s.a. barnsley student support services college of agriculture, engineering and science university of...

S.A. BarnsleyStudent Support Services

College of Agriculture, Engineering and ScienceUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africae-mail: [email protected]

It’s not business as usual: the case for a decentralised framework of

student counselling in higher education

AbbreviationsAbbreviations

CAES – College of Agriculture, Engineering and ScienceCSA – Centre for Science AccessDVC – Deputy Vice ChancellorHC – Howard College campusLEC – Learning Enhancement ChecklistNMMU – Nelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityPMB – Pietermaritzburg campusSFP – Science Foundation ProgrammeUKZN – University of KwaZulu-NatalWVL – Westville campus

1. Purpose of this paper1. Purpose of this paper

Examine the different counselling models at UKZN Present the rationale for the new devolved model of student counsellingProvoke debate and critical discussion about how student counselling does its businessDiscuss how best we can address the needs of students and support the academic endeavour

2. 2. INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Student counselling centralised at UKZN until reorganisationStudent counselling devolved to the Colleges in 2012Became decentralisedPrevious framework: faculty-based counselling of SFP which was a pilot

Science access Science access decentralised counsellingdecentralised counselling

Rationale: students under-prepared, lacking in skills, social and personal problems (Boughey 2007)A holistic framework (Grayson 1996, 1997)Way of improving retention rates (Kioko et, al, 2012)Previous research showed that counselling positively contributes to retention and achievement (Turner and Berry, 2000; Maple and Alonso, 2004; Jones et al, 2008; Morrison et al, 2006)

DVC & Head of College

Director: College Professional

Services

College Manager: Academic Services

Student Counsellor

(HC)

Student Counsellor

(HC)

Student Counsellor

(WVL)

Student Counsellor

(WVL)

Student Counsellor

(PMB)

1 x Helpdesk Senior Admin Assistant per campus serving above

functional areas

3 x AccessStudent Counsellors

(WVL)

1 x AccessStudent Counsellor

(PMB)

College Manager: Human

Resources

College Manager: Finance

College Manager: Public

Relations

College Manager:

Student Support

Organogram CAES

Psychosocial issues (Letseka, 2007; Akhurst, 2005, Thomas, 2006)

CounsellingCounselling

Compulsory, weekly timetabled life skills sessions for access studentsAccess to individual counsellingAcademic monitoring and support (LEC etc.)Career and curriculum planningUnderstanding and navigating university proceduresMediation and advocacyPeer mentoring and group study support

Summary of differences Summary of differences

Services Student Counselling Centre

Science access counselling programme

Student Support Services

History A long established, rich history common to most institutions in South Africa (the dominant model)

A framework which was new to tertiary institutions and which was pioneered from 1991 to 2012 in the science access programmes and which acted as a pilot project

Began in 2012 after the reorganisation of UKZN into 4 Colleges and the devolution of student counselling into each of the Colleges





Target All students Science and ex-science access students

All students but College specific





Life skills

Offered on an ad-hoc basis and advertised, students would volunteer and small groups (of about ten students) would be held

Compulsory, weekly 90 minute life skills workshops for groups of about 40 students integrated with the curricula

Compulsory for all access students and timetabled. Also offered to groups on an ad-hoc basis by request or when advertised due to a need





Individual couns.

Mostly one-hour long appointments made by students as they felt the need; usually with a waiting period of about a week except for clients in crisis

Mostly 30 minute appointments usually with a waiting period of 24 hours at most and immediate assistance for clients in crisis

Mostly 30 minute appointments usually with a waiting period of 24 hours at most and immediate assistance for clients in crisisTherapy clients have 50 min appointments.





Referral source

Mostly self-referred

Equal numbers of students self-referred and referred by academic staff as well as identified by the student counsellors themselves

Referral from College structures, academics (including academic leaders and academic development officers), as well as self-referral


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre


Student support services

Main therapeutic

interventions and primary theoretical orientation

Generally an eclectic mixture but with a significant number of clients receiving psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Mostly problem-solving, brief solution-focused therapy (de Shazer 1988), cognitive-behavioural psychology (Howatt 2000), positive psychology (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000; Linley and Joseph 2006) i.e. a non-pathological model, focussing on constructing solutions, using existing client resources, mobilising and utilising the client experience.

Eclectic mixture but mostly brief therapy (usually solution-focussed). Emphasis on the Learning Enhancement Checklist (LEC)


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre


Student Support services

Linkages with

academic staff

Some involvement with presence on faculty boards and on university-wide appeal and exclusion committees

Very close linkages with attendance at weekly staff meetings, active participation in faculty board and in faculty appeal and exclusion committees, active participation in leadership roles of the access programmes e.g. Acting director and deputy-director positions occupied by student counsellor. Regular meetings with heads of schools to ascertain needs and design intervention programmes.

Active participation in school boards, College and University appeals committees, and College Management Structures as well as representation on University structures such as Student Services Council. Presentations in lectures and collaboration with academic staff and academic development officers


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre


Student Support services

Academic monitoring

and support

Some involvement but mostly responding to self-referrals by academically at risk students who were advised to go for counselling by the faculties

Active involvement in the proactive identification of at risk students at least three times a year (April, July and September) which included contacting academically at risk students and following up on their progress with regular report backs to staff.

At risk students formally referred for counselling twice a year (January and July). At risk students tracked by student counsellors in terms of consultations, issues presented etc.


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre

Science access counselling programme Student Support services

Space A central student counselling unit

Physically located on the Faculty of Science and Agriculture premises

Physically located in College offices, multi-campus approach


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre



Line management

The Director of Student Counselling who reports to the Dean of Student Services

The Director of the CSA who reports to the Dean of the Faculty

Student counsellors report to the Manager of Student Support Services (one for each College) who reports to The Director of College Professional Services who reports to The DVC of the College


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre



Funding Main budget (student services)

Partly funded by external funders, Dept of Higher Education and the Faculty main fund

Funded from the main budget


ServicesStudent

Counselling Centre



Measurement of success

Based largely on the numbers of students seen and feedback questionnaires

Annual student evaluations by QPA and evaluations by independent consultants (Edunet, Peacock, Southway-Ajulu) as well as throughput rates of science access students

Evaluations, retention and throughput rates monitored closely,statistics kept and presented monthly

1. An integrated approach:

Integrated, coherent approach (Jones et al. 2008) bridges the divide between student services and academic departments -> enhanced relevance, increased interaction between academics and students- School boards and school meetings- High visibility- Ownership by academics- Dissemination of information- Increased referral- Improved academic and social interaction

What is working?What is working?


2. Is proactive:• Does not only rely on students’ referring

themselves• Interventionist approach of tracking and

monitoring -> focus on prevention and early intervention


3. Academic Monitoring and Support:•517 CAES students (mostly those identified as “at risk”) voluntarily completed the Learning Enhancement Checklist (LEC), a computerised psychometric assessment designed by NMMU, between 1 April 2013 and 18 March 2014.•Each student was presented with a printed individual profile which flagged self-identified hindrances to academic success•Following the tests, students signed up for small focus group discussions. They were also encouraged to see counsellors for an individual feedback session.•A group report was drawn and this presentation illustrates the main findings.


The LEC is a computerized diagnostic tool which identifies barriers to academic success and serves as an early warning intervention strategyIt is an independent self-screening measure used to unpack self-reported problems into identifiable indicatorsIts aims are to promote student empowerment through self-awareness, increased self-responsibility and self-efficacy for academic successIt increases retention and throughput and it offers College support for at risk students


9 areas of focus:1. Career choice2. Financial concerns3. Study management skills4. Time management skills5. Issues related to social environment (accommodation/student life issues)6. Issues related to academic environment7. Personal/emotional problems8. Feelings about self9. Student support resources


N= 517Main areas of concern that were identified by students were:

1. Problems in lectures – 25.1 %2. Problems in tests and exams – 16.7%3. Personal/emotional problems – 10.7%4. Difficulties managing studies – 10.5%5. Financial problems - 9.8%6. Time management problems - 9.2%


Least important areas of concern:1. Student life (e.g. friendships, belonging, cultural

alienation/conflict) – 0.5%2. English language proficiency (e.g.

reading/writing/expressing/understanding English) - 0.6%


4. High uptake of services•CAES has about 9800 students across 3 campuses•In CAES for the period 1 Jan 2012 – 30 June 2014: no. of individual consultations is 11 281 and there are 6 permanent staff (including the Manager) and 2 contract staff •For groups: an average of 500 students reached per month

Lecture theatre turned

into a Workshop


“Dear Mrs BarnsleyI would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your effort in making my academic life progressive, both financially and advising. Thank you once again. You've been far more then a counsellor and my 2008 CSA Deputy Head to me, you've assisted me like a child of your own. I really appreciate it, you are a mother to me Mrs. Shelley Barnsley, Thank You!”Mathematics Honours Student

What is not working?What is not working?

1. Lack of co-ordination University wide• Working in “silos”• Lack of co-ordination university wide i.t.o policy• Applying policies differently• How to manage residence work where there are

different colleges• How to manage after-hours crisis work• Resource allocation (staffing, space,

psychometric tests etc.)


2. Lack of clear understanding by stake-holders (internal and external) of the role of student counsellor:

- Confusion between academic “counselling” and personal counselling

- Scope of practice issues- Importance of confidentiality- Lack of appreciation of the professional aspect of

counselling- Weighed down with bureaucracy and provided with

almost no administrative support- Unclear relationship with central student services


3. Few opportunities for career-path development /advancement for student counsellors

– Organogram limits advancement– Little opportunity for staff training and

development due to resource constraints and other priorities

– Few incentives to go into management (succession planning difficult)


4. No internship training

5. Who helps prospective students?

The challengesThe challenges

Initial resistance from those in central unitWorking across multiple campusesAccreditation (HPCSA)Student resistanceThose who are uncertain of their career directionResources

LimitationsLimitations

Not enough evidence providedOperational for 2.5 years so too early to tell effectivenessWill our interventions improve retention and throughput?• Go ”beyond seat time and student satisfaction”

(Kerr and Tweedy, 2006)• Exclusion rate at UKZN: 1%• Drop out rate at UKZN: 10 – 11%

OpportunitiesOpportunities

To make historyPioneer a different modelStreamline systemsWork much closer with academics

8. REFERENCES8. REFERENCES

• de Shazer, S (1988). Clues: Investigating solutions in brief therapy. New York, NY: Norton and Co.

• Grayson, DJ. (1996) A holistic approach to preparing disadvantaged students to succeed in tertiary science studies. Part 1. Design of the Science Foundation programme. International Journal of Science Education, vol 18, no.8, 993-1013

• Grayson, DJ. (1997) A holistic approach to preparing disadvantaged students to

succeed in tertiary science studies. Par t 11. Outcomes of the Science Foundation programme. International Journal of Science Education, vol 19, no.1, 107-123

• Jones, B, Coetzee, G., Bailey, T. and Wickham, S. (2008). Factors that facilitate success for disadvantaged higher education students. An investigation into approaches used by REAP, NSFAS and selected higher education institutions.

• Kerr, K.G. and Tweedy, J. (2006). Beyond seat time and student satisfaction: a curricular approach to residential education. About Campus/November-December 2006, 9 -15

8. REFERENCES CONT.8. REFERENCES CONT.

• Kioko,J.I., Barnsley, S., Jaganyi, D. (2012) Science Access: theoretical framework and educational discourse. Chapter 8 in Dhunpath, R and Vital, R (Eds, 2012) Access to higher education in South Africa: reflective of under-prepared students or under-prepared institutions? McMillan Pearson,.

• Letseka, M. (2007) The Student Pathways Study. HSRC Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, Sept 2007

• Linley, P.A.and Joseph, S. (Eds.) (2006). Positive psychology in practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 287-302

• Maple, C. and Alonso, E. (2004). Academic CPR: An intervention programe for students in academic difficulty. I journal Insight into student services, (7), March 2004

• McArthur, R.C. (2005) Faculty-based advising: An important factor in community college retention. Community College review 32 (4), 1-19

8. REFERENCES CONT.8. REFERENCES CONT.

• Morrison, J.M, Brand H.J, Cilliers, C.D. (2006) Assessing the impact of student counselling service centres at tertiary education institutions: how should it be approached? South African Journal of Higher Education 20 (5) 2006, 655-678

• Thomas, L. (2006) The impact of first generation entry on access and success in higher education. Widening participation and Lifelong learning, 8 (3), editorial, December 2006

• Scott, I., Yeld, N. and Hendry, J. 2007. A case for improving teaching and learning in South African higher education. Higher Education Monitor No. 6. Council on Higher Education. Pretoria.

• Seligman, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An Introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.

• Turner, A.L. and Berry, T.R. (2000) Counselling centre contribution to student retention and graduation: A longitudinal assessment. Journal of College Student Development 41 (6), 627 – 636

s.a. barnsley student support services college of agriculture, engineering and science university of...

Documents

different counselling

science access programmes

access studentsaccess

support lec

financecollege manager

human resourcescollege

holistic framework grayson

dominant modela framework