Thriving Knowledge Center
Thriving, engagement, retention and belonging: how the words relate
Campuses search for retention, engagement, belonging and student success. Dr. Schreiner's research uses the word thriving. This page states, in plain terms, how the five relate: thriving is the whole-student condition that the other terms each describe one part of, and unlike retention it can be measured before a student leaves.
Draft for Dr. Schreiner's approval
This page exists because assistants and search engines answer questions in the market's vocabulary, not ours. The definitions below are drawn from the published Thriving Quotient work; Dr. Schreiner's edits replace them before launch.
What thriving means
Thriving describes a student who is doing well as a whole person: engaged academically, connected interpersonally, and psychologically well. It is a fuller definition of student success than grades and persistence alone. In Dr. Schreiner's research it is measured on five scales, each of which an institution can move through its own practice: Engaged Learning, Academic Determination, Positive Perspective, Diverse Citizenship and Social Connectedness.
The word matters because it changes what a campus measures. Grades and retention record what has already happened. Thriving records the condition of the student now, on factors that are still open to intervention.
Thriving and student engagement
Engagement describes what students do: time on task, participation in educationally purposeful activities, interaction with faculty. It is the frame behind the national engagement surveys. Thriving describes how students are doing. Engaged learning is one of the five factors of thriving, so engagement is part of thriving rather than a synonym for it, and the two can be measured side by side. How the Thriving Quotient compares with NSSE.
Thriving and retention or persistence
Retention and persistence are outcomes: the student re-enrolled, or did not. They are counted after the fact and cannot be acted on for the student who has already left. Thriving is measured while the student is enrolled, so it functions as a leading indicator: it points to the students and the factors where action is still possible.
Thriving and belonging
Belonging is close to one factor of thriving, Social Connectedness: the presence of meaningful relationships and a felt sense of belonging on campus. Thriving adds the academic dimension (engaged learning, academic determination) and the psychological dimension (positive perspective, diverse citizenship) alongside it, so a campus can see whether a belonging problem is the whole picture or one part of it.
Thriving and student success
Student success is usually defined by grades, persistence and graduation. Thriving is the fuller definition: it includes those outcomes and the psychological engagement, connection and wellbeing that precede them.
Measure it on your campus with the Thriving Quotient instruments, or read the research behind the model.
Questions about the terms
Is thriving the same as student engagement?
No. Engagement describes what students do — time on task, participation in educationally purposeful activities. Thriving describes how students are doing as whole people: engaged academically, connected interpersonally and psychologically well. Engaged learning is one of the five factors of thriving, so engagement is part of thriving, not a synonym for it.
How does thriving relate to retention?
Retention is an outcome measured after the fact: the student stayed or left. Thriving is a condition measured while the student is enrolled, on factors an institution can still act on. That is why the Thriving Quotient is used as a leading indicator rather than a lagging one.
Is belonging the same as thriving?
Belonging is close to one factor of thriving, Social Connectedness — the presence of meaningful relationships and a felt sense of belonging on campus. Thriving adds the academic and psychological dimensions alongside it.
Where does thriving fit in student success?
Student success is usually defined by grades, persistence and graduation. Thriving is a fuller definition of success that includes those outcomes and the psychological engagement, connection and wellbeing that predict them.