Education Empowered

Addressing Wellness in Education with NASPA’s Kevin Kruger

Episode Summary

Welcome back to Season 4 of Education Empowered! Here to help us kick off the new season is Kevin Kruger, President and CEO of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Kevin and Jason discuss wellness as it relates to students, staff, and faculty alike, how institutions can best address growing mental health challenges, and the intersection of wellbeing and equity in education. Plus, Kevin shares what trends in the ed sector he is most excited for in 2021.

Episode Notes

Welcome back to Season 4 of Education Empowered! Joining the show today - and here to help us kick off the new season - is Kevin Kruger.

Kevin is the President and CEO of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, also known as NASPA. He boasts more than 40 years of experience in higher education, 26 of which he has spent in various leadership roles at NASPA. Kevin has published and presented globally on trends in higher education, student success, degree-completion strategies for low-income and first-generation students, and change management and leadership in higher education.

Today, he joins Education Empowered host Jason Belland to share some of his wisdom. Kevin and Jason discuss wellness as it relates to students, staff, and faculty alike, how institutions can best address growing mental health challenges, and the intersection of wellbeing and equity in education. Plus, Kevin shares what trends in the ed sector he is most excited for in 2021.

Key Takeaways:

Student & Staff Well Being. Over the last decade, there’s been a gradual increase in mental health issues among students – a problem that is compounded by the fact that there are simply not enough professionals on campus to help all of these students. Kevin suggests “upstream solutions” – like teaching students resiliency, stress management, and other behavioral changes – to help prevent more concerning downstream problems.
Technology Steps Up to the Challenge. Telehealth has opened new opportunities to treat and meet students (and staff) where they need when they need without stigma. Access to new tools for tracking data and analytics has also helped faculty and staff better serve students. As Kevin put it, “If we're going to be constrained on resources, we need to put the resources that we do have into the students who need us the most.”
Getting a Holistic Picture. When working with a student, you must take into account the whole student’s background. Everyone faces unique challenges and stresses in their life, and being able to take into account a student’s personal background gives you context to better serve them.

Education Empowered is brought to you by Salesforce.org in partnership with Mission.org. Looking for the latest in higher ed research? Check out the Global Higher Education Research Snapshot from Salesforce.org for top insights on student wellbeing, trust, and more. Learn more at sfdc.co/educationempoweredtrends