Tops in Student Support: It Matters
Tops in Student Support: It Matters
A Kent State degree transforms lives. But that transformation doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of what occurs the moment a student arrives — comprehensive support that guides them from first visit to first job. Kent State has deepened our commitment to the student experience. That's why we've earned more NASPA awards than most universities in the world. It's the answer to why public investment in higher education matters.
The Best Student Care in the World.
Honored More Than Most Universities in the World.
“We are definitely the gold standard here.”
Meet the guest
Bryan Alexander is a senior scholar at Georgetown University and a futurist who has tracked higher education's trend lines for two decades. His latest book is “Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis.” His previous book, “Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Climate Crisis,” won the 2024 Frederic W. Ness Book Award. He sat down with Kent State President Todd Diacon on the ToddCast for the conversation that runs through this series.
Futurist and Georgetown Senior Scholar Bryan Alexander observes that comprehensive student support gives higher-education institutions the competitive edge in serving learners at all levels.
Transcript
We owe our students so much. We owe them the best possible experience we can give them. And if we take that seriously — that's a big if — but if we do, that opens the door for all kinds of innovation, all kinds of services to offer, all kinds of reinvention. For example, I worked with Ithaka S+R on a project with a bunch of community college libraries, and they were investigating the services that libraries were offering. It was astonishing. Not only were they lending out media and rendering access to licensed content and to printed materials, but they were also lending out hardware — computer laptops and tablets. They were providing childcare services. They were considering how to provide political education resources to students who wanted it. It's an incredible amount of services to offer. That may be the direction we can be headed in. In the global context, American higher education is by far the most student-centric. Our standard of care is just off the charts compared to any college or university in Europe, Latin America, Asia. We are definitely the gold standard here. And we can double down on that standard of care by offering more wraparound services to give students the best possible experience.
American universities can cut costs or commit to students. When institutions truly invest in student experience — wraparound services, childcare, technology access, civic education — innovation follows. American higher education already sets the global standard for student support. The question is whether we double down on that strength or abandon it.
Recent NASPA Honors
“Their availability to me as a student was critical to my success.”
Support Has a Name Here.
Every dollar invested in Kent State contributes to one of America's most recognized student-support systems.
#2 in America
Ohio’s national rank for increase in graduation rates and lowest tuition growth over past decade
8,000-10,000
Kent State graduates each year, fueling Ohio’s economy
Up Next:
People say universities won't change. In our next installment, we'll show you how change has always been Kent State's story — from building at Baby Boom speed in the 1960s to today's Transformation 2028: restructuring colleges, repurposing facilities and forging new partnerships, all while balancing the budget every single year.
