Developing Undergraduates' Social Capital Within a Title V Student Center

• In Event: Accepting Responsibility for Designing Equitable Student Supports

Abstract

This research focuses on how a student center developed undergraduates’ social capital at a large university using Title V funding. Utilizing a social capital framework, we examined how individuals involved with this center perceived the types of institutional supports available at the center and how individuals’ perceptions of these supports varied. We conducted focus groups and interviews with staff, mentors, and undergraduate student visitors over the course of three years and used focus coding to analyze the data. We found that this center contributed to the social capital of its users, and individuals at the center perceived the types of institutional support provided at the center differently depending on individual’s role at the center.

Authors

• Michael Lloydhauser, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Sarah Ann Roberts, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Krista L. Lucas, Pepperdine University