Assessment of the counselling needs of students in a Ghanaian public university

Needs assessment is the starting point for developing comprehensive and relevant counselling services for students. This study assessed the counselling needs of students in the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all students in the University. A sample of 335 students made up of 286 males and 49 females was selected through proportional stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques. A needs assessment questionnaire was used to source for the data. The data were analysed using means, standard deviations and independent samples t-test. The study found that practical and vocational/career needs were the most pressing needs of students. The study further revealed that there was no significant difference between the counselling needs of male and female students. Based on the findings, it was recommended that counsellors at the University of Energy and Natural Resources should design and implement counselling services based on the most important needs of the students: practical and vocational/career needs.