Belonging is a key part of the student experience, contributing to student retention, attainment and wellbeing. Belonging is a multi-faceted concept, encompassing inclusion and diversity, community, academic confidence and feeling that you matter and are valued. It is often at the level of the course or programme that students’ sense of belonging is most localised, and in which a holistic approach to belonging can be best integrated and embedded.
Everyone involved in delivering and supporting teaching and learning has a role to play, from programme and module leaders to lecturers, seminar or lab teaching assistants, personal tutors, professional and student services colleagues and peer mentors.
This collaborative project offers an opportunity for teams at school or programme levels to start to define the concepts of ‘belonging’ and ‘building’ both personally, collaboratively and with a local identity. This will be an important element of the project since being able to define belonging will enable teams to begin to build this in their contexts and approaches from induction forward, using learning and shared practices from the project to inform and support.
This cohort is now full, you can still register your interest in future cohorts here.
Register your interest
If you would like to register your interest in the next cohort, please complete the form by clicking below and we will send you an information sheet with further details.
Project benefits
- Bespoke provision to help you identify and address challenges around fostering a sense of student belonging at programme level in a School or Faculty, ensuring it meets the needs and ethos of your specific institution and discipline as well as your student cohort
- Drawing on, adapting and creating models, frameworks or toolkits for strategies and initiatives to develop student belonging
- Access to leading experts in learning and teaching, student success and EDI to shape and inform your work in this area
- Network and share practice with colleagues from other institutions who are also developing innovative practices around student belonging in their programmes.
Project outline
Introductory Consultation
Our Project Lead will meet with the representatives who will be invited to reflect and report on concerns and needs in relation to their own context.
Diagnostic survey
We will survey participants using a diagnostic tool aligned to relevant Student Success Frameworks, as a benchmark to identify key challenges and existing good practice.
Collaborative events
We will hold two collaborative events with all project leads to identify opportunities and goals, develop approaches, share practice and reflect on future priorities.
Two bespoke individual workshops
Workshops can either be customised for the institution to bring together relevant teams and partners, or larger ‘open’ sessions for institutions to enable development in specific areas or roles.
End of project report
Summarising outcomes, principles, good practice examples and next steps, as well as individualised ‘take home’ points for each institution.