Campus Ecology: Uncovering the Five Rs of Student Sense of Belonging
April 2nd, 2025 | 12:00 p.m. EST - 1:15 p.m. EST | Free
Register below to join us for this complimentary webinar session!
Consider indigenous community practices that can improve students' sense of belonging on campus focusing on the spaces students inhabit and students’ relationships with the space where the students belong.
Why This Topic Matters
A student’s sense of belonging can affect many aspects of their achievements and their academic and social life (Freeman et al., 2007; Hausman et al., 2007; Hoffman et al., 2002; Strayhorn, 2012). Vaccaro and Newman (2022) contended only by understanding the process of belonging development can students develop a sense of being. They do this as they navigate welcoming and unwelcoming campus environments, engage in involvement in curricular and extra-curricular activities, develop relationships with peers and faculty, and achieve academic success and mastery of the student role.
Moreover, belonging influences many aspects of a student’s life on campus, which is why it is imperative to understand the characteristics that make a space where students belong. In totality, students must be drawn into a campus environment where they have an opportunity to create a connection advancing their sense of belonging.
Who Should Attend?
This program is ideal for college staff and faculty supporting college students under a caseload model, including
Student Affairs Professionals
Academic Affairs Professionals
Academic Advisors
Academic Leadership
Faculty
TRIO, Student Support Services Professionals
Overview
Discover the transformative power of belonging in student success as the presenter shares insights from a groundbreaking study on spaces where students thrive and feel connected. Grounded in Indigenous Anishinaabe traditions, this session introduces the Five Rs framework—relationships, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and respect—offering actionable strategies to shape inclusive environments. Equip your institution with practical tools to foster students’ sense of belonging, well-being, and achievement.This highly interactive program will help you:
Understand the critical role of belonging for all students, with a particular focus on its significance for Indigenous students within institutional settings.
Learn about the Five Rs framework for student belonging and explore how to apply these principles at your own institution.
Examine how physical and social spaces influence students’ sense of belonging and identify strategies to create environments that promote student well-being and success.
Foster a culture of change and address crises and challenges boldly using the Five Rs theory.
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Instructor
Benjamin Rieth (he/him/his) is currently the Director of Student Affairs and DEI at Bellin College, NASPA
Wisconsin State Coordinator, NASPA Indigenous Peoples Scholarship Coordinator, and Founder & Principal Consultant of BelongingU: Rieth Strategy Solutions. Rieth graduated from St. Norbert College with a bachelor’s degree in Music Liberal Arts and a minor in Leadership Studies. He received his Master of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership from Marquette University. Benny is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Nation and a descendant of the Menominee Nation. Rieth completed his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, with an emphasis in Equity, at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire where he researched students’ sense of belonging while using an Indigenous paradigm and Indigenous research methods. Rieth has an extensive background and passion for ensuring all students feel welcomed and a sense of belonging through his experience working with first-year experience programming, pride offices, admissions, campus life activities, in the classroom as an instructor, diversity, equity, and inclusion work, etc. Join us as Benjamin Rieth takes us on a journey of understanding the spaces around us and how students, faculty, and staff can better use our everyday spaces to foster a community of belonging for all by using his Five R theory approach. The spaces where students feel like they belong are complex and sacred. The theory that will be presented is called the Five Rs: Space and Student Sense of Belonging, which provides higher education professionals with a framework and a set of tools to foster a student sense of belonging through the intentional use of space.
Questions about the program?
Please email info@eduology.org.