Guidance Counselors Face Increased Caseloads
January 25, 2011
High school and college guidance counselors are facing increased caseloads as state budget cuts force schools to cut back staff.
Minnesota Public Radio reports that at Ridgewater College, for example, two counselors will soon be laid off, effectively cutting the counseling staff in half. The cuts are part of the administration's response to an expected $3 million budget deficit over the next two years.
"We've not eliminated counseling," noted Sam Bowen, a spokesman for the college, in an interview with MPR. "We simply had to reduce the staff to help us reallocate resources to meet student resources in tough budget times."
The same unfortunate trend can be seen at high schools throughout the nation. A 2009 study by the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that nearly half of public schools had raised the caseloads of high school counselors, with the average increase exceeding 53 students. The report also found that pressures on applicants and counselors rose along with an increase in the number of college applications and early-decision applicants.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sandie Gilbert, a counselor at Highland Park High School in Illinois, said that she had a caseload of about 280 students in 2009--a 20 percent increase since she began working at the school 15 years before.
"It's been inching up every year," she told the Times.
Inadequate college guidance has prompted many families to seek private college counseling, although doing so can be expensive. WECT TV 6 reports that Mandee Adler, who runs a Florida-based company called International College Counselors, charges $5,000 to help college applicants. But for many students--especially those who wish to be admitted to elite schools--that support can be essential.
"I don't care how great you are as a guidance counselor, it's pretty hard to give one-on-one attention to 3,000 students," she told WECT TV 6. "As the cost of higher education has gone up and public school dollars have gone down, there's a need for private companies to come in and provide support."
Compiled by BrainTrack.com Staff
Sources:
"Demand Rises, But Colleges Cut Counselor Positions," Minnesota Public Radio, January 24, 2011, Tim Post
"Parents Outsource College Guidance," WECT TV 6, January 13, 2011
"Study Finds Growing Work for School Counselors," The New York Times, October 20, 2009, Jacques Steinberg
