This paper explores the impact of academic vocation on university students. Each class group at the case university is assigned a Class Coordinator, chosen from the academic staff of the students’ department. This role while unpaid and carried out during the staff’s personal time, is central to fostering a sense of community within the student group and facilitating communication between students and faculty members. Class coordinators were asked by survey what they did in their voluntary coordination role. They identified roles including timetable review, assessment planning, talking to students, promoting good study practice, referring to other services, bridging student and academic gaps, gather course feedback and much more. This study evaluates a series of extra interventions initiated by a Class Coordination Team and compares their impact on students with that of institutionally funded support services.

The focus group for this research comprises non-traditional students, typically underrepresented in higher education. This includes individuals with disabilities, first-generation university students, immigrants, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. While the university offers various support services such as disability accommodations, academic coaching, tutoring, counselling, and career guidance, many students still struggle with feeling that they do not belong in the academic environment.

Much of the coordination team’s efforts, therefore, are aimed at building this essential sense of inclusion. To achieve this, the coordination team offered further supports and introduced new initiatives that went beyond the typical expectations of a coordination team. The initiatives began with a two-day orientation at the start of the term. Throughout the year, the team also arranged classroom-based games, off-campus excursions, and informal breakfast gatherings. All these initiatives were provided without any financial or time compensation to the coordinators, relying instead on their vocationalism, their personal commitment and resources.

To evaluate the impact of the class coordinator-led activities, a second survey was conducted with students. Results from this survey indicated minimal engagement with university-provided supports: 0% accessed disability services, 24% attended one-on-one tutoring sessions, and 5% used counselling or career services. In contrast, 29% arranged individual meetings with the Class Coordinator. Participation in the coordinator-led activities was significantly higher: 67% attended the orientation days, 71% took part in in-class games, 71% joined icebreaker activities, 52% went on off-campus trips, and 14% attended breakfast sessions.

The findings suggest that the personalized, informal, and voluntary nature of the coordinator-led interventions had a stronger influence on student engagement than the formal support structures offered by the university. These efforts, rooted in the coordinators’ vocationalism, appear to play a crucial role in helping students feel welcomed and integrated. Student feedback reinforced this, underscoring the value of these initiatives in cultivating a supportive academic environment. After a second iteration and based on feedback from the first cohort and surveys with staff involved, some changes were made to the program. Coordination time and effort was found to be extensive, and the success of the program relied completely on their vocationalism.

Keywords: Vocation, belonging.