The importance of a student profile in an accountable open learning student counselling model

Abstract

Student support and the counselling of open and distance learners is an area of potential growth. It attempts to emphasise that each individual student should be recognised as a human being, by drawing attention to the multiplicity of factors which impinge on the academic success of the student. It is argued that in distance learning counselling this can only be achieved by the construction of student profiles. The study explores current practices and shortcomings before the dissertation demonstrates the essential information required by the counsellor in providing counselling to a student removed in space and time by means of a detailed report on longitudinal qualitative and quantitative research. The dissertation also presents some existing models and explores common factors, and indicates current shortcomings in counselling practice. A combination of all the information gathered, provides the researcher with insights to identify the specific elements of a new model. The model then presented as an outcome of this study is constructed in such a way that it contains all the structural elements while simultaneously representing the dynamic, adaptable nature required by this complex situation. The dissertation concludes that the adoption and application of such a model will have far reaching implications for distance learning institutions and provides a number of recommendations for such implementation.