Students' perspectives in relation to academic counseling in the university: A qualitative study using Content analysis

Introduction: Proper counseling are very important to improve the quality of life and progress in society, especially in educational centers. The present qualitative study was designed and implemented according to the importance of deep students' opinions to improve the counseling process. Methods: This present study was a qualitative study which was conducted using Content analysis. Participants in this study were 30 students who were selected through purposive sampling, with maximum diversity. In this study, data were obtained using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using Conventional content analysis. Result: From the students' point of view, the challenges facing academic counseling included two main themes, four main categories and seven sub-categories. Main themes included “need to improve the organizational factors related to consulling process” and “need to improve the individual factorsamong faculty members and student” and the main categories included lack of proper information to the student, unavailability of consultant faculty members, to select consultant faculty members without considering a student opinion and to be improper the communication between consultant faculty members  and student. Regarding the facilitators of the counseling process, one main theme (strengthening the organizational factors related to consulling process), three main categories and four sub-categories were obtained. The main categories included the separation of the counselor from the faculty members, empowerment of the counselors and student’s freedom to choose a counselor. Conclusion: The results of the present study show that the process of academic counseling in the university faces organizational and individual challenges such as lack of proper information to the student, unavailability of consultant faculty members, to select consultant faculty members without considering the students opinion, and to be improper the communication between consultant faculty members  and students. Based on the students' views, it seems that by separation of the counselor from the faculty members, empowerment of the counselors and student’s freedom to choose a counselor, the academic counseling process in the university can be improved.