The Paraprofessional Alternative

Abstract

The way in which career counseling services are provided in a college setting varies from campus to campus based upon a variety of factors. Such factors include the size of the student body, the culture of the particular institution, whether the college is public or private, two-year or four-year, rural or urban. These features and others determine how much demand there will be for career services, as well as the nature of the services that will be in demand.The culture of the institution affects the amount and type of support made available for the maintenance and development of career services. Regardless of the institutional milieu in which career services are provided on your campus, it is probably safe to assume that the breadth and depth of career services offered by your career center is often constrained by the availability of financial and administrative support. The demand or opportunity for additional career services likely becomes a secondary influence. Therefore, the challenge for career service professionals, regardless of the particular nature of their career center, is to utilize their limited resources in the most effective manner possible. In this paper we will attempt to provide an argument for the use of undergraduate paraprofessionals (known as Career Specialists in our setting) as providers of career services in a college campus setting. We present this argument as a possible means of leveraging existing resources, but more importantly as a viable alternative means of providing effective career services to a college clientele.

Paraprofessionals in Career Services

“…For many educational and human services settings, PP programs allow them to reach many more students than they would be able to otherwise (Easton, Platt, & Van House, 1985). Feehan and Wade (1998) echoed a similar point of view noting that "the Career Center could not feasibly provide either the quantity or quality of services presently available without the contribution of its paraprofessional staff" (p. 153).…”

“…The University of Missouri recruitment flyer (McDaniels, et al, 1995) emphasized that their program looks for a "diversity of students, including minorities, non-minorities, internationals, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, greeks, independents, male and females, all majors" (p. 33). As Feehan and Wade (1998) noted in describing Missouri's program: "our goal is to staff the Center with a variety of academic majors with leadership experience/aptitude while simultaneously building a culturally diverse team" (p. 154). Offices that also recruit graduate level students typically seek majors in counseling, higher education administration, or related disciplines.…”

“…One of the longest standing models of the use of paraprofessionals in career services can be found at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Several articles and publications have highlighted various aspects of this program (Feehan & Wade, 1998;Hansen & Johnston, 1986;McDaniels, Carter, Heinzen, Candrl, & Wieberg, 1994). As best as the author can determine, there has not been a detailed survey on the use of paraprofessionals in career services since the study conducted by Whitt (1993).…”