, there is not much at all offered to make you feel part of the community as most things/clubs/events are catering for the 18 - 26 age bracket. I feel on the outer. I did join up to a student union camp last month, only to be emailed by the organiser that the camp was for the under 30 age group and they reversed my booking and refunded my money.”
“Involvement with student union has gotten me through 5 years of study. Student-led initiatives are the best!”
The Universities Accord Interim Report anticipates significant growth in student numbers, with a particular focus on equity groups. It is belonging amongst these growing equity groups that we must monitor closely to ensure we are creating environments where people can thrive.
Dr Samantha Hall, Founder, Campus Intuition