The Positive Effects of Service-Learning on Transfer Students’ Sense of Belonging: A Multi-Institutional Analysis

More than 1 in 3 undergraduate students transfers from one college or university to another, but many do not go on to graduate. Literature suggests that service-learning pedagogy supports both social and academic integration; therefore, we examined whether transfer students’ participation in service-learning courses is related to sense of belonging—an important predictor of graduation. We conducted ordinary least squares estimation with institution fixed effects and found that students who participated in service-learning courses posttransfer had a higher sense of belonging. We also found that the relationship between service-learning and sense of belonging may be curvilinear.