Allison BrckaLorenz and Sarah Hurtado —
Feelings of safety and belonging in a college community are important to students' well-being and ability to learn. More than 13,000 first-year and senior students from 34 bachelor's degree-granting institutions answered questions about their feelings of safety and belonging at their institution. Although the majority felt physically safe and comfortable being themselves at their institution, perceptions varied among demographic groups. Students with a gender identity other than man or woman disagreed with statements about safety and belonging nearly twice as often as their cisgender peers. Multiracial students and Black or African American students were least likely to feel valued.
See more details about this study and results from the 2016 administration of NSSE here.
Percentage of Students Who Disagreed with Statements about Safety and Belonging, by Gender Identity
National Survey of Student Engagement (2016). Engagement Insights: Survey Findings on the Quality of Undergraduate Education--Annual Results 2016. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.