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Embracing Belonging to Build Equity in Higher Ed
Embracing Belonging to Build Equity in Higher Ed
Dr. George Still
The University of North Carolina-Greensboro embodies the changing demographic enrollments of American higher education. As a Black serving Institution and an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with half of enrolled students identifying as first-generation college students and nearly a quarter of students identify as LGBTQ+, creating spaces where students can feel a sense of belonging is essential. Dr. George Still (currently at Fresno State) participated in a Grand Challenges in Assessment interview about the development of the iBelong Committee. This committee is composed of cross-campus representation which administered the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Survey with an initial intent of discovering if commonly held beliefs and anecdotes were true about the student population. The findings show that the title of their committee coincidentally held a dominant theme: belonging. Belonging was one of the central areas of the survey which had an impact on likelihood to persist. Students who reported high levels of belonging were six times as likely to persist compared to those who reported low levels of belonging. The model was inclusive of academic and other social factors which would impact belonging and belonging remained a primary factor.
The University of North Carolina-Greensboro embodies the changing demographic enrollments of American higher education. As a Black serving Institution and an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with half of enrolled students identifying as first-generation college students and nearly a quarter of students identify as LGBTQ+, creating spaces where students can feel a sense of belonging is essential. Dr. George Still (currently at Fresno State) participated in a Grand Challenges in Assessment interview about the development of the iBelong Committee. This committee is composed of cross-campus representation which administered the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Survey with an initial intent of discovering if commonly held beliefs and anecdotes were true about the student population. The findings show that the title of their committee coincidentally held a dominant theme: belonging. Belonging was one of the central areas of the survey which had an impact on likelihood to persist. Students who reported high levels of belonging were six times as likely to persist compared to those who reported low levels of belonging. The model was inclusive of academic and other social factors which would impact belonging and belonging remained a primary factor.
Decentralizing the responsibility and work of belonging is double-edged as the iBelong Committee is loosely held representatives of cross campus units based on findings of the survey. The lack of centralized unit (there are no Chief Diversity Officers in North Carolina public institutions) leading a charge means that belonging requires an intentional investment by key administrators and units and not managed by one office. Further, the resulting stakeholder buy-in to this committee and survey administration leads to a strong commitment to projects. Results from the CECE survey have led UNCG to implement improvements to address food insecurity and address mental health needs by promoting distress training for peers, faculty, and staff. Increased belonging has also become the central charge of campus “demonstration grants” in which campus units created a pool to fund proposals around ways to enhance belonging. This means that central campus no longer identifies what is important in making student feel like they belong, but empowers smaller groups around campus to identify what events help support identities of their members.
Decentralizing the responsibility and work of belonging is double-edged as the iBelong Committee is loosely held representatives of cross campus units based on findings of the survey. The lack of centralized unit (there are no Chief Diversity Officers in North Carolina public institutions) leading a charge means that belonging requires an intentional investment by key administrators and units and not managed by one office. Further, the resulting stakeholder buy-in to this committee and survey administration leads to a strong commitment to projects. Results from the CECE survey have led UNCG to implement improvements to address food insecurity and address mental health needs by promoting distress training for peers, faculty, and staff. Increased belonging has also become the central charge of campus “demonstration grants” in which campus units created a pool to fund proposals around ways to enhance belonging. This means that central campus no longer identifies what is important in making student feel like they belong, but empowers smaller groups around campus to identify what events help support identities of their members.
What makes this project successful? Buy-in from key campus leadership and multiple engaged stakeholders. The campus leadership’s recognition of the importance of campus climate sets the tone. This is particularly important when the faculty demographics and curriculum have yet to catch up to the rapidly changing student demographics.
What makes this project successful? Buy-in from key campus leadership and multiple engaged stakeholders. The campus leadership’s recognition of the importance of campus climate sets the tone. This is particularly important when the faculty demographics and curriculum have yet to catch up to the rapidly changing student demographics.
Please note: Since Dr. Still is now at Fresno State, if you have questions about belonging, please direct them to Dr. Cathy Akens, VC of Student Affairs at caakens@uncg.edu. For questions about the retention model, contact Dr. Still at grstill@vt.edu.
Please note: Since Dr. Still is now at Fresno State, if you have questions about belonging, please direct them to Dr. Cathy Akens, VC of Student Affairs at caakens@uncg.edu. For questions about the retention model, contact Dr. Still at grstill@vt.edu.
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