Assessing the impact of student counselling service centres at tertiary education institutions: How should it be approached?

Abstract

This article conceptually addresses the issue of assessing the impact of student
counselling and development services in higher education institutions. It deviates
from recent approaches which primarily examine the impact of selected
interventions on specific indicators. In this article the question is asked whether
the capacity to deliver the services can be justified to the institution. In times when
higher education institutions face declining revenues, and when increasing
demands are placed on education institutions to demonstrate accountability in
the use of public funds, it is not enough to know that past counselling interventions
have resulted in positive impacts. The institution needs to know whether the
ongoing investment makes financial sense. This article, therefore, focuses on
counselling services holistically as a strategic partner of the institution, and argues
that their function should mainly be to support the institution in accomplishing its
strategic purpose and in satisfying key strategic stakeholders. What is needed is a
forward-looking role definition linked to a set of strategic impact and performance
indicators as a basis for assessment. Such an approach opens up a way to view
benefits not only in traditional accounting terms such as cost savings, but also as
the social benefits and value-adding that takes place within the bigger strategic
picture.

South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 20 (5) 2006: pp. 655-678