Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D.

The challenge - especially for school administrators who have the responsibility of reducing at-risk drinking behavior and curbing underage drinking - is how to effectively educate students about drinking choices and give them the facts to make better decisions. Learn how to successfully educate students about alcohol consumption and evaluate programs that are out there. We show you 10 “must have” features that your education program should include.

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Balancing the needs of at-risk college and university students with the broader needs and goals of campus communities seems to get more challenging every day. Case management, a proven practice from the mental health field, can help you get help for students who need it. Learn how case management can help you promote student success, campus safety and institutional goals as presented by nationally-known speakers, Dr. Brian Van Brunt and Carolyn Reinach Wolf, J.D

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Difficult students present a variety of challenges. Some are disruptive. Some repeatedly fail to complete assignments. While others have unreasonably high expectations for themselves. With all of the different challenges posed by these students, which approach does one take to attempt to work successfully with them? Learn proven methods for overcoming challenging student behavior and successfully engaging students in learning in this seminar.

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Do the faculty members at your school know how to respond effectively when confronted by uncooperative or even aggressive students? Find out how to successfully manage the full-range of student behavior problems. We use role play scenarios of problematic classroom behaviors to share strategies for responding effectively.

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Every department on campus has stories to tell about rude or aggressive students. ortunately, there are techniques to manage such volatile situations, and your staff (and student workers) should know them. Your staff can gain valuable insights from two highly respected behavioral health specialists in this Magna Online Seminar.

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Colleges and universities can be unintentional breeding grounds for gambling addictions, especially as opportunities to gamble have multiplied nationwide with the expansion of lotteries, casinos and Internet gaming. Like alcohol addiction, gambling addiction can be recognized by trained individuals; can be treated; and can wreak great destruction if left untreated. We offer a comprehensive look at how to spot gambling addiction, and outline steps to address the problem in terms of referral, treatment and prevention programming.

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This seminar discusses how student affairs staff can help graduate students overcome stressful times and seek treatment for the mental health problems they experience. We review the signs, symptoms, and behaviors that student affairs staff might encounter and will address how to handle the dangerous thoughts or actions that graduate student sometimes present. We also cover substance abuse and dependence, depression and suicide, and threatening or dangerous behaviors toward the campus community.

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Annoying, disruptive, and dangerous students pose problems to even the best classroom managers. Yet you don’t have to merely tolerate problem students. There are things you can do to manage student behavior and improve the learning environment in your classroom no matter who is on the roster. Discover these tools and strategies in Handling Annoying, Disruptive, and Dangerous Students.

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From financial background checks to psychological testing to social media searches, receive expert guidance on creating a hiring process that conforms to legal standards and instills confidence. We give you relevant legal considerations and how they impact screening procedures, the interview process and decision-making. You’ll learn about relevant case studies, institutional policies and legal standards.

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Bullying and teasing takes many forms, but none of them are acceptable in higher education classrooms. In this Magna 20 Minute Mentor session, Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D., an experienced educator and counselor, shares a resolutely practical approach, developed to help you confront the issue of bullying or teasing in your classroom. 

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College students’ behavior can be rude, arrogant, and insulting at times.  This timely and targeted session will help you develop reasonable responses to students with unreasonable behavior.  You will be able to keep your cool and handle any situation with a level head.

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If you have had non-traditional students, you have probably faced some difficult situations. Non-traditional students are different. Learn how to strike the right balance between inflexible and being a pushover.

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Parents worry. Some are concerned about their children’s relationships, academic stand, or living arrangements. And some parents bring their concerns to bear when speaking with faculty members…sometimes at the top of their lungs. So what should you do? We suggest that you see this type of situation as a “teachable moment" for the parent.

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Every year, residential life staff and student affairs counselors see an increasing number of students enter college with some type of psychological problem or mental illness. They are presented with reams of data and survey results highlighting the increased risk and problems this generation of students has to face when going to school.

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The need to manage aggression among college students has never been more intense. Increasingly troubled students are showing up on campus and bringing more challenging behaviors into the classroom with them. Learn how to identify and respond to aggressive behavior to help prevent the next campus tragedy from occurring.

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Mandated therapy following a student assessment is a troubling concept for many counselors. They believe strongly that therapy and counseling should always be voluntary, not coerced. Is there a way to reconcile the need for action with the ethical concerns of counseling staff? We believe there is and we propose a mandated education program as an alternative–and we outline the details.

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If there’s one thing you hope for all your new RAs, it’s that they won’t endure a “deer in the headlights” moment … a situation that leaves them frozen from fear, without a strategy for dealing with the moment. They’re the first line of defense in the event of a crisis on their floor, and you want them to know how to respond. We'll walk through scenario-based training in ten critical areas every RA must be prepared to handle.

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This 44-page White Paper Involuntary Medical Withdrawals: Legal Considerations and Alternatives approaches the subject of involuntary medical withdrawals from a perspective of care for the student involved while offering a range of alternatives to the extreme last resort: an involuntary, forced withdrawal.

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Being a Resident Advisor is no easy job. They are the first responders to every emotional and behavioral crisis in the residence halls. It’s not easy supervising RAs, either. We explain the most effective ways to conduct RA training and oversee RA staff.

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Federal law no longer permits you to involuntarily withdraw suicidal students. So now: What can you do that complies with the law, helps students in need, and helps keep the rest of your campus secure?

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An at-risk student is referred to your counseling services.Then what happens? If the answer to that question is in any way elusive, then there may be an opportunity on your campus–as there is on most–to strengthen communication and coordination between referring agencies and counseling services. We provide you steps to take to ensure that your campus maintains a coordinated, collaborative approach to at-risk students.

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We’ve put together a special collection of Magna 20 Minute Mentor programs to help you reflect on some issues that may be especially relevant as you approach the midway point of the academic year.

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Student affairs personnel are trained to answer questions and help solve problems, whether dealing with students or their parents. But what if the problem is the parent? As advocates for their college-aged students, some parents resort to pushy, demanding or downright aggressive behavior. We will help you successfully manage even the most demanding parents, from orientation through graduation.

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Training resident assistants is essential, given the front-line work they do on behalf of your institution. You can help them do their jobs more effectively by giving them the tools and resources they'll need, and preparing them for situations they may encounter. If your RA training program needs to be updated - or doesn't exist at all -we give you ideas and tools you can implement in time for the upcoming semester.

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By offering offenders the opportunity to make amends for student conduct code violations, restorative justice can help them to develop empathy, repair trust, and rebuild community. Understanding the concepts behind this theory and applying it to actual conduct violations are two different matters, however .In this seminar, you will review 10 cases to determine which are most appropriate for the restorative justice model.

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One of the best tools in crisis-response planning is scenario-based training – using hypothetical situations to inform real-world responses.

We’ve partnered with a leading authority on student behavioral health to create this situation-based training program … one that includes insight and commentary from 20 industry experts. The result is an exceptionally rich training experience we hope you’ll want to share with your campus crisis team.

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There is the growing stack of papers to grade, the lectures to prepare for, and the endless drafts of scholarships for publication. No wonder many faculty members at college and university campuses today struggle with burnout and excessive stress. We look at valuable approaches for recognizing and addressing faculty burnout and stress.

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At many colleges and universities, the number of students with Asperger’s Disorder continues to increase. While these students have the intellectual abilities to be successful, they struggle with “reading” social cues and comprehending unwritten rules and procedures. They may be teased or laughed at by other students. We offer recommendations for helping these students to succeed.

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Sooner or later, whether it’s a student falling dangerously behind, exhibiting disturbing behavior, or something completely different, you’re bound to encounter students who need more than you can give them. Recent campus tragedies highlight the crucial importance of skilled referrals. Learn how in this program.

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To prepare for the unfortunate possibility of a student suicide attempt, consult When a Student Attempts Suicide: The Next Seven Steps: A Magna Publications White Paper. This report guides you through creating an attempted suicide response plan that addresses and balances student wellbeing and legal risk exposures. You will learn what to do—and what not to do—in the minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months that follow an attempted suicide.

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Working with Difficult Students: Four Case Studies—offers the best of both worlds.  It shows how to apply four widely-respected theories to four different types of classroom challenges.  In each case, the theory is explained and then demonstrated. This way, you can see for yourself how different conversations play out when research-based principles are applied. This white paper is recommended for new faculty members, experienced faculty members seeking fresh ideas for classroom management, faculty concerned about at-risk students, and academic deans and faculty development personnel instructors.

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