Feelings of Connection and Friendships

Survey participants were asked, “At UMass Amherst, how personally connected do you feel to each of the following?” and were presented with a set of prominent connection points, including department or work unit, college/school, and peers (item sets were tailored to each population). Participants rated their feeling of connection on the following 3-point scale: Not Connected, Somewhat Connected, or Very Connected.

The data dashboard below shows feelings of connectedness for undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty across population-specific sets of connection points, including UMass Amherst overall. Among staff, 61 percent reported that they feel Very Connected to their department/unit. Among faculty, 55 percent said they feel Very Connected to their program/department. For graduate students, the highest level of connectedness occurred in two areas: 49 percent reported feeling Very Connected to their advisor or dissertation chair, and 39 percent indicated that they feel Very Connected to their program/department. Finally, undergraduate students reported feeling most connected to other students (Very Connected 35%) and to their department/major (Very Connected 33%).

A few examples of less favorable results are that 22 percent of staff indicated feeling Not Connected to other staff members, and 26 percent of faculty reported feeling Not Connected to other faculty members. Furthermore, 33 percent of undergraduate students and 15 percent of graduate students reported feeling Not Connected to faculty/instructors.

As noted in our previous research brief on Belonging, sense of belonging hinges on connection to peers and colleagues: We found that undergraduates who are affiliated with student organizations or serve in leadership roles were more likely to report a positive sense of belonging. The data dashboard below shows that undergraduate students’ sense of connectedness to other students is associated with involvement in University clubs and student organizations: unaffiliated undergraduates were nearly twice as likely as those who are affiliated to report feeling Not Connected to other students (21% v. 11%).

Successful development and fostering of a campus climate of inclusion, particularly given UMass Amherst’s history as a predominately white institution (PWI), depends on community members’ developing connections – including friendships – with others whose backgrounds and identity characteristics are different from their own. Disrupting and shifting the human tendency to form connections based on similarity*, rather than difference, necessitates intentionality, opportunity, and supportive community structures.

To provide some insight about the extent to which students, staff, and faculty have close connections with UMass Amherst community members whose identity characteristics are different from their own, all CCS participants were asked to consider their five closest friends or acquaintances at UMass Amherst (a grouping we will reference here as “five closest friends”). For these five friends, respondents reported the number who are of a different gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic background from their own. These four social identity aspects were selected as focal points from the broader array in order to make the question set manageable for participants. In the University’s next CCS, this question set will focus on other social identity aspects, such as disability, job classification, and political beliefs.

When reflecting on the social identities of their five closest friends at UMass Amherst, respondents could indicate that they were “Unsure.” The first dashboard below shows that across all four populations, survey participants were more likely to indicate uncertainty about the sexual orientations and socioeconomic backgrounds of their five closest friends than about their races/ethnicities and genders. This finding is understandable, given that some social identity aspects tend to be more centered in human interactions than others.

Lastly, exploration of the population-specific dashboards reveals a variety of differences across social identity categories.  When considering these, it is important to keep in mind that many reflect substantial differences in size among social identity groups – a circumstance that understandably constrains opportunities for interpersonal connection.  In contrast, some differences (such as differences among women and men) are likely attributable to people’s social dispositions and behaviors.

Undergraduates

The dashboard below shows that overall, vast majorities of undergraduates reported that at least one of their five closest friends at UMass Amherst is of a gender different from their own (80%), and that at least one is of a race/ethnicity different from their own (79%). Among undergraduates knowledgeable about the socioeconomic class background of their five closest friends, 81% indicated that at least one has a class background different from their own. Among those knowledgeable of the sexual orientations of their five closest friends, approximately two-thirds (67%) indicated that at least one has a sexual orientation different from their own. Exploration of the results by social identity aspects reveals some differences among groups (see dashboard below). For example, men were much more likely than women to indicate that None of their five closest friends has a sexual orientation different from their own (44% v. 27%). Another example is that International students were somewhat more likely than others to indicate that None of their five closest friends has a sexual orientation different from their own (41% v. 27%-38%).

Graduate Students

Overall results for graduate students are very similar to those of undergraduates. The dashboard below shows that overall, vast majorities of graduate students reported that at least one of their five closest friends at the University is of a gender different from their own (85%), and that at least one is of a race/ethnicity different from their own (80%). Among graduate students knowledgeable about the socioeconomic class background of their five closest friends, 77% indicated that at least one has a class background different from their own. Among those knowledgeable of the sexual orientations of their five closest friends, nearly two-thirds (64%) indicated that at least one has a sexual orientation different from their own. Exploration of the results by social identity aspects reveals some differences (see dashboard, below). For example, International students were much more likely than others to indicate that None of their five closest friends has a sexual orientation different from their own (52% v. 19%-30%). Another example is that men were slightly more likely than women to indicate that None of their five closest friends has a sexual orientation different from their own (45% v. 33%). 

Staff

The dashboard below shows that vast majorities of staff (83%) indicated that at least one of their five closest university friends is of a gender different from their own, and (among those with knowledge) that at least one is of a class background different from their own (74%). Among those knowledgeable of the sexual orientations of their five closest friends, two-thirds (66%) indicated that at least one has a sexual orientation different from their own. Lastly, 69% reported that at least one friend is of a race/ethnicity different from their own. As is the case with students, exploration of the results by social identity aspects reveals some differences (see dashboard below). For example, administrators were more likely than most others to report having at least one close university friend of a gender different from their own, a race/ethnicity different from their own, a sexual orientation different from their own, and a class background different from their own. 

Faculty

Vast majorities of all faculty reported having at least one close university friend of a gender different from their own (91%), and a friend of a race/ethnicity different from their own (81%). In contrast, nearly one-third indicated that None of their close friends has a sexual orientation different from their own and that None of their close friends has a class background different from their own. As is the case with the other three campus populations, exploration of the results by social identity aspects reveals some differences (see dashboard below). For example, women were twice as likely as men to indicate that None of their five closest University friends is a gender different from their own (12% v. 5%), and men were somewhat more likely than women to report that None of their five closest friends has a sexual orientation different from their own (38% v. 29%). 

Undergraduate Students’ Connections to Faculty and Peers

As the dashboard below shows, 35 percent of undergraduates overall reported feeling Very Connected to their peers and 20 percent reported feeling Very Connected to faculty or instructors. However, exploration of the results by social identity reveals some differences in self-reported connection to peers and/or faculty/instructors among social identity groups.  For example, feelings of connection are somewhat lower for Black students, students with mobility and mental health-related disabilities, and transfer students. We invite you to engage with the dashboard below to further explore relationships between social identity aspects and connectedness for undergraduate students, including feelings of connection to major department (or track), college/school, staff members, and the University overall.

Graduate Students’ Connections to Advisors and Department/Program

Among graduate students overall, 49 percent reported feeling Very Connected to their advisor or dissertation chair (see dashboard, below). There is a disparity between academic levels, with 60 percent of doctoral students and 35 percent of master’s students reporting they feel Very Connected to their advisor. Exploration of the dashboard shows that feelings of connection vary somewhat by social identity. For example, first-generation graduate students were somewhat more likely than continuing-generation students to report a strong connection to their advisor (56% v. 48% Very Connected). Also, Latinx (55%), Black (50%), and International (55%) students were somewhat more likely than Asian students (41%) to report feeling Very Connected to their advisor. Feelings of connection to graduate department/program also vary somewhat by social identity. For example, Multiracial (21%), Black (20%), and Latinx (18%) students were more likely than Asian (9%) or International (9%) students to report feeling Not Connected to their graduate department or program.

Faculty Connectedness

In a survey conducted in spring, 2020, UMass Amherst faculty indicated that the University’s "best aspect” is its quality of colleagues. Given this finding, it is not surprising that 55 percent of faculty CCS participants reported feeling Very Connected to their department or program, with an additional 35 percent indicating that they feel Somewhat Connected (see dashboard, below).  In contrast, much smaller proportions reported feeling Very Connected to their college/school (23%), the University overall (20%), and other University faculty members (19%).

As exploration of the dashboard above reveals, faculty members reported similar levels of connection across most social identity categories. There are some exceptions to this pattern, however, one being that Asian and Black faculty reported somewhat higher levels of connectedness to their department/program and their college/school relative to other racial/ethnic groups. One example of an unfavorable finding is that nonbinary faculty reported somewhat lower levels of connectedness to their department/program and their college/school compared to both women and men. Another is that faculty who identified as having a disability reported lower levels of connectedness to both their department/program and college/school compared to faculty who did not identify as having a disability.

Staff Connectedness

Among staff members, 61 percent reported that they feel Very Connected to their work unit or department and only 7 percent reported feeling Not Connected. Since connection to one’s work unit can play a large role in job satisfaction, these numbers are especially encouraging within the transition period following the Covid-19 disruption. However, substantially lower proportions of staff indicated feeling Very Connected to other University staff members (17%) and the University overall (15%), which may have implications for effective cross-unit communication and problem-solving.

As was the case with faculty, staff reported similar levels of connectedness across many social identity categories (see dashboard below). However, some pronounced differences exist by job classification: 86 percent of those in Executive/Administrative/Managerial roles reported feeling Very Connected to their work unit or department, compared to 46 percent of Technical/Paraprofessional staff.  Additionally, staff in managerial roles were much more likely than those in other roles to report feeling Very Connected to the University overall (44% v. 10-15%).  Some additional but comparatively modest differences in connectedness also exist by race/ethnicity, and disability (see dashboard below).