As universities become more socially diverse, inclusion and belonging have become central to student success. Yet, institutions struggle to understand how background factors influence student experiences. FHNW lacks a tool that measures school belonging and inclusion in a scalable sensitive manner.

To address this gap, a survey was developed and piloted with a small sample of FHNW students (45). The process included a thorough literature review, expert interviews (7), and testing through the Tivian Plattform. Sensitive questions were revised to minimize possible bias in participant responses. Additionally, the structure of the questions and the use of incentives were carefully analysed to improve survey clarity and engagement. Survey results were evaluated directly via Tivian’s reporting tool, and some variables have been visualized using RStudio to gain deeper insights.

Descriptive findings show that most students of the survey sample reported a moderate to high sense of belonging, particularly in peer relationships. However, belonging was lower in relation to lecturers or institutional support. Male students without migration backgrounds reported the highest levels of belonging. Key takeaways from the study include the importance of precise question phrasing, shorter sections to reduce drop-off rates, and optimised scoring methods. Although the tool is not yet ready for representative use, it provides a solid foundation for future survey development. With further refinements such as multilingual options, a standardized codebook, and broader sampling, this survey can support decision-making for diversity managers at FHNW.