from VCCA Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, Spring/Summer 1989, 44-45
© Copyright 1989 VCCA Journal
The future of student development services will be based on collaboration, outreach, the use of paraprofessionals, and a commitment to the development of student self-enhancement skills.
Within the college, this means that counselors work as team members with instructional faculty and utilize paraprofessionals or trained student peers to assist in the delivery of services and in the development process. Participants include over 20 clubs.
Student tutors are a key part of the Special Support Services program. For example, student peer counselors serve as an important component of the Vocational Sex Equity sponsored programs at the college. Students have also traditionally been employed as part-time workers, often in jobs that involve the delivery of services to other students. This trend will continue into the future.
Outreach involvement with the college community is also important. College counselors are scheduled to conduct in-school interviews in 12 of the 14 area high schools. The college has, for several years, used a team composed of faculty, staff, counselors, and students as part of Project INFORM, a major outreach effort aimed at both graduating high school seniors and older adults. In addition, the staff has presented educational and financial aid information to area Virginia National Guard units and published a joint information brochure.
The outreach also includes collaborative sponsorship of area job fairs with nearby community colleges as well as nearby senior colleges and universities. Another major initiative is a cooperative agreement with Cumberland Mountain Community Services, the local mental health agency. In addition to referral arrangements, counselors from both agencies meet together quarterly. Furthermore, the college encourages, as part of the orientation course, volunteerism in cooperation with United Way and other service agencies.
The list of activities briefly mentioned above could go on and on. The collaborative effort will generate grant funding and community support. The concept of networking, popularized by John Naisbitt in Megatrends, is a viable basis for the future.