ERIC Number: ED271144
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1986-Feb
Pages: 26
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Performance Standard for Community College Counseling: Institutional Goal Attainment.
Creamer, Don G.
Various perspectives on the current state and future of community college counseling are examined in this paper. First, four commonly practiced approaches to counseling are described: (1) the integrated perspective, which views counseling as a form of teaching which is an integral part of educational programs of the community college; (2) the ancillary perspective, which sees counseling as a luxury whose role in the educational process is unclear and possibly unnecessary; (3) the comparative worth perspective, which perceives the contribution of counseling as smaller than that of other aspects of community college education, considering it a weak link in the educational process that needs a new vision about its central purpose; and (4) the organizational effectiveness perspective, which sees counseling as a unit of an organization with its own specialized tasks and objectives. After estimating the future of community college counseling from each of these perspectives, the paper proposes an alternative model for counseling services of the future based on the evaluation of these services in terms of their contribution to the achievement of the goals of the college. Drawing from organizational effectiveness literature, "domains of effectiveness" are identified as related to the achievement of organizational goals, environmental conditions are translated into indicators of effectiveness, and performance standards for the counseling unit are suggested. The final sections point to institutional contexts which are more suitable than others for the application of the organizationally oriented performance standards for counseling, and call for dialog on the proposal. (EJV)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Counselors; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at a Regional Symposium of the National Council on Student Development (Orlando, FL, February 6-8, 1986).