Book Title: Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education
Subtitle: The Role Fostering Connectedness, Support, and Respect Play in Student Success
Edited by Kim Hales; Carey Borkoski; and Jeff Spears
Book Description: Student sense of belonging is a critical issue in higher education, with national trends showing declines among both students (Crawford et al., 2023) and faculty (Wilson, Ghosh, & Jason, 2025). Recent studies have explored the causes of student disengagement and its impact on academic success across multiple areas of higher education (Verbree et al., 2025; Fenizia & Parrello, 2025; Ajjawi, Gravett, & O’Shea, 2025). As Dr. Carey Borkoski notes, “Authentic community building and cultivating a sense of belonging is not about figuring out how to blend into your environment or augmenting the environment to align with any one individual. When there is belonging, individuals within the community believe and trust that they are valued as people within the community. This is not about assimilation or congruence. Instead, it’s about creating feelings of social, academic, and professional connectedness, support, and respect.… Our ability to support personal development and create an environment of belonging leads to stronger student-to-student, teacher-to-teacher, and student-teacher connections” (ace-ed.org). A sense of belonging, as Tinto (2015) explains, arises from students’ daily interactions with peers, faculty, staff, and administrators—and the messages those interactions convey about their value and inclusion on campus.
Contents
Book Information
Book Description
Student sense of belonging is a critical issue in higher education, with national trends showing declines among both students (Crawford et al., 2023) and faculty (Wilson, Ghosh, & Jason, 2025). Recent studies have explored the causes of student disengagement and its impact on academic success across multiple areas of higher education (Verbree et al., 2025; Fenizia & Parrello, 2025; Ajjawi, Gravett, & O’Shea, 2025). As Dr. Carey Borkoski notes, “Authentic community building and cultivating a sense of belonging is not about figuring out how to blend into your environment or augmenting the environment to align with any one individual. When there is belonging, individuals within the community believe and trust that they are valued as people within the community. This is not about assimilation or congruence. Instead, it’s about creating feelings of social, academic, and professional connectedness, support, and respect.… Our ability to support personal development and create an environment of belonging leads to stronger student-to-student, teacher-to-teacher, and student-teacher connections” (ace-ed.org). A sense of belonging, as Tinto (2015) explains, arises from students’ daily interactions with peers, faculty, staff, and administrators—and the messages those interactions convey about their value and inclusion on campus.
License
Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education Copyright © 2026 by Utah State University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Subject
Higher education, tertiary education
Metadata
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Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education Copyright © 2026 by Utah State University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.