The Belonging initiative committee is comprised of faculty, staff, and students from all three campuses. We began last fall by defining belonging in a university setting and identified six components of belonging at TWU:

• Connection & engagement
• Reflecting warm and caring living, learning, and working environments.
• Shared experiences and traditions
• Inclusivity
• Being involved and invested in the TWU community, and feeling that TWU is invested in me
• Continuous cultivation of an ethos of care

Our committee has investigated the importance of belonging to TWU students. Committee members analyzed survey data from the National Survey of Student Engagement related to the six components of belonging at TWU.  The analysis revealed that after controlling for demographic characteristics of the student, including gender, race, and socioeconomic status, belonging significantly contributes to a student’s experience at TWU. 

Interviews and focus groups with students about caring on campus have revealed three important themes:

• Students desire to be seen by faculty, staff, and peers as a whole person and not just a student
• Belongingness uncertainty, or worrying that you don’t fit in a social or academic setting, is a common feeling of students both in the classroom and in campus life, and
• When students feel cared for, they feel a greater sense of community and belonging inside and outside the classroom

This year, the committee is designing and implementing programming to promote belonging for our student populations: 

Programming for first-generation college students, Pioneers First, has launched this fall and includes a welcome reception featuring a video highlighting the stories of first-gen faculty and staff; an alumni panel addressing challenges in the sophomore year; a panel discussion on the imposter syndrome, career exploration, and weekly online discussions for first-gen online students.

In conjunction with the Center for Faculty Excellence, we are developing programming and training for faculty about best practices for promoting caring and belonging in the classroom that will roll out in the spring semester

This semester the committee will also begin exploring ways to promote belonging among faculty and staff.

For more infomration, contact Stephanie Brown, Becky Spencer, Abigail Tilton or Monica Mendez-Grant.

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Written by the Strategic Plan Design Team