The Law School Belonging Project

The introduction of the Belonging Project was a direct response to student feedback from a previous wellbeing project where students highlighted issues of isolation in distance-learning and wanted more opportunities to meet peers and staff.

The project organises programme-wide online events for students to meet their peers and members of staff. The programme includes guest lectures, student-led coffee events and academic-led coffee events, as well as running a Law School blog open to both staff and students. Available to all students registered on law modules, the project has so far delivered 60+ online events and more than 70 staff and student blogs. The project also delivers an undergraduate study buddy or peer-mentoring project and facilitates an annual event where students can provide feedback on their experiences of studying within the Law School.

Scholarship to evaluate the project has evidenced the positive impact the programme has on both staff and students, with many feeling encouraged to feel part of the Law School and wider University by attending events. For example, participation in the project has increased Law Student uptake of extra-curricular activities such as involvement with the OU Students Association and Faculty and university consultations.

The project was highly commended in the OU’s Teaching Awards 2024 and was commended in the Law School’s Periodic Quality Review in 2025. The project’s findings have led to changes within the Law School curriculum and the establishment of a similar Belonging Project in the Business School. The team have disseminated their experience nationally and internationally.

Recent outputs

Book chapters

• Edwards, C., Hardie E., Ritchie K., Corcoran S., Harper, J. and Bassett, E. (2025) ‘Building Belonging: Enhancing Student Wellbeing and Success in Online Learning Environments’ in Edmunds., K and Gilani, D. Student Belonging in Action: Practical Case Studies to Foster a Sense of Belonging Across the Higher Education Student Journey. Routledge
• Hardie, E. and Edwards, C. (2025) ‘How to develop a sense of belonging in online distance learning?’ in Baxter, J., Selby-Fell, H. and Gilbert, A. (2025) Creativity and Critique in Digital Learning and Teaching: Insights for Learning Design in Business and Law. Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal articles

• Edwards, C., Hardie, L. and Ritchie, K. (2025) “WhatsApp reaches the students other peer-mentoring schemes cannot reach: A case study exploring the experiences of using WhatsApp for online peer-mentoring support”, The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 11(1). Available at: https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1342 (Accessed: 8 August 2025).
• Hardie, E. and Edwards, C. (2024) ‘Fostering a sense of belonging through online qualification events’ Distance Education pp. 1–19.
• Edwards, C., Hardie, E. & Gregory, L. (2021) ‘Setting up a Pilot Peer Mentoring Programme in the Online Environment’, Journal of Rights and Justice vol 2 p.3

Conferences

• Edwards, C. and Ritchie, K. (2025) ‘Building Bridges: Co-creating the Belonging Project at The Open University Law School’, presented at University of Hull Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, Hull, July 2025
• Edwards C, (2025) ‘Innovative Student Engagement: Building Employability though the Law Student Voice Festival’, presented at iTELL, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, June 
• Hardie E. and Edwards C. (2025) ‘From Challenges to Connections: Improving Law Students’ Wellbeing Through Building Community’, presented at AMOSSHE conference, London, February 2025
• Hardie, E. and Edwards, C. (2024) ‘Building digital bridges: using technology to encourage online student communities’ presented at European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, Cyprus, October 2024 
• Hardie, E., Edwards, C. and Ritchie, K. (2024) ‘WhatsApp! Refreshes the students’ other peers couldn’t reach!’, paper presented at Association of Law Teachers conference, Swansea, April 2024
• Hardie, E., Edwards, C. Ogbuokiri, A. and Gamble, R. (2024) ‘Valuing marginalised voices: a co-creation approach to improving student experience’, poster presented at Advance HE EDI conference, Manchester, March 2024.
• Hardie, E., Edwards, C. Ogbuokiri, A. and Gamble, R. (2024) ‘Valuing marginalised voices: a co-creation approach to improving student experience’, paper presented at TILT Annual Learning and Teaching conference, Nottingham, June 2024.
• Hardie, E. and Edwards, C. (2023) ‘The use of co-creation to create peer mentoring support on a level one module’ paper presented at Advance HE symposium on Co-Creation, Manchester, January 2023

Other

• Edwards C and Hardie L, (2026) “From Idea to Impact: Running a Student Voice Festival That Drives Real Change, The Pivot, Available at www.amosshe.org.uk/resources/the-pivot.html 
• Edwards, C. Hardie, E. and Ritchie, K (2026) ‘From Forums to WhatsApp: Enhancing Student Engagement Through Peer Mentoring’ presented to the Connecting Legal Education Network, April 2026
• Edwards, C. and Ritchie, K. (2025) ‘WhatsApp and Student Engagement: Reimagining Peer Mentoring in the Digital Age’ presented to the pan-university Belonging Community of Practice, November 2025.
• Edwards C and Hardie L, (2024) ‘Enhancing distance learning student experience by creating a feeling of belonging’. HEA Blog Available at Enhancing distance learning student experience by creating a feeling of belonging | Advance HE (advance-he.ac.uk)
• Edwards, C., Hardie, E. and Ritchie, K (2025) ‘Episode 10: WhatsApp Peer Mentoring with Liz Hardie, Kate Ritchie and Carol Edwards’, 3 November 2025 [PRAXIS Podcast]. Available at https://open.spotify.com/episode/6CtEJhZ7UOYabLvIfYJ1jh?si=Aijqik8nT_GNIfzBggtVvg&nd=1&dlsi=df5270134a46479a
• Edwards, C. and Hardie, E. (2024) ‘Enhancing distance learning student experience by creating a feeling of belonging’ Advance HE July 2024 [Blog]. Available at https://advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/enhancing-distance-learning-student-experience-creating-feeling-belonging

• Edwards, C. (2024) ‘The Belonging Project in the Law School at The Open University’ Presentation at Advance HE’s Fit for the Future: Enhancing and adapting practice for new paradigms of higher education workshop, May 2024

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Meet the team

Carol Edwards is a Senior Lecturer within the Law School. She joined the OU as an Associate Lecturer in 2015 and became a Student Experience Manager in 2018. She is a Senior Fellow of the HEA and Co-Founder of the Law School Belonging Project. Carol’s research interests include online teaching pedagogy with a particular focus on tackling student and staff isolation in the distance learning environment via such programmes as online student peer mentoring, The Belonging Project and Tutor CPD and social programmes. She has published and presented at conferences on this area. She is a member of the pan-University Belonging Change Impact programme.

Liz Hardie is Director of SCiLAB and a Senior Lecturer-in-Law. She has been part of the Open Justice Centre since 2016, supporting law students to carry out pro bono projects both as part of their law degree and on an extra-curricular basis. She is particularly interested in researching online learning and the use of technology in legal education, including supporting students and the moving of clinical legal education online. She has co-led the Belonging Project since it started in 2020. 

Kate Ritchie is a Lecturer-in-Law. Much of her research focuses on the theme of ‘belonging.’ She has been a project lead on the level one peer mentoring project for new Law students over the last 4 years. This project aims to reduce isolation for new law students and increase their sense of belonging to the Law School. Kate’s research has focused on how online platforms, such as WhatsApp, can facilitate peer mentoring and ‘belonging’ more broadly. She is also interested in exploring the scope for game-based learning to facilitate the development of online communities.