College Students' Sense of Belonging: A Graduation Update
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| Title: | College Students' Sense of Belonging: A Graduation Update |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Shannon T. Brady (ORCID |
| Source: | Educational Researcher. 2026 55(2):142-145. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 4 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (ED/IES) |
| Contract Number: | P2CHD041025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Sense of Belonging, Undergraduate Students, College Freshmen, Educational Attainment, Academic Degrees, Certification, Student Characteristics, Time to Degree, Institutional Characteristics |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study |
| DOI: | 10.3102/0013189X251393248 |
| ISSN: | 0013-189X 1935-102X |
| Abstract: | Despite considerable and growing interest in college students' sense of belonging, its relationship with postsecondary credential attainment remains poorly understood. Here, in a nationally representative sample of U.S. undergraduates who matriculated in 2011-2012 (N = 21,700), first-year belonging was longitudinally associated with attainment: a 1-point increase on the 5-point scale corresponded to a 3.4 percentage-point increase in 4-year attainment and a 2.7 percentage-point increase in 6-year attainment. These descriptive findings offer large-scale evidence linking college students' belonging to their receipt of a degree and underscore the continued need to foster students' belonging and measure it well. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/zk5b7 |
| IES Funded: | Yes |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1499425 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Despite considerable and growing interest in college students' sense of belonging, its relationship with postsecondary credential attainment remains poorly understood. Here, in a nationally representative sample of U.S. undergraduates who matriculated in 2011-2012 (N = 21,700), first-year belonging was longitudinally associated with attainment: a 1-point increase on the 5-point scale corresponded to a 3.4 percentage-point increase in 4-year attainment and a 2.7 percentage-point increase in 6-year attainment. These descriptive findings offer large-scale evidence linking college students' belonging to their receipt of a degree and underscore the continued need to foster students' belonging and measure it well. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0013-189X 1935-102X |
| DOI: | 10.3102/0013189X251393248 |
