Community and student engagement is a global sector wide problem. There is a growing area of research within student education about sense of belonging and increased motivation for learning. Sense of belonging is one of the most significant factors in students’ success and retention in higher education. It is something highly valued but rather hard to quantify. Despite its clear importance, many students report not feeling part of a community, in the UK, is reflected in low National Student Survey (NSS) scores for questions related to belonging sector wide. 

At Leeds, recently the year 1 UG curriculum has been re-designed with the sense of belonging as a focus. This includes enhanced contact time, but still utilising a flipped classroom approach to teaching. A scaffolded approach to training students to engage with team work along with activities with autonomy of choice of the topic area studied within the team. This has been shown to support the building of a community within peers on their course. 

A synoptic programme level assessment approach was also adapted which included reflective writing about both academic on course experiences but also extra curricula activities and part time work. This enabled students to link their whole university journey together to identify the skills they have identified and practiced throughout their first year of study. 

Data will be discussed to support whether different activities within the undergraduate curriculum can support students to feel part of a community and therefore engaging more with their studies leading to higher student success rates.