Belonging, Connection and Community
Bristol SU – in partnership with the University – has conducted a piece of research on student communities and sense of belonging at Bristol, a topic we know really matters you.
It was commissioned to gather a wide range and scale of student opinion on the topic, and to provide robust evidence to inform the future actions of the SU and University to support student communities.
We wanted to find out how students make friends, what conditions strong student communities form and thrive in, and how the SU or University can help facilitate these conditions.
Our Findings
We received an amazing response from students, with 1,344 answering our survey and 63 participating in our series of focus groups. We also consulted with students on the survey design, and several of the focus groups were facilitated by student leaders.
Here is what we found out:
- Most students said that they made their strongest friendships through non-elective communities (such as their course or accommodation), but elective communities (such as student groups) play a key role for a significant proportion of students, too
- Looking at opportunities to connect with others in relation to their course, accommodation, or through extra-curricular groups – students responded that opportunities to be part of a community around their programme of study fell short of their expectations the most
- 80% of survey respondents said it was ‘very’ or ‘quite’ important to meet students with the same interests or hobbies as themselves, however some identity groups reported finding this more challenging than others, such as those with caring responsibilities, disabled students and students over the age of 22.
- Students felt that communities were closed to them outside of the welcome period, and that they had missed out on opportunities if arriving later
- 48% of students felt outside of what they perceive to be the ‘mainstream culture’ of the university, which was most commonly identified as being drinking and party-orientated, as well as upper and middle class or ‘posh’
- Disabled students, students with caring responsibilities, and trans students are among those who expressed feeling the poorest sense of belonging to the University
- Disabled students, BAME students, international students and state school educated students were all less satisfied with the number and quality of their social connections at the University than the overall results
- 1 out of 10 of respondents said that they did not feel connected to anyone at the university
- When asked if they had someone they could rely on for support, 28% of students said this was the case ‘rarely’ or ‘not much of the time’
You can read the full Belonging, Connection and Community report here.
The report’s findings will directly impact our strategic planning around our community-focused provisions, such as Clubs & Societies, Volunteering projects, Intramural Sport, Networks, Events and Living Rooms. They will also impact various University departments such as schools and faculties, Resilife and the Global Lounge.
Outcomes
What we’ve done already
- Hired an academic societies coordinator to support academic societies in building communities on their course
- Presented the findings to all Bristol SU staff and relevant teams at the University including the Student Experience Programme Board and The Community Development group
What we will do in future
- Assemble a key group of staff to plan and carry out the ‘areas for action’ from the report
If you have any questions about the research or would like to find out more, please email: student-experience-programme@bristol.ac.uk
