Measuring Belongingness in Higher Education: Assessing the Relevance of the University Belongingness Questionnaire (UBQ) in Community College Settings

The current study assesses the utility of the University Belongingness Questionnaire (UBQ) in community college settings. Utilizing item response theory (IRT), the UBQ was evaluated with a sample of 1155 community college students at one large community college on the west coast. In addition, other constructs were measured to ascertain the validity and further understand belonging in community college settings, including academic self-efficacy, intrinsic resilience, and ethnic identity. The results indicate the same three-factor solution as the UBQ when used with four-year university students, (a) Affiliation with (Community) College, (b) Campus Support and Acceptance, and (c) Faculty/Staff Relations. Four items were removed due to a lack of fit with the community college setting and poor reliability with their respective subscales and the total scale. Implications for community college personnel, future scale development, and higher education research are discussed.