Measuring Belonging in Higher Education: The Simple University Belonging Scale

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Psychometric Issues in Higher Education Assessment

Abstract

Students’ sense of belonging influences academic outcomes and well-being. This study proposes an extension of the Simple School Belonging Scale (SSBS): the Simple University Belonging Scale (SUBS), a measure of postsecondary students’ sense of belonging with a sample of undergraduate and graduate students from a large, southeastern university in the United States. Preliminary results suggest that, like the SSBS, treating the SUBS as a unidimensional measure is appropriate. Additionally, undergraduate and graduate students might interpret items differently or provide extreme responses that does not allow for the SUBS to enjoy measurement invariance across degree levels. Implications for student and academic life on higher education campuses are discussed.

Authors

• John Eric M. Lingat, University of Kentucky

• Michael D. Toland, The University of Toledo