Reducing attrition rates: A student counselling approach

This study evaluates the relationship between student counselling intervention and university persistence and looks at the characteristics of students considered most likely to withdraw. Student counselling in the context of the studies, assists students in coping with the pressures of achieving academic success and maintaining a personal balance during a degree course. And while most progressive universities offer some sort of student counselling, the service is often available to the student upon request rather than its provision being considered a basic element of the student experience – hence intervention. This study finds that student counselling intervention can assist in overcoming withdrawal tendencies in students considered high risk. This study also looks at the characteristics of those most likely to withdraw and finds patterns of response between high risk and low risk students.Karen Nelson-Field and Steven Goodma