DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v07i01.006

Pages: 38-45

Counselling psychology experts as well as other counselling para-professionals have in recent years come up with an electronic mode of counselling, namely, E- Counselling; which is in tandem with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution that encourages counsellors to harness ICT in order to assist clients who need help. E-Counselling exploits the power and convenience of the Internet and other electronic platforms to allow simultaneous (synchronous) and time-delayed (asynchronous) communication between an individual (counsellee) and a professional (counsellor). The purpose of this study was to explore the uptake of electronic mode of Counselling (E-counselling) at the Zimbabwe Open University’s Matabeleland North Regional Campus as a way of enhancing quality. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology which utilised a case study research design. The population of the study was drawn from the total number of students at the Regional Campus, recruited during the August – December 2017 semester. The study used purposive sampling to get a sample of 20 students (n=20) and utilised an Interview guide as its data generation instrument. Data gathered was analysed and presented using thematic content analysis. The major findings were that E-counselling had several advantages to both the counsellor and counsellee. However, the students were not taking advantage of E-counselling because most of them had not been introduced to ICT-based counselling which consequently led them to being sceptic to respond to E-counselling practices. The study concluded that ICT is of paramount importance in modern operational practices including counselling and academic advisement, hence, accordingly recommended that the ZOU embraces the initiative as an institution while also incorporating E-counselling courses in its curriculum.