Is This My Place? Contributing Factors to Community College Students' Longitudinal Sense of Belonging and the Connection of Sense of Belonging to Student Success

Community colleges serve a large percentage of historically under-represented populations including students of color, low-income, and first-generation students. Unfortunately, less than half of students who begin at a community college return the following Fall and only about one-fourth of students eventually graduate. Previous research indicates that students' sense of belonging may be a key factor in retention and completion rates. However, large-scale datasets have yet to comprehensively explore students' sense of belonging in the community college setting. To address that issue, the purpose of this quantitative exploratory study was to examine individual and institutional variables associated with a measure of students' institutional sense of belonging in their first and third years of school. Additionally, the research assessed how sense of belonging was related to measures of student academic success. The data are a subset of community college students who participated in the nationally representative NCES 2012-17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) (n = 6,700). Analyses revealed that student perceptions of faculty and peer interactions, satisfaction with academic and social experience, and academic confidence were most related to student sense of belonging. Differences were found between contributors to first- and third-year sense of belonging and between student demographic groups. Sense of belonging was found to increase the likelihood of students being retained at an institution and of completing a degree or certificate. By focusing on factors most related to community college students' sense of belonging, institutions can leverage resources to support student retention and degree completion. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]