Abstract:

Focusing on students needs means also developing complementary services to support student learning and development. Many universities in Europe and US offer counseling services within the campus. These are important informational and developmental sources for students and academic staff as well. The present study investigates whether students from Babeș-Bolyai University perceive the need for more formalized counseling services within the university. Three main components were addressed: the perceived need for psychological counseling, the expectancies towards the counseling process and the help-seeking behavior students express. The subjects, 196 students at BBU completed a needs assessment questionnaire (CINC). The data revealed the acute need for more formalized counseling services. 97,9% of the students considers as important to have a counseling center within the university and 86,9% of them would use its services. Students would seek psychological help especially for: communication problems (56,1%), career planning and decision problems (54,5%), self-awareness (47,1%), campus life problems (41,8%), learning difficulties (37,6%). In sum, the data support the need to set-up a counseling center for students that would offer: individual and group counseling, training and workshops on different topics (communication skills, career planning, learning strategies), and testing opportunities.

Keywords: counseling, student development, campus life