The university campus and a sense of belonging: what do students think?

Abstract

The physical configuration of the university campus impacts upon student learning and experience, and can be used to signal institutional priorities. The extent to which campus, particularly in post 92 institutions, is designed as opposed to evolving as older buildings are repurposed or replaced is variable. Student experiences and perceptions of the campus physical space are also unclear. This study aimed to explore student perceptions using qualitative methods. Data were collected during 8 focus groups from 37 participants. The majority were young and female, with considerable ethnic diversity. Six major themes were identified, many of which did not directly relate to the physical space itself. Rather the impact upon students’ emotional experience and engagement with the institution was emphasised. ‘Belonging’ was the most common theme; indicating that the nature of the physical space on campus is not neutral, but can affect the extent to which students can form attachments with each other and academic staff. ‘Nature’ was the second most commonly mentioned theme. Green space has therapeutic potential in stress management, important given mental health concerns in young people including students. The ideal campus as described by participants would include green non-smoking spaces with an emphasis on health promotion. Opportunities to include nature on campus should be taken, and future proposals to design the campus should canvas student views.

Staff and student perspectives of online teaching and learning; implications for belonging and engagement at university – a qualitative exploration

“…Respondents also identified good relationships with academic staff and the feeling that students mattered individually to staff as hallmarks of high quality HE (Dicker et al, 2017(Dicker et al, , 2018 this an important consideration in the competitive world of education provision. Rather like Ahn and Davis (2019), we have also found that there is an element of 'place' in belonging: that geographical location affects belonging in Level 3 (foundation) students (Goldring et al, 2018) and that the physical space on campus helps to develop belonging in undergraduate students (Mulrooney and Kelly, 2020b). This is unsurprising, since the nature of the physical space will influence how easily social interactions within and between staff and student groups occur.…”

Inclusion and Belonging in Higher Education: A Scoping Study of Contexts, Barriers, and Facilitators

“…Lack of accessibility for students with disabilities was also frequently evoked in the analyzed literature, typically associated with inaccessible buildings, websites, learning management systems, and virtual resources, lack of lifts and other adaptive and supportive equipment, and the absence of interpreters or signage in braille (Morina, et al, 2016;van Jaarsveldt & Ndeya-Ndereya, 2015). For many students with disabilities, accessibility goes beyond built structures and includes a broader conception of a variety of environments, including social and attitudinal aspects, outdoor spaces, transportation, and communication (Bencicni & Arenghi, 2018;Mulrooney & Kelly, 2020).…”

“…Also critical to a sense of belonging are supplementary infrastructure, accessible and inviting spaces, inclusive policies and procedures, and student support services which collectively form the foundation upon which socialization occurs. Universities and colleges are focused on education and research, but are also places for community-building (Mulrooney & Kelly, 2020). The structural arrangement of universities impacts student learning and socialization and the "nature of the physical space on campus is not neutral, but can affect the extent to which students can form attachments with each other and academic staff" (Mulrooney & Kelly, 2020, p. 1).…”

“…Inclusive design principles influence more than simply accessibility and include functional use, signage, lighting, and use of color as elements enhancing inclusion and belonging (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2008). It is not only the built environment; informal and outdoor campus spaces also facilitate development of social communities (Mulrooney & Kelly, 2020).…”

Student belonging: the impact of disability status within and between academic institutions.

“…Those with disability were significantly more likely to agree that 'It is difficult to make friends at this institution' and 'I have very few friends or acquaintances at this institution that share my views and beliefs', and to significantly disagree with the statements 'I fit with other students at my university', 'There are other students at this institution who share my views and beliefs' and 'I can have quality interactions with other students' (see Table 3). We have previously shown that among higher education students, the nature of the physical space was important in enabling both a sense of belonging and social relationships to develop (Mulrooney & Kelly, 2020). Higher education establishments have invested in informal learning spaces to accommodate collaborative peer exchanges, but the extent to which such spaces are equally accessible and the potential for some students to be marginalised or excluded needs to be explored (Berman, 2020).…”