21st Annual Student Life Research Symposium View Other Sessions

Across the nation and here at the University of Michigan, there is a growing population of students who self-identify as mixed race. Between the 2010 and 2020 United States censuses, mixed race populations increased 276 percent (Jones et al., 2021). Additionally, ten percent of all children younger than ten identify as mixed race (Pew, 2015). These individuals constitute our future student pipeline at a time when the much-discussed enrollment cliff is looming. Despite these trends, most campuses do not adequately include the experiences and issues related to mixed race people in our curricula, collections, and co-curricular services (Barrett, 2022; Zook, 2019). These statistics serve as a wakeup call for postsecondary institutions and together, curriculum planners, student life workers, academic librarians, and others need to be well positioned to contribute to the success of mixed race students. The authors from the Library-based Mixed Race Project will present their findings from a survey, along with qualitative data gathered during a 2026 community art project. Together, these data illustrate how important a sense of belonging is to mixed race student well-being. We will also share our collaborative efforts with units across campus to raise the visibility of and sense of community for mixed race issues on campus.

How can research move beyond findings and reports and become a catalyst for campus change? This session explores how qualitative interviews with students helped the University better understand experiences of religious and cultural inclusion, including awareness and use of reflection spaces, religious holiday accommodations, dining options, and campus supports. The study highlighted the importance of religious and spiritual identity as a source of belonging, strength, and purpose for many students, while also identifying barriers related to communication, policy implementation, resource visibility, and faculty/staff understanding. This session will demonstrate how higher ed staff who do not conduct research in their daily roles applied research findings to inform practical, cross-campus action. After a brief overview of the study’s key findings, panelists from several campus areas will share how the research shaped their work, including efforts related to religious holiday accommodations, Ramadan education, and dining practices. Participants will leave with examples of how qualitative data can be translated into institutional learning, collaboration, and concrete steps toward a more inclusive student experience.

This presentation will share findings from Student Life Research’s qualitative assessment of ecological validation among U-M undergraduate students. Based on structured interviews with 37 students, the study explores how students’ identities, relationships, and campus environments shape their sense of belonging, academic persistence, and overall success. Participants described identities that extend beyond institutional demographic categories, including family roles, first-generation status, sexuality, religion, disability, socioeconomic background, immigrant experiences, and personality traits. Findings highlight the central role of peers, family, student organizations, instructors, advisors, cohort programs, and Student Life staff in affirming, and sometimes limiting, students’ experiences. Attendees will learn how identity- and strengths-based connections foster belonging, while barriers such as bias, unclear navigation, inconsistent support, and siloed campus systems can undermine validation. The session will include recommendations for integrating validating practices that strengthen a campus culture where all students can thrive.

Come learn how IGR and the CommonGround program empowered student and professional colleagues to take ownership of their work and learning through conducting assessments of the CommonGround program. IGR’s Assistant Director worked with CommonGround’s team to create a qualitative assessment for their Programming Team and Workshop Facilitators. Student colleagues started by interviewing the Programming Team, a small group of five students. The Graduate Intern and Program Assistant conducted these interviews, coded and analyzed the data, and presented it to the rest of the team. After refining the interview protocol, they conducted interviews with every Workshop Facilitator (12 students). In this session you’ll hear our lessons learned: as a unit working with young professionals and student colleagues, as individuals conducting qualitative research design and analysis, and as a program about strengths and areas of growth.