Mentor/s
Dr. Katie Kroeper
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
A sense of belonging in college is essential for students’ academic success, yet opportunities to belong may be inequitable along racial-ethnic and social class lines. We asked two questions: (1) How do belonging opportunities vary within and across (a) higher education institutions and (b) racial-ethnic and social-class groups? (2) What predicts opportunities for belonging? We gathered data from a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a social-belonging intervention at 22 U.S. colleges and analyzed 15,143 control-group students’ belonging opportunities. Students were classified into one of 374 local-identity groups (LIGs) based on their race-ethnicity, first-generation status, cohort, and college. We measured their belonging and collected data on institutional factors, identified through a literature review, that we expected to predict belonging opportunities: (1) in-group representation, (2) inclusive campus cultures, (3) opportunities for strong relationships, and (4) opportunities for productive learning. We found that each college fostered belonging for some groups, however none did for all. White (97%), Hispanic/Latinx (90%), and continuing-generation (70%) LIGs had greater belonging opportunities than Black (28%), Asian (22%), and first-generation (57%) LIGs. As expected, greater in-group representation, inclusivity, opportunities to build strong relationships, and opportunities for productive learning were all associated with greater belonging.
College and Major available
Psychology BS
Academic Level
Undergraduate student
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-25-2025 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-25-2025 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Transformative for Social Justice, Best Writing
Black, Asian, and First-Generation Students Report Fewer Opportunities to Belong in College
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
A sense of belonging in college is essential for students’ academic success, yet opportunities to belong may be inequitable along racial-ethnic and social class lines. We asked two questions: (1) How do belonging opportunities vary within and across (a) higher education institutions and (b) racial-ethnic and social-class groups? (2) What predicts opportunities for belonging? We gathered data from a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a social-belonging intervention at 22 U.S. colleges and analyzed 15,143 control-group students’ belonging opportunities. Students were classified into one of 374 local-identity groups (LIGs) based on their race-ethnicity, first-generation status, cohort, and college. We measured their belonging and collected data on institutional factors, identified through a literature review, that we expected to predict belonging opportunities: (1) in-group representation, (2) inclusive campus cultures, (3) opportunities for strong relationships, and (4) opportunities for productive learning. We found that each college fostered belonging for some groups, however none did for all. White (97%), Hispanic/Latinx (90%), and continuing-generation (70%) LIGs had greater belonging opportunities than Black (28%), Asian (22%), and first-generation (57%) LIGs. As expected, greater in-group representation, inclusivity, opportunities to build strong relationships, and opportunities for productive learning were all associated with greater belonging.
Students' Information
Gabriela Gomez- Psychology Major, Human Resource Management Minor, 2025
Aleksandra Kozak- Psychology Major, minors in Neuroscience and Health Communications on the pre-occupational therapy track, Honors program, 2026
Jenna Costa- Criminal Justice Major, Sociology, Psychology, and Law and Justice Minors, Honors program, 2026