Virtual Counseling for Students Enrolled in Online Educational Programs

Virtual schools: The changing landscape of K-12 education in the U.S.

“…Additionally, because some of these services are legally required, they pose significant challenges for virtual school providers to duplicate at an equal level of proficiency. Curry (2010) stressed that as the trend towards online virtual educational programs continues to grow, attention to services such as student counseling merits careful consideration. This is especially true since virtual learners are legally supposed to have virtual access to the same support services that face-to-face learners do.…”

Remote Student Support During COVID-19: Perspectives of Chief Online Officers in Higher Education

“…They also should result in enhanced student learning outcomes and, consequently, higher retention and throughput (graduation) rates" (Ludeman & Schreiber, 2020, p. 10). Providing high-quality and equitable student support services is not only important to student success, it is required by accrediting bodies (Barr, 2014;Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions, 2011;Currie, 2010). Smith (2005) argued that higher education institutions should provide an online student service that accomplish three key objectives:…”

“…Prior to the pandemic, most student support services were provided on-campus and since student support personnel tended to have less physical contact with online students, they may not have fully appreciated that particular population's expectations and perceptions (Forrester & Parkinson, 2006). Research does confirm that institutions are not providing equitable student support services to online students, with the most significant gaps identified in student advising and counseling services (Barr, 2014;Brown, 2017;Cooper, Gin & Brownell, 2019;Currie, 2010;Forrester & Parkinson, 2006;Hicks, 2016;Luedtke, 1999). Arguing for a more textured context, Calhoun, Green, and Burke (2017) showed that this gap in service between face-to-face (F2F) and online students may be related to inadequate coverage of online student needs in student affairs preparation programs, suggesting a more systemic issue around service offered to online students in-practice.…”

Virtual School Counseling

“…Counseling continues to be shaped by the introduction and popularity of technological tools. The counseling profession as a whole has been very deliberate about the use of technology in delivering counseling services, especially in providing a traditional counseling session over the Internet (Carlson, Portman, & Bartlett, 2006;Currie, 2010;Horan, 2010;Khasanshina, Wolfe, Emerson, & Stachura, 2008;Mallen, Vogel, Rochlen, & Day, 2005). In prior literature, counselors explored online counseling as a viable means of providing individual counseling (Barnett, 2005;Haberstroh, Parr, Bradley, Morgan-Fleming, & Gee, 2008), group counseling (Leibert, Smith-Adcock, & Munson, 2008;McAdams & Wyatt, 2010), online workshops (Fridici & Arnold, 2009;Lynch & Kogan, 2004), counselor education (Hayes, 2008;Tillman, Dinsmore, Chasek, & Hof, 2013;Zalaquett & Chatters, 2012), and supervision (Dubi, Raggi, & Reynolds, 2012;Haberstroh & Duffey, 2011;Moorhead, Colburn, Edwards,…”