Introduction

The purpose of the online counseling service is to assist students in their educational pursuits. This service can include information such as study skills, test taking, and how to succeed in college, as well as links to self help virtual pamphlet collections ranging in topics from alcohol and drugs issues, eating disorders, depression and other mental health issues that may keep a student from succeeding in college. The service may also provide email access to a counselor, question and answer chat rooms and support groups. The service generally does not provide ongoing online therapy sessions.

History

Counseling services on line have emerged with the advent of distant learning on line and the growing need for outreach through the college's web site. Even though this is a relatively new service on a college campus there have been experiments with online counseling since1966 when Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor of Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a program called "Eliza."

Opportunities

Institution

Interventions with students during a time of crises, stress related to academic issues or campus life can lead to a higher drop out rate. Effective intervention through online services may lead to improved student retention.

Faculty and Staff

Online services allow the staff to provide outreach, support and general information to a larger segment of the student population. Staff can provide answers to frequently asked questions. Counselors could also use this service as an adjunct to face-to-face services for students who need ongoing support.

Students

Counseling information on line provides an opportunity for students to access sensitive information and remain anonymous. It also allows students to access information anytime as opposed to only during office hours. Students can "meet the staff" online and decide best fit if they choose to make an appointment to meet with a counselor face to face. It provides access for students who may live to far away for on campus activities.

Challenges and Issues

Issues in providing this service to distance students/or providing this Web based service:

• Privacy and Ethical Considerations
  Most on line College Counseling services are limited to general information, counselor profiles and contact information. Providing more in-depth support such as ongoing one-on-one contact or therapy creates issues related to confidentially, verification of age, privacy and college policy. It creates the need for encrypted sites and may create cross border issues for licensed counselors. Most counselors are reluctant to provide more than general information if they cannot see the student in a face to face setting.
• Information Gathering
  Continuous updating of the web site. On going research related to quality and relevance of resources.
• Updates
  Continuous monitoring for active web sites.
• Public Information
  Most of the information is available to the public. If a service is specifically for students (for example a Q&A chat room) it may need to be password protected to provide limited access.
• Training
  Counselors need training on how to provide online services, use the technology and time for site development, monitoring, updating and quality control.

About the Author

Donna Ford has been a professional counselor for over 25 years, and has recently retired as a counselor from Clackamas Community College in Oregon. She was also a placement officer at Portland State University. Donna received her Masters Degree from Western Oregon State University.

Donna has held leadership positions in professional organizations for 15 years. At the state level she is past president of Oregon Counseling Association, Oregon College and University Association and the Oregon Career Development Association. At the national level, she has served, as chair of the Western Region, President of American College Counseling Association, has been a member of the American Counseling Association Governing Counsel, and President of the American Counseling Association 1999-2000.

Associations and Organizations

• Campus Blues.com
  http://www.campusblues.com/
  A comprehesive site that provides information regarding all aspects of college life, including links to resources at more than 200 colleges.

• Cybercounseling
  http://cybercounsel.uncg.edu/
  This site is housed at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. The site has references to best practice and support information related to on line counseling

• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA)
  http://www.naspa.org/
  NASPA is the leading professional association for student affairs staff and provides resources for all student affairs areas.

• The American College Counseling Association
  http://www.collegecounseling.org/
  The American College Counseling Association is a national organization for persons in higher education settings whose professional identity is counseling and whose purpose is fostering student development.

Publications and Articles

• American Counseling Association: Ethical Standards for Internet On-line Counseling
  http://www.counseling.org/gc/cybertx.htm
  The ACA Ethical standard provides a guideline for counselors who provide services on line or can be used as a guide when developing an online service.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2002-03 Edition, U.S. Department of Labor
  http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm
  The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.

• National Board of Certified Counselors: The Practice of Internet Counseling
  http://www.nbcc.org/ethics/webethics.htm
  This document contains a statement of principles for guiding the evolving practice of Internet counseling.

• WCET Guide to Developing Online Student Services
  http://www.wcet.info/resources/publications/guide/guide.htm
  The guide provides an overview and good practice guidelines for providing Career Services on line.

Campus Sites

• Appalachian State University
  http:www.counseling.appstate.edu
  This site serves as a resource for students who need counseling at Appalachian State University.

• Boston University
  http://www.bu.edu/counseling/
  Confidentiality statement alerts the student to the importance of privacy and the limits of confidentiality.

• Florida Academic Counseling and Tracking for Students
  http://www.facts.org
  FACTS.org is a central web resource for planning and managing the higher education experience.

• Columbia University
  http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/index.html
  Go Ask Alice provides an on line question and answer service related to the majority of mental health questions a college student might ask. It is a unique service for a college counseling web site.

• Morehouse College
  http://www.morehouse.edu/studentservices/wellness/
  Morehouse College wellness center offers a service entitled SpiderNet which offers on-line support through "group therapy" for students that live on campus. It is a secure site with monitered on-line chat groups and links to other support sites.

• Rio Hondo College
  http://www.rh.cc.ca.us/students/counseling/
  An example of a Community College Counseling site that includes online contact with a counselor.

• Rogue Community College
  http://www.rogue.cc.or.us/Counseling/
  The Counseling and Student Programs Department provides comprehensive counseling services to students and prospective students, unique support programs, and a variety of other related support services provided through the Student ACCESS Centers.

• University of Chicago
  http://counseling.uchicago.edu/vpc/
  The University of Chicago Student Counseling and resource center has an extensive Virtual Pamphlet Collection.

• University of Texas at Austin
  http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/
  This section of UT-Austin Web provides links to regionally accredited institutions of higher education in the United States.

• The Counseling Center Village
  http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/ccv.html
  The Counseling Center Village has the Counseling Center Directory which includes over 300 links to Colleges and Universities, links to a Virtual Pamphlet Collection, "Help your Self" a psycho educational self help web pages designed for college students, technical assistance, practice resources and other areas of general interest for the development of a counseling web site. It is sponsered by commission VII of the American College Personnel Association and housed at SUNY at Buffalo, NY.

• The University of Maryland, College Park
  http://www.inform.umd.edu/CampusInfo/Departments/Counseling/
  This site gives access to information about the Counseling Center as well as to helpful writings about a variety of issues students may be facing.

Corporate Sites