New national research reveals that student belonging begins long before students set foot on campus. Students’ sense of acceptance or inclusion often takes shape during their very first interaction with a college’s brand, website, or marketing message.
That’s one of the key findings from a new study by Paskill, in partnership with KNow Research and Lexicon & Line, exploring how higher education leaders understand, measure, and prioritize one of the most influential—yet often intangible—drivers of student success: belonging.
The collaborative project brought together three agencies united by a shared belief that belonging is not only essential to student experience but also to institutional strategy.
Paskill, a national higher education marketing agency with more than 35 years of experience, led the initiative alongside KNow Research, a qualitative insights firm specializing in human-centered discovery, and Lexicon & Line, a quantitative strategy and evaluation firm working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice.
Building on the Belonging Benchmark, a research-backed tool developed by KNow Research and Lexicon & Line and piloted with nearly 900 students, this new phase of work turns the lens toward campus leadership. The study sought to understand how presidents, vice presidents, and marketing and enrollment teams are defining and operationalizing belonging across their institutions.
A Closer Look at Belonging
In essence, student belonging refers to how accepted, respected, included, and supported students feel both socially and academically. Research consistently links belonging to retention, engagement, and academic performance, as well as to prospective students’ enrollment decisions and long-term persistence.
For higher education leaders, belonging is increasingly being viewed as both a mission-driven commitment and a strategic imperative. One that influences not only student outcomes but institutional health and reputation.
From Strategy to Sentiment
More than 100 higher education professionals completed the brief, seven-minute survey, from August to October of this year, representing two- and four-year institutions across all regions of the country. Respondents included marketing and communications leaders, enrollment management executives, admissions directors, student affairs and success professionals, academic affairs representatives, and DEI officers.
Their responses reveal a broad agreement: belonging begins before enrollment. Nearly all respondents view belonging as essential to enrollment, retention, and student success. Even further, most believe it should be conveyed intentionally across every recruitment touchpoint.
According to Dionicia Ramos, Director of Marketing, PR, and Government Relations at Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, encouraging belonging is a core part of her job.
Belonging means meeting students where they are—recognizing that everyone comes with their own needs, experiences, and goals. Our job is to make sure they feel seen, supported, and that this is a place they can truly thrive.
Her reflection echoes a growing awareness among enrollment and marketing leaders that belonging is both a feeling and a signal, communicated through everything from advertising and email to campus tours and acceptance portals.
For Scott Shaw, Associate Provost at Grace Christian University, belonging connects directly to the metrics that define institutional health.
A sense of belonging is essential for both achievement and retention. When students feel unwelcome or unsupported, they’re more likely to leave, either transferring elsewhere or stopping out completely. Belonging looks different for every student, but it’s always critical to helping them complete their journey and graduate.
Findings and Future Focus
When Paskill’s Lead UX Strategist Kelly Kautz presented her research on the user experience of first-generation college students at the 2023 eduWeb Summit in Washington, D.C., dozens of higher ed professionals recognized the same challenge: how to help prospects who only know their institution digitally feel connected enough to invest in an in-person experience.
“AI and search have made marketing the first student experience, not just the prelude to it. That raises the bar for website, portals, email, and social. Beyond keywords and segments, we have to design for belonging. That means helping students see themselves in our stories, navigate confidently without insider knowledge, and feel respected with every interaction,” says Kautz.
While the need for belonging surfaces consistently in professional discussions, leaders admit it has been difficult to define exactly what belonging is, where it begins, and how it shapes the student journey and experience.
The study’s results mirror that uncertainty. While most respondents see belonging as central to student success, more than half said their institutions only somewhat understand or measure it. Many reported gaps in how data systems capture the lived student experience, especially among first-generation, international, and racially or religiously minoritized students.
Despite these challenges, campus climates were generally described as welcoming, safe, and respectful. Yet many leaders noted only partial alignment between student needs and institutional efforts, citing resource limitations and uneven prioritization of DEI as ongoing barriers.
More than half of the survey’s participants expressed interest in benchmarking belonging nationally, reflecting a growing appetite for shared standards and actionable frameworks.
A Shared Commitment to Student Success
The Belonging in Higher Education Study represents a continued collaboration to help colleges and universities foster more inclusive, emotionally resonant student experiences. It also extends Paskill’s long-standing research into the emotional factors shaping enrollment decisions, from first-generation student stories to the intersection of belonging and brand.
The findings confirm what many in higher education intuitively know: belonging is both a human and strategic cornerstone. It’s what turns recruitment into relationships and keeps students connected long after they’ve enrolled.
Explore the full Belonging in Higher Education Report to see how higher ed leaders nationwide are redefining what belonging means, and how institutions can strengthen it through strategy, story, and connection.
