Creating Caring Campuses: A Faculty‐Led Approach

Caring Campus–Faculty is a program that supports faculty as they develop and implement “behavioral commitments” designed to help students feel a sense of belonging and to support them in their educational journey. Developed by the Institute for Evidence‐Based Change, Caring Campus was evaluated by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) from 2019 to 2023. In this article, we describe Caring Campus as practiced by faculty, as well as findings from the research on implementation practices and outcomes. We also share the experiences of Delta College, which has been implementing its own version of Caring Campus for a number of years. Caring Campus allows faculty to take leadership in student success efforts by changing instructional practices in ways that can improve student experiences and outcomes. Further, as they implement Caring Campus strategies, faculty encourage changes in the culture of the college in ways that support students as well as their own engagement with their work and each other.