October 2023
ISSN 2148-7278
Volume: 9 Number: 2


GLOKALde October 2020, ISSN 2148-7278 Volume: 6  Number: 2, Article 10

IMPACT OF FACE-TO-FACE ADMISSION COUNSELLING ON PROSPECTIVE LEARNERS IN ODL: A CASE STUDY

Bini TOMS
Indira Gandhi National Open University; INDIA

K. NILOFER
Indira Gandhi National Open University; INDIA

ABSTRACT

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has a significant place in providing higher education in the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. Although ODL system is not a new concept in education, IGNOU in the past three decades has set an exemplary model of successfully providing higher education to the unreached and underprivileged. IGNOU learners have successfully seen their dreams of higher education fulfilled in the midst of social, occupational and family commitments. At IGNOU, counselling is provided to learners through Gyan Vani, Gyan Darshan, other online modes and face to face. The University conducts regular weekend classes at learner support centres which is popularly known as academic counselling. In addition, IGNOU also provides information, grievance redressal and career guidance through counselling activities which is the kind of counselling discussed in this paper.

The importance of counselling has and will continue to remain in every educational system and more so in the ODL mode where interaction of learners with peers and facilitators is limited. Keeping this fact in mind, the Student Service Centre (SSC) situated at IGNOU headquarters regularly conducted admission counselling. The counselling programme was facilitated by resource persons from Operational Divisions and Schools of Studies of the University. Such interaction enhanced the self-esteem, satisfaction and confidence of students and helped them to take decisions on the academic programmes to pursue and realize their educational dreams. The present study examines and analyses, the feedback received from participants of the admission counselling sessions organized by SSC. It tries to infer whether and to what extent such sessions were useful for students enrolled in the ODL mode. It also studies whether the profile of the learners had an impact on their feedback about the counselling programme. The paper also gives recommendations based on feedback and experience regarding ways of organizing such counselling sessions more effectively.

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