Desirable activities which could be taken up by a counselor in a university for the effective counseling and guidance programme are given below:
(i) Educational talks:
Talks on educational topics should be arranged by the Counselling/Liaison Officer. He himself or the members of the Guidance Committee or some highly educated and experienced persons from the community or some neighbouring institution may be invited to deliver such talks.
Some suggestive themes are adjustment with the institution, adjustment with peers, getting the best out of college/university education, studying effectively, preparation of notes, preparing and taking examinations, utilisation of library services, participation in co-curricular activities, good work habits, entry and success in a job, taking an interview, living in hostels, choosing your career.
Image Source: ied.edu.hk
(ii) Orientation talks:
These talks are meant to give adequate information to the students regarding the courses of studies, the facilities available in the institution in the form of libraries, laboratories, workshops, playgrounds, hobbies, teaching personnel, free ships, free concessions, stipends, scholarships, etc.
The students should also be made familiar with information about courses and careers open to graduates/post-graduates, competitive examinations, correspondence courses, apprenticeship schemes, entry jobs which could be taken up fresh from the college university without experience, courses and careers available abroad, changing occupational pattern, employment and occupational trends, guidance agencies at different levels, etc.
(iii) Career talks:
Career talk means a talk about the details of a particular job. The talks may be delivered on themes such as avenues open to graduates and post-graduates, self-employment schemes, government service, scope of employment, methods of recruitment, discovering vocational interests and aptitudes, exploring vocations which interest you, planning your vocational programme, etc.
Talks on as many careers as possible should be arranged.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Every career expert should be provided with an outline of the career talk at a much advanced date so that he/she knows what to prepare.
(iv) Career conferences:
Career conference is a group activity organised for the purpose of providing occuptional information of a preliminary or supplementary nature to a large number of students in a small or a big group. In a career conference, several speakers belonging to different professions come and deliver talks about their own fields to groups of students.
For example, a successful electronics engineer gives a talk on electronics engineering as a career to a group of students interested in this branch of engineering and a production engineer gives a talk to a group of students interested in production engineering as a career, and so on. The conference may be organised twice a year.
(v) Plant tours:
Visits to commercial establishments, industries, professional colleges, research institutions, etc. should be arranged as these provide the students with direct and firsthand experience of the work done and the physical and social environment in which it is done.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
To make the visit useful, the students should be prepared well in advance so that they know what to observe, which questions to ask and how to behave during the visit.
A visit is more useful when followed by a group discussion in which students talk about, what they have seen and exchange ideas. ‘
As many plant tours may be arranged as possible depending upon the resources of the institution and the time available.
(vi) Screening of films and film-strips:
Film shows followed by group discussions are good means of disseminating information. The film can be obtained on loan from various agencies.