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Online counseling at Grossmont College started as a grassroots effort, a consequence of my attendance at the first-ever online student services conference at Victor Valley College in the spring of 2000. It was a heady time, and the keynote address, The Dot Commies are Coming,” set the tone--computer literate students would embrace the concept of a virtual campus and we had better be ready for them. I became a true believer in the value of online interaction with students after attending a Rio Hondo College presentation, at which Belen Torres-Gil described how her college was providing web counseling to the campus’ burgeoning online student population.
Torres-Gil’s enthusiasm and practical approach to cyber-counseling was inspiring; she emphasized how it offered students another way to ask questions and express concerns related to their college experience. When some workshop participants wondered whether privacy issues would be a problem if online counseling addressed personal as well as academic issues, Torres-Gil’s stance was that since students are not required to present proof of identity in a counselor’s office, online students should be treated the same. That was the selling point for me—online counseling could be a way to reach the uncertain, timid and often unsuccessful students that needed our expertise the most; if they contacted us by e-mail, we would have an opportunity to lure them into our offices.
Starting an Online Counseling Program
Jim Fenningham, Grossmont College’s Dean of Counseling, Student Development & Matriculation strongly supported the creation of an online counseling program to better serve all students. He was instrumental in working with the district’s Information Systems to develop a Web Counselor account, which included an “Ask a Counselor” link and a “Scheduling Advisement” option. The first link was designed to answer short questions that do not require accessing student records. The second link requires students to list the classes they plan to take, based on their English placement level and their educational goal. The web counselor provides a “second opinion” on the course selections.
In spring 2002 the college implemented the online counseling site with one web counselor—me. The amount of student involvement was steady but manageable. By the second semester I realized it was important to recruit other counselors to participate, so the service would have continuity and I could go on a vacation. I approached a colleague I thought might be interested in trying a new mode of communication with students. She somewhat reluctantly agreed to participate, and immediately became an enthusiastic advocate of online counseling. Since then she has retired and two other counselors volunteered to join the project. The three of us share the responsibility for responding to online inquiries that come to the Grossmont College web master and to the Counseling Center website’s “Ask a Counselor” link. On average, we receive about 15-20 inquiries a day, except during registration periods, when the count substantially increases.
Personalized Responses
The online counseling we provide is personalized; students are responded to by name and their questions are answered by a counselor or referred to the appropriate staff/faculty member. We have chosen not to link our answers to a FAQ site, although we often provide a web site or e-mail address for additional information. Each counselor has up to two hours set aside per week for online counseling duties. Each of us also does online counseling if a student does not show up for a scheduled appointment. Occasionally a student will ask a complicated question or present a dilemma that requires consultation with another web counselor. We don’t meet regularly to discuss our web counseling program, but we are available to each other when needed. If a student has an ongoing dialogue with a specific counselor, the on-duty counselor sends the e-mail to the counselor’s private account. Since we respond to students on an individual basis, we often provide more specific academic assistance to a student who does not live within driving distance of the college.
In summary, the Grossmont College online counseling service is a no-frills, low-cost, well-used resource for students and, for the most part, an interesting and satisfying experience for the web counselors. It is also an effective marketing and recruitment tool for new and continuing students—it brings students to campus who may have decided, in the middle of the night, that they wanted to start or return to college. It also tends to lure continuing students into the Counseling Center, once they realize the value of asking questions and getting answers regarding their academic experience. The college has also benefited from the service since the web counselors make recommendations regarding additions and clarifications to website content based on student input. We believe online counseling is a positive and effective addition to the services we offer; it also demonstrates that student services has kept pace with the technological changes most students embrace.
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