This study examined sense of belonging among a national sample of 2,967 first-year students. Guided by the work of Hurtado and Carter (1997), relationships between several aspects of the college environment and sense of belonging were examined. Findings indicated that African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian Pacific American students reported a less strong sense of belonging than White/Caucasian students. The social dimensions of the transition to college and residence hall climate and perceptions of the campus racial climate had strong significant relationships to students' sense of belonging. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

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This study involved the development of the first empirical typology of living-learning programs and its use in the assessment of students' learning outcomes. Using two-step cluster analysis with data from nearly 300 living-learning programs at 34 U.S. postsecondary institutions, the authors identified three structural types of programs: (a) small, limited resourced, primarily residential life programs; (b) medium, moderately resourced, student affairs/academic affairs combination programs; and (c) large, comprehensively resourced, student affairs/academic affairs collaboration programs. Multiple regression analyses revealed that students in the large academic affairs/student affairs collaborations and small residential life-based living-learning program types exhibited stronger self-reported learning outcomes than those in the medium combination programs. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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