I still remember arriving at the Magill campus on my very first day, finding a car park in what felt like the biggest one ever, and heading straight into orientation week. Students sat in groups under the shade of eucalyptus trees, trees so tall they only reminded me of just how small I felt in that moment.
Inside the main building for Orientation Week, trestle tables stretched across the space, pamphlets everywhere. I felt overwhelmed and out of place, and then, by coincidence, I caught the eye of another student who looked equally awkward. And just like that, we were friends for the next three years.
We bonded over our confusion and our emerging imposter syndrome. Within minutes, we were swapping phone numbers. We had also signed up for the same degree. That brief connection over our shared experience of starting university at the same time transformed my experience. Making new friends in those early weeks turned out to be more important than I could have imagined, but I was not unique.
The Data Behind Belonging
Research from the Australian Belonging Taskforce has now mapped exactly why those early connection points matter.
Our team, led by Dr. Joseph Crawford, analysed data from 1,159,768 undergraduate and postgraduate students between 2013 and 2019 using the national Student Experience Survey. Our machine-learning analysis revealed that overall educational experience was the strongest single predictor of belonging. But there were more interesting findings.
Orientation and Support Make a Big Difference. Support to settle into the institution emerged as the second-strongest predictor, showing how early orientation and induction shape belonging. Settling supports, including induction and orientation, provide the first chance to meet others but also help students navigate new spaces, meet staff, and find initial confidence in the routines and environment of university life.
Connection Outside Class Builds Belonging. Opportunities for genuine connection were also central to belonging. These included opportunities to interact with local students, teamwork built through course activities, and social interaction outside formal study.
Confidence and Environment Still Matter. Quality of student spaces (including digital spaces and learning resources) influenced belonging, as did preparedness for study. This was about students’ confidence and readiness to manage the demands of university, including participation in discussions, working with other students, and engagement in active learning.
Students who felt equipped to handle the transition were more likely to see themselves as belonging to the institution.
A Pandemic Tested Predictors of Belonging and they Stayed Strong
When COVID-19 struck, our research team wondered if everything would change. We examined data from 733,625 students during and after the pandemic, from 2020 to 2022, expecting to find new patterns. Yet the main predictors of belonging remained remarkably consistent with pre-pandemic findings. Key factors continued to include overall educational experience, opportunities for student interaction, and support for settling into university life.
Despite the upheaval, belonging remained stable. Even a global pandemic did not dismantle the main drivers of student belonging.
Belonging Predicts Success and Persistence
Why does this matter for student success? Decades of research, including ours, confirm that feelings of belonging help students overcome challenges, manage stress, and stay engaged. Belonging reduces the risk of non-completion and strengthens motivation. When people feel they belong, they stay. In our research, higher belonging was associated with lower intentions to leave and stronger academic engagement and success.
Thinking back to that first day at Magill, I remember the awkwardness of yet another “first” experience. The research from the Australian Belonging Taskforce confirms that belonging can be forged in those vulnerable moments, in disruption, and maybe in the simple realisation that we are often not alone in feeling the way we do about starting university.
