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Students who feel they belong and believe their degree has value are more than twice as likely to say they are extremely likely to re-enroll.
Tyton Partners, Listening to Learners 2026 Daily Practice
Higher Education · Student Belonging
When students feel known, they stay.
A 21–30 day challenge of 5-minute daily peer-connection actions for colleges and universities · powered by the Gamechangers Challenge™ platform
Belonging isn't a survey score. It's whether a student has classmates who know them, rely on them, and would notice if they drifted away. The Gamechangers Challenge turns that into one small, real action a day — and measures what changes.
In plain language
The Gamechangers Challenge for higher education is a 21–30 day, mobile-first program. Each day, students complete one short action — reaching out to a classmate, encouraging a peer, sharing a win, reflecting on a strength — and see their cohort's activity in a shared feed. It is designed to help students form real peer relationships and a stronger sense of belonging. At FIU Business, 327 online MBA students across six cohorts (January 2025 – January 2026) used it; on average, 86% reported a stronger sense of belonging and participants reported about 4–6 new connections each. Questions: info@gamechangersconsulting.com.
What the research says
Belonging is a persistence issue — and being known is the gap.
National research keeps pointing in the same direction: students who feel they belong are more likely to stay, but many students who 'belong' on paper are still lonely or unseen.
33 pts
Students who feel they 'belong at my college' are 33 percentage points more likely to stay enrolled at their institution next term.
Tyton Partners, Time for Class 20261 in 10
Nearly one in ten students say no one on campus knows them in a meaningful way — they feel invisible. Only 36% say several people do.
Inside Higher Ed / Generation Lab Student Voice survey, 202650.8%
In a sample of 78,000+ students at 125 institutions, 88.3% reported belonging — yet 50.8% reported loneliness, and 52.4% were in no student organization.
Reeves-Doyle et al., Frontiers in Education, 2026 (Spring 2023 NCHA data)3.7 → 5.1 yrs
Median time to a bachelor's degree rises from 3.7 years with no stopout to 5.1 years after a single stopout.
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Time to Degree 202622 campuses
A brief belonging intervention tested with 26,911 students at 22 institutions improved first-year full-time completion for groups with lower historical achievement — but only where students had real opportunities to belong.
Walton et al., Science, 2023These are independent studies of college students in general, not evaluations of the Gamechangers Challenge.
Human connection in the AI era
AI can answer the question. It can't be the classmate.
MIT's 2026 committee on AI in teaching and learning reported decreased office-hours attendance, less online discussion and, anecdotally, fewer study groups as students turn to AI — and recommended that every subject include structured, in-person social learning. The Gamechangers Challenge is built around real student-to-student actions, not more content to consume, so it gives programs a structured way to add peer connection without redesigning a course.
MIT Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training (Aug 2026)One small, real action a day.
1 · Co-design
We work with your program, student-success or faculty team to pick the moment that matters — orientation, the first 30 days, a hard transition — and tailor the daily prompts to it.
2 · Run (21–30 days)
Students spend about five minutes a day on their phone completing one action. A shared feed, recognition, streaks and a friendly leaderboard keep the cohort engaged.
3 · Measure
Pre/post surveys and app activity show belonging, connections formed, actions taken and well-being, reported at the cohort level.
Examples of daily actions
- Share a personal or professional win
- Reach out to someone new in your cohort
- Thank or encourage a classmate
- Reflect on a strength you bring to the group
- Follow up with someone you connected with earlier in the week
Where it fits
Built for the students most likely to slip through.
- Online and hybrid programs
- Graduate and professional cohorts, including online MBAs
- First-year and transfer students in their first 30 days
- Commuter and working adult learners
- Orientation, first-year seminars and professional-development courses
The FIU Business results below come from online MBA cohorts. For other populations, we design the pilot and measurement with you.
Proof · Florida International University
Six online MBA cohorts. One 5-minute daily practice.
FIU Business ran the Challenge — branded at FIU as the Real Connections Challenge — inside its Professional MBA Online program as a 30-day, for-credit professional development seminar.
327
Participants
6
Consecutive cohorts
86%
Stronger sense of belonging (avg.)
89%
Took action to build relationships
93%
Positive emotional impact
95%
Would recommend
~4–6
New connections per participant
94%
Rated it easy to use
First cohort (spring 2025), as reported by FIU in AACSB Insights: 82% reported a stronger sense of belonging and 74% formed at least three new connections.
Three cohorts · EDUCAUSE Horizon Report 2025
Across three cohorts in FIU's online MBA program, year-over-year retention improved by up to 13%, 92% reported stronger belonging, and 74% formed at least three new connections.
Source: 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Data and Analytics Edition, p. 31."We know that isolation in online learning doesn't just hurt student satisfaction — it drives attrition and robs students of relationships that grow more valuable over their careers. This isn't just about keeping students enrolled; it's about building a relationship with FIU that lasts a lifetime. By those standards, the Gamechangers App is a home run."
- AACSB Insights — Ending the Isolation for Online Students (June 2025)
- FIU Business — Real Connections challenge builds community for online MBA students
- FIU Business Now — Helping Online Learners Stay Connected (Fall 2025)
- EDUCAUSE — 2025 Horizon Report: Data and Analytics Edition (p. 31) (October 2025)
Honest measurement
We report what students did and said.
Every Challenge reports participation, actions taken, connections formed, belonging and well-being, before and after. We only report outcomes that were actually measured, and we say where each number comes from. To measure the effect on persistence in your program, we'll work with your institutional research team using your enrollment data and, where possible, a comparison group.
- Belonging (pre / post)
- New peer connections formed
- Actions taken to build relationships
- Emotional well-being
- Participation and completion
- Would-recommend
FAQ
What is the Gamechangers Challenge for higher education?
A 21–30 day, mobile-first peer-connection program for colleges and universities. Students complete one short daily action, such as reaching out to a classmate, encouraging a peer or sharing a win, and see their cohort's activity in a shared feed. It is powered by the Gamechangers Challenge™ platform and run with Gamechangers Consulting.
How much time does it take students?
About five minutes a day for 21 to 30 days, on their phone, at whatever time of day suits them.
What results has it produced?
At FIU Business, 327 online MBA students across six cohorts (January 2025 – January 2026) took part. On average, 86% reported a stronger sense of belonging, 89% took action to build relationships, 93% reported a positive emotional impact, and participants reported about 4–6 new connections each. These are self-reported participant survey results.
Does it improve retention?
At FIU Business, the 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Data and Analytics Edition (p. 31) reports that year-over-year retention improved by up to 13% across three online MBA cohorts. Results depend on each program's students and context, so we measure persistence with your institutional research team using your enrollment data and, where possible, a comparison group.
Which students is it for?
It was proven with online MBA cohorts and is designed for online, graduate, first-year, transfer, commuter and working adult learners: any group where students can go weeks without being known by their peers.
How do we get started?
Book a 30-minute call or email info@gamechangersconsulting.com. We'll pick the cohort and the moment that matters, co-design the daily prompts, and agree on how results will be measured.
Run a pilot with your next cohort.
We'll co-design the prompts with your team, run the Challenge alongside your cohort, and share cohort-level results on belonging, connection and participation.