Found my place: The importance of faculty relationships for seniors' sense of belonging

Abstract

While previous literature documents the importance of sense of belonging for a positive educational experience, much of this research is focused on students early in their college careers and incorporates a single measure of sense of belonging. In contrast, the current study sought to explore whether senior students’ faculty-related engagement influences their sense of belonging, particularly their feelings of institutional acceptance as one aspect of sense of belonging. This study utilizes data from 8939 seniors in the 2014 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement to explore these relationships. Results suggest that increased student–faculty interaction, use of effective teaching practices, and participation in research with faculty have a positive impact on feelings of institutional acceptance for seniors. Furthermore, certain student demographics (first-generation, age, gender, race/ethnicity), college experiences (enrollment type, online learning, STEM major, college grades, living situation, Greek affiliation), and institutional characteristics (control type, minority-serving institution, selectivity, Carnegie type) also play a role in this aspect of belongingness. Institutions can use this information to increase programming and resources for improving student engagement with faculty.