Research shows that college students who feel a sense of belonging within their program of study and university community are more likely to seek out support when needed. This is particularly effective for first-gen students, international students and those students who have been historically minoritized within higher education.
While research has shown the effectiveness of creating a sense of belonging for undergraduate students, the graduate student experience is different, according to three Kent State administrators who have authored an article on the topic for Inside Higher Education. Graduate-level education often focuses on professional and career goals with less emphasis on creating a sense of belonging, according to the article’s authors – Sarah Beal, Ph.D., professional development specialist in the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Graduate College, Christa J. Porter, Ph.D., associate dean of the Graduate College and associate professor of higher education administration, and Manfred H.M. van Dulmen, Ph.D., senior associate provost and dean of the Graduate College.
Despite the likelihood of spending more time at one’s graduate institution than at one’s undergraduate college, graduate students are less likely to feel a sense of identity attached to their graduate school.
“While their engagement at the university level may be different than for undergraduate students, there is still an opportunity to make that engagement more intentional and meaningful,” the authors stated.
Seeing an opportunity to create meaningful change, Beal, Porter and van Dulmen set out to develop a new type of experience for graduate students in the fall of 2023 by redesigning the graduate-student orientation program. The changes the trio made focused on three goals: to create social belonging among peers, help build relationships with faculty members and establish a community within Kent State and higher education in general. The program consisted of online, asynchronous Canvas modules to offer information on the university’s resources as well as a one-day, in-person orientation focused on community building and belonging.
The in-person orientation program included roundtable discussions, conversation starter prompts and exercises to help the graduate students share concerns, questions and more amongst each other and with faculty.
“The result was better than we could have hoped for: as many as 450 students engaged in open conversation with their peers, beginning the community-building process,” the article stated.
The three Kent State administrators said they found that the graduate students who participated continued to engage and ask questions beyond the allotted time and also requested more opportunities to connect as a group. Beal, Porter and van Dulmen said they plan to sustain this new program throughout the academic year, in addition to creating a pilot program of first-year cohorts, a monthly opportunity for groups to connect and share their experiences, which will serve as an extension of what began at orientation.