University counseling center - PR Campaign - Essay Example

? Counseling Center-PR Campaign (College Introduction The College Counseling Center isconducting a PR campaign to increase its use by the students. As a part of this year long campaign, extensive programs are devised to make the Counseling Centre more student-friendly and approachable. The campaign themed ‘stay cool’ is aimed at increasing awareness about the services of Counseling Centre and at encouraging students to approach the Counseling Centre more freely. As a part of the program, a caring, licensed professional staff will be available to meet your needs. Are you a student who is; Feeling lonely away from home? Feeling sick of the harsh campus regimes? Feeling nervous unnecessarily? Facing problems retaining relationships? Feeling life colorless and boring? Unable to take decisions about future life? Unable to concentrate on studies? An international student facing language and cultural problems? Facing any kind of addiction? Suffering from eating disorders? Facing body disorder issues? Or Are you a parent who is worried about the performance of your son or daughter? Are you a staff feeling fed up with the errands of the curriculum? If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, you are the one we are looking for. We have arranged everything to bring you back to the track. Audience analysis Category Common issues Underclassmen Anxiety Homesickness International students Loneliness Homesickness Insecurity Language problems Cultural problems Accommodation Food Final year students Exam stress Fear Uncertainly about future course Parents Worries about children’s performance and future Staff Frustration Concerns about a particular student Issues in student relations Common issues Eating disorders Relationship problems Addictions Body disorder issues Complexes Key Concepts of the Campaign The purpose of the year is to make more students use the Counseling Center. For this purpose, the concept developed is to make the University Counseling Center more accessible to everyone in the campus. We want to make it a place of comfort and care. In addition, the students should feel that the Counseling Center is a friend who is always ready to help. To achieve this end, the theme ‘stay cool’ will be selected. In addition, for all the programs under the PR campaign, a specific color code, a particular logo and the slogan ‘stay cool’ will be used. In addition, throughout the year, the Counseling Center will be spreading relaxation tips among students through both electronic and print media. The Counseling Center aims to make all the students aware about the activities of the Center and feel comfortable and confident to make use of these services. To attract more people to the counseling centre, three broad areas of achievement are identified. 1) Increase awareness It becomes necessary to increase awareness about the campus and the services available at the counseling center. To meet this end, special attention will be provided to new entrants. The Counseling Center will pay adequate attention to eradicating the anxiety issues faced by the new entrants. As it is normal for the new ones to hesitate to come to the Counseling Center seeking help, the Center will go to them by arranging special programs for them and by initiating open discussions on the issues these students commonly face, thus developing the image of an ‘all-knowing friend’. 2) Achieve an approachable image The campaign also aims to develop a friendly and cooperative image among the students. To achieve this, a specific color code, a particular logo and a specific slogan will be adopted. For this purpose, special programs will be organized on all special occasions which will be as less formal as possible. 3) Ensure accessibility and confidentiality To make the students feel comfortable to approach the Counseling Center, stress will be given on ensuring confidentiality of matters. In addition, the counseling centre will be made easily accessible directly, on phone and on net. Key Activities Planned for the Year 1) Booths In connection with all important campus events and also during exams, the Counseling Center will set up multiple temporary booths where the students can come directly and discuss their issues. For these booths, the color code, logo and the theme will be used. 2) Pamphlets In addition, pamphlets will be distributed among students before all important events including exams giving explicit guidelines on what to do and what not to do. In addition, the students will be encouraged to approach the Counseling Center in case of any difficulties. 3) Special orientation programs for new entrants During the beginning of the academic year, special orientation programs will be conducted for new entrants, in which the common problems faced by the new ones will be discussed. As a part of it, assistance will be offered in all possible cases. 4) Close attention to international students Being the weakest section of the campus, international students will be given the maximum possible attention. Special seminars will be arranged for them that address their specific issues ranging from accommodation, language, culture, food, handling assignments, and part-time earning opportunities. 5) Increasing presence on the net As part of the attempt to expand its reach, the Counseling Center will open its own twitter page through which the activities and services of the Center can be publicized. In addition, this will provide the students a forum to discuss the everyday issues of the college in a less formal way, thus giving a more ‘friendly’ than ‘clinical’ look to the Counseling Center. 6) Email services Another important strategy is to send emails to all students describing the services available at the Counseling Center. These emails will be sent periodically, especially before all important events including intakes and exams. The emails will be categorized according to the category of the students so that the students will feel a more personalized approach. For example, the mails sent to final year students will be more about orienting themselves for the final exam and about the future job placement opportunities. For the new entrants, the mails will address anxieties and will encourage them to relax. 7) All time hotline The next strategy is to establish a hotline on which the students can have access to the Counseling Center services at any time. In addition, students will be offered the chance to chat online with the Counseling Center staff. This will give the Counseling Center the image of a friend who is always available for help and who offers a ridiculously simple solution on every issue ranging from admission to the college to future employment. 8) The quarterly magazine As a part of the campaign, the Center will publish a monthly magazine that contains articles on issues related to the students. This magazine will address the insider issues of student groups which are colleted through student volunteers. This will make the students feel that the Counseling Center is close to them and that the Center is well aware about the needs of them. 9) Hiring student volunteers To get insider news of student groups, the Counseling Center will seek the help of student volunteers. The volunteers can advice the Center on issues faced by students time to time, any controversies and conflicts. Thus, the Counseling Center will be able to get a complete picture of the student attitude. 10) Career guideline workshops These workshops will be specially meant for the final year students. Through these workshops, they will be helped to understand their specific skills and will be helped to identify the fields of employment which are suitable for them. In addition, the Counseling Center will be arranging special sessions for the final year students which provide them a chance to interact with experts from industry, thus to have a clearer idea about the nature of the workplace. 11) The flash mob Special unexpected events like ‘flash mob’ will be organized during special occasions to get more attention to the activities of the Counseling Center. A ‘flash mob’ is a group of people who appear immediately at the public place (in this case, campus) and perform a short unusual action for a while and then disperse in to the crowd. In this case, the mob will be wearing the specific color code and logo and will distribute leaflets containing tips specific for the oncoming important event. 12) Easy access to parents and staff As a part of the campaign, parents of the students will be encouraged to approach the Counseling Center on any issue ranging from behavioral problems of their children, addictions, and any issue or doubt regarding the performance of their children. In addition, parents can make use of the service of the Center to discuss about the possible future opportunities of their children. If the Center is unable to help, it will happily put the parents in touch with the people who can offer help. In addition, staffs who find any kind of problems ranging from burn out, depression and consequent issues in student relations can make use of the service of the experienced staff at the Counseling Center. Through these activities, the Counseling Center will be able to gain a student-friendly image and students of all levels will find it easy and useful to approach the Counseling Center with their issues. Read More