Thriving Knowledge Center
Thriving, engagement, retention and belonging: How the words relate
Student success, retention, persistence, engagement, belonging, thriving – are these terms interchangeable or does each one convey a different perspective and result in different outcomes? This page will help distinguish these terms so that your institution can measure what matters and convey to your accreditors the level of institutional effectiveness and student success you are achieving.
Institutions measure what matters, and student success has long been defined and measured as retention and persistence to graduation. Yet such a view leads to the inevitable conclusion that admissions selectivity is the most effective student success strategy, a conclusion that can block access to higher education to those who have not been well-served by the US educational system and one that “ignores the importance of the personal growth, intellectual development, and civic engagement that comprise the college experience” (Schreiner, 2026, p. 280).
What thriving means
Thriving is an expanded view of student success that encompasses the whole person. Thriving students are those who are vitally engaged academically and psychologically, as well as connected interpersonally. Thriving implies maximizing the college experience in anticipation of full engagement in a meaningful and productive life. Rather than simply surviving college, thriving is about making the most of it and fulfilling one’s potential.
In our research, there are five valid and reliable scales that measure thriving: Engaged Learning, Academic Determination, Positive Perspective, Diverse Citizenship and Social Connectedness—each of which can be affected by the institutional environment and by carefully constructed interventions. As a result, an institution can take action to affect student thriving well before the student census data conveys that a student has made the decision to leave the institution.
The word matters because it changes what a campus measures. Retention and graduation rates record what has already happened. Thriving records the condition of the student now, with sufficient detail to know what steps to take to change the outcome.
Thriving and student engagement
Engagement describes what students do: time on task, participation in educationally purposeful activities, interaction with faculty. It is the framework behind the national engagement surveys. Thriving describes how students are doing. Engagement is definitional to thriving, but expands beyond behaviors to the psychological engagement that sustains those behaviors. Both behavioral and psychological engagement can be important features of a comprehensive campus assessment. How the Thriving Quotient compares with NSSE.
Thriving and retention or persistence
Retention and persistence are common ways of measuring student success. Retention is what the institution does (the institution retains a student from the first to the second year); persistence is what the student does (persists from year to year until graduation). Each of these outcomes is measured after the fact: retention is measured one year after initial enrollment, and persistence to graduation is measured after a student graduates (or doesn’t). In contrast, thriving is measured while the student is enrolled, so it functions as a leading indicator: it points to the students and the experiences where action is still possible.
Thriving and belonging
Sense of Belonging in college is usually defined as students’ sense of mattering, feeling connected to, and being supported by faculty, staff, and peers within an institution. It is connected to thriving in two ways: first, the Social Connectedness scale of the Thriving Quotient measures students’ sense of feeling supported and connected in healthy ways to their peers; second, one of the major pathways to thriving measured on the instrument is a Psychological Sense of Community, defined as feeling one belongs on campus, is proud to attend the institution, and that being a student there is meeting important needs in their life. Thriving adds the academic and psychological elements to the interpersonal, and expands beyond belonging to include students’ sense of ownership.
Thriving and student success
Student success is usually defined by grades, retention rates, and persistence to graduation. Thriving expands that definition: it encompasses those outcomes and the psychological engagement, connection, and well-being 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, interaction with faculty. Thriving describes how students are doing. Engagement is part of thriving, but thriving expands beyond behaviors to the psychological engagement that sustains them.
How does thriving relate to retention?
Retention and persistence are measured after the fact: retention one year after initial enrollment, persistence to graduation after a student graduates (or doesn’t). Thriving is measured while the student is enrolled, so it functions as a leading indicator: it points to the students and the experiences where action is still possible.
Is belonging the same as thriving?
No. Belonging is connected to thriving in two ways: the Social Connectedness scale of the Thriving Quotient measures students’ sense of feeling supported and connected in healthy ways to their peers, and Psychological Sense of Community is one of the major pathways to thriving the instrument measures. Thriving adds the academic and psychological elements to the interpersonal, and expands beyond belonging to include students’ sense of ownership.
Where does thriving fit in student success?
Student success is usually defined by grades, retention rates, and persistence to graduation. Thriving expands that definition: it encompasses those outcomes and the psychological engagement, connection, and well-being that precede them.