Building Belonging Into Institutional Practice

OVERVIEW
Belonging has long been central to student affairs work and to how students experience college. Research has consistently connected a strong sense of belonging with student motivation, engagement, achievement, persistence, and overall success. As institutions place greater emphasis on belonging, the challenge is increasingly not whether it matters, but how to support it intentionally across the student experience.

Drawing from A Framework to Advance Belonging in Higher Education: Understanding and Supporting Student Success, this webinar examines belonging through the Socio-Ecological Framework for College Student Belonging. Participants will consider how different forms of belonging interact with relationships, campus environments, institutional structures, and external systems. The session will also explore how student affairs professionals can move beyond individual programs or initiatives toward more sustained approaches that reflect their own institutional context.

BRIEF OUTLINE

1. Belonging as a foundation of student affairs work
       
   • What research tells us about belonging and student success
   • Why belonging remains a significant institutional priority
2. The Socio-Ecological Framework for College Student Belonging
       
   • Understanding the four domains of belonging
         

   • Understanding the impact of contexts on belonging
3. Moving from initiatives to institutional practice
       
   • Where belonging is supported across the student experience
         

   • Why efforts can become fragmented or inconsistent
         

   • The role of institutional context and capacity
4. Applying the framework in student affairs
       
   • Using the framework to examine current programs, practices, and structures
         

   • Identifying opportunities to strengthen belonging within participants’ own areas of responsibility

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the relationship between sense of belonging and key student success outcomes.
2. Recognize the multiple institutional and environmental influences that shape students’ experiences of belonging.
3. Identify where belonging is currently supported or disrupted within the student experience.
4. Examine how isolated belonging initiatives differ from more sustained institutional approaches.
5. Apply the framework to student affairs programs, services, or practices within their own institutional context.
6. Identify opportunities for strengthening belonging efforts across their institution.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
This webinar is designed for student affairs professionals whose work directly or indirectly shapes the student experience, including professionals working in student engagement, student success, retention, orientation and transition programs, residential life, advising, leadership development, and related areas. It will also be relevant for student affairs administrators responsible for developing or coordinating broader strategies related to belonging and student success.

Erin M. Bentrim, PhD, has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, with expertise in academic and student affairs assessment, institutional effectiveness, and strategic planning. She currently serves as Senior Director of Customer Success at Insights by eLumen, where she works at the intersection of higher education and educational technology, partnering with colleges and universities to strengthen assessment practices and build cultures of evidence that support student learning and institutional improvement.

Bentrim is co-editor of the forthcoming A Framework to Advance Belonging in Higher Education: Implications for Student Success, which examines belonging through a socio-ecological lens and explores how institutions can more intentionally create conditions that foster connection and learning. She is also co-editor and contributing author of Coordinating Divisional and Departmental Student Affairs Assessment, The Impact of a Sense of Belonging in College: Implications for Student Persistence, Retention, and Success, and Coordinating Student Affairs Divisional Assessment: A Practical Guide.

Gavin W. Henning, PhD, is an award-winning educator, scholar, and national leader in higher education assessment, student success, and belonging. With more than 30 years of experience, he has dedicated his career to helping institutions use data and evidence to improve learning, equity, and engagement.

Gavin serves as Director of the Doctor of Education and Master of Science in Higher Education Administration programs at New England College, where he also leads the Center for Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship. A former President of ACPA–College Student Educators International and the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, he has helped shape national conversations on assessment and institutional effectiveness.

The author and editor of several influential books, including Reframing Assessment to Center Equity, The Impact of Sense of Belonging in College, Maximizing the Impact of Assessment in Higher Education: Closing the Loop with Change Management, and the forthcoming, A Framework to Advance Belonging in Higher Education: Implications for Student Success. Gavin’s work bridges theory and practice to create more equitable and student- centered learning environments.

For more information, visit gavinhenning.com.