ACADEMIC COUNSELLORS ARE BECOMING MORE POPULAR AS MORE INSTITUTES COME UP. SURUCHI GUPTA OUTLINES THE DIFFERENCES IN THE JOB PROFILE IN INDIA WHERE IT IS BUSINESS-ORIENTED AND IN THE US, WHERE IT INVOLVES PSYCHOLOGY

   An academic counsellor (AC) helps students with decisionmaking. Krishnendu Sarkar,deputy director, NSHM Knowledge Campus, warns that it involves more than advising students to pursue degrees in the same field one pursued at foundation. “A counsellor has to have scientific tools to assess the potential of student and a counsellor’s job is to optimise all this,” he says. Niti Seth Dean, School of Psychology and Counseling, Cambridge College,
who has done her masters and doctorate in counselling and consulting psychology from Harvard, says the roles and responsibilities range from individual counselling to group activities on a range of issues from the personal to the academic.
   “An academic counsellor has to lead groups on many topics, supervise peer counsellors and peer tutors, assess whether a student needs to be referred for psychotherapy, treatment and medication at the Mental Health Services. We also assess whether student needs to be linked up with a range of other services.”

NATURE OF JOB IN INDIA

Expectations from academic counsellors depend on the institute. “The mentality of a student who wants to study an MBA at a top bschool is different from an average student who doesn’t know what they
want to do in life. A counsellor has to be suited to the student type that the institute attracts and has to be able to judge the capabilities of students,” says Subhojit Sengupta, international certification coordinator, IIJT.
   Academic counsellors also have targets to meet at rofessional/coaching/preparation institutes in India.
   “Ensuring student satisfaction is a must as those enrolled refer others to join you too. We are facilitating a dream so we fix affordability issues, marks issues, bank loans etc and all aspects in relation to his placement at best b-school possible,” says Rahul Reddy, director, TIME, Kolkata.

QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED

While in India undergraduates from any field are recruited as academic counsellors, foreign institutes/universities look for trained or licensed clinicians for the post.
   The skill set for the Indian industry requires proficiency in communication, extensive knowledge of educational options, mind reading and adequately moulding the same and confident personality, positive energy and go-getter-attitude.
   “A person with these qualities is the one to whom a student will listen to,” believes Shilpi Das, joint director, George ITeS.

WHERE TO STUDY?

“There are many universities in the US that offer academic counselling programmes. One could become an academic counsellor with a counselling psychology degree, an educational psychology degree or a college student development degree (among several options),” advises Seth.
   Karan Gupta, international education consultant, suggests a master’s in counselling. “This course is open for students from all backgrounds and even if the student has no experience in this area, he or she will have a great chance of getting admission.”

PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

In India, private institutes of training and professional courses employ academic counsellors along with education consultants, as do MNCs which have academic units and tieup with universities to upgrade skills of their employees on campus. Pay packages for freshers range from Rs 10,000-15,000. Most educational organisations in foreign countries in USA and Europe have a counselling unit which can be a potential opening for Indian students with the right degree, internship or work experience in the field.