Fostering belonging, retention, and success: A scalable 25-minute intervention

Presentation Type

Abstract

Faculty Advisor

Emily Isaacs

Access Type

Event

Start Date

25-4-2025 12:00 PM

End Date

25-4-2025 1:00 PM

Description

Students who feel disconnected from their university are more likely to drop out, experience lower academic achievement, and report higher levels of stress and anxiety. Academic belonging plays a crucial role in student well-being and success (Ahn & Davis, 2020; Casad et al., 2018; Hausmann et al., 2007; Murphy et al., 2020; Walton et al., 2023; Yeager et al., 2016). A strong sense of belonging is linked to increased motivation, engagement, and achievement. Most research on belonging interventions focuses on residential or elite institutions, but students at non-residential public universities, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, face unique challenges, and thus finding a way to address these students’ lack of belonging is crucial to our shared vision for success for all students. We will share our experiences and research findings implementing a short lay “belonging intervention” in a new student experience at our large, minority-majority public institution. Our goal is to advance the success of all students, particularly those who our internal research shows experience lower belonging and greater isolation. We will share some of our findings, offer practical strategies for implementing a homegrown belonging intervention that can be adapted by others, and hope to further a dialogue and collective brainstorming among participants about easy-to-implement, scalable strategies to increase student belonging and resiliency, and thus student success.

Comments

Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.

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Apr 25th, 12:00 PM Apr 25th, 1:00 PM

Fostering belonging, retention, and success: A scalable 25-minute intervention

Students who feel disconnected from their university are more likely to drop out, experience lower academic achievement, and report higher levels of stress and anxiety. Academic belonging plays a crucial role in student well-being and success (Ahn & Davis, 2020; Casad et al., 2018; Hausmann et al., 2007; Murphy et al., 2020; Walton et al., 2023; Yeager et al., 2016). A strong sense of belonging is linked to increased motivation, engagement, and achievement. Most research on belonging interventions focuses on residential or elite institutions, but students at non-residential public universities, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, face unique challenges, and thus finding a way to address these students’ lack of belonging is crucial to our shared vision for success for all students. We will share our experiences and research findings implementing a short lay “belonging intervention” in a new student experience at our large, minority-majority public institution. Our goal is to advance the success of all students, particularly those who our internal research shows experience lower belonging and greater isolation. We will share some of our findings, offer practical strategies for implementing a homegrown belonging intervention that can be adapted by others, and hope to further a dialogue and collective brainstorming among participants about easy-to-implement, scalable strategies to increase student belonging and resiliency, and thus student success.