Interim Program Director and Associate Professor for UIndy’s College of Applied Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Katie Boucher, was recently published in the online journal Science. Dr. Boucher’s article “Where and with whom does a brief social-belonging intervention promote progress in college?” studies how a sense of belonging can help a student succeed in college. Science is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s oldest and largest general science organization.
Dr. Boucher explained, “In a randomized controlled trial across 22 universities and colleges, we found that a 30-minute online intervention focused on a sense of belonging resulted in better student outcomes. More students completed the first year as full-time students, especially those from marginalized groups in higher education. Campus context also mattered. If there were no opportunities to belong, the intervention was not as effective.”
She joined this project with the College Transition Collaborative as a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University and continued during her first years as a faculty member at the University of Indianapolis. Dr. Boucher said, “This work and the collaborators I have gained from it have profoundly shaped the research and service I do at UIndy.” The article was also highlighted in the Chronicle of Higher Education: “This Simple 30-Minute Belonging Exercise Could Boost Student Retention.”