Continuing Professional Education
Career Guidance and Counseling | Educ321 T170
Prof. Maria Lourdes Bruno
Friday Class, 5:30pm-8:30pm
FACILITIES
Physical facilities are essential component of
Guidance Programs. The outcomes of guidance
work may be severely affected if the facilities are
not appropriate or sufficient for the services
rendered. How, for instance, can test results be valid
if the room where the test was taken was too dark
for the test-takers to read the items or too noisy for
them to hear the oral instructions? And how can
Group Guidance activities be effectively held if the
room is too crowded or too hot for the participants
to concentrate? What are the required facilities?
Counselor’s Room/ Guidance Director’s Room
If space is limited for instance;
The Guidance office occupies a single room that
space must definitely be devoted to counseling or
include the counseling room. While some people
like to talk while walking, or sit under a tree, or
discuss over a cup of coffee, there is nothing like
having a counseling room that is private.
Enclosed from floor to ceiling, properly illuminated,
soundproofed, free from distractions, and well
ventilated preferably air-conditioned
The space should be one where the client would feel
free to cry and to express all kinds of feelings,
provided the expression is non-destructive. The
feeling that other people can see or hear what is
going on in the room should not inhibit the client.
To keep conversations confidential, each counselor
should have a private counseling room. The
counselor’s name should be on the door to facilitate
locating him/her.
There are counseling centers with one small
counseling room shared by several counselors. This
means counseling sessions have to be scheduled and
the room reserved as needed.
The counseling room should have a space for a
counselor’s table, a counselor’s chair, and a
counselee’s chair. Swivel chairs with arm rests are
helpful for free movement and slight postural
adjustments when discussions become emotionally
laden and when emotions subside.
Throw pillows or cushions are also helpful as some
clients find comfort in putting these on their laps
during the counseling session. At the same time,
some may feel the need to express their anger
during the session. Hitting the throw pillow can
help release the anger. Having tissue box on a
corner table near the client is convenient when the
tears come.
A mirror somewhere in the room will help clients
check their composure after an emotional session.
The counseling room should also be able to
accommodate a filing cabinet containing the
individual inventory records of students. Much
depends on how these records are filed in folder and
paper form, in CD-ROM or electronic files. The
important thing is that the individual records are
kept confidential and that when the records are to be
discussed with the client, the contents are readily
accessible to the parties concerned. A computer in
the counselor’s room would be convenient.
The counseling room, if located on an upper floor,
must have sealed windows or windows with bars.
This is to prevent the depressed client from jumping
out the window. For a similar reason, there should
be no sharp objects or gadgets that could be used in
suicide attempts.
A tiny glass window on the door of the counseling
room will help visitor or clients see if the counselor
is occupied or other Guidance staff to signal a
counselor regarding an urgent situation, while
counseling in ongoing. The counselor can sit facing
this window, and the client can have his/her back to
the window to avoid distraction. Signs that may be
hung on the door are “Do Not Disturb” “The
Counselor Is In” “The Counselor will be back
at______.”
Psychometrician’s Room
The psychometrician should have a private room
that is not easily accessible to others. This is
because his/her room generally contains materials
that should not be seen or touched by those who
have no professional reason for doing so. These
materials include test booklets and answer sheets,
filled answer sheets being processed, norm and
interpretation booklets, test results, and test records.
The room should also be free from distractions and
interruptions so that the psychometrician does not
commit errors in checking or interpreting tests.
The psychometrician needs a table big enough to
hold what he/she is working on, especially if
worksheets are necessary. There should be test
cabinets with lock and key where test materials, test
records and other information for processing can be
kept. If the psychometrician has to record and
summarize results or do a research on them a
computer is needed too.
Researcher’s Room
Like the psychometrician, the researcher should
have a private room that is not easily accessible to
others since his/her office also contains materials
that should not be seen or touched by those who
have no professional reason doing so. Data
collected from the clientele, though not necessarily
with names may be in hand for collating,
summarizing or study. These may include test
results, accomplished surveys and questionnaires. In
some cases, the guidance researcher is in charge of
teacher evaluation. The sensitivity of the
information the researcher handles is such that only
those with professional concern over the materials
should have access to them.
The researcher’s room should also be free from
distractions and interruptions so that the researcher
can concentrate on the work at hand and prepare
accurate reports. It should be well-ventilated and
well-illuminated.
The furniture should include a big enough to hold
various materials, including work sheets. Cabinets
with lock and key will keep data secure. A
computer with the necessary programs is a must.
Consultant’s Room
While most institutions refer clients to consultants
from outside, some institutions invite the consultant
to hold office within the premises. This arrangement
is convenient for the ones being referred and
ensures that they actually go to the consultant.
The consultant would need a room similar to the
counselor’s. The room can be slightly smaller since
there is no need for a computer or filing cabinets.
Data can be passed on by referring counselor who
keeps the files. The consultant may be asked to
come only once or twice a week.
Storage Area
An institution that takes care of the Testing Program
needs a room for storing test booklets and answer
sheet. Some tests are thick and the population will
dictate how many of them should be made
available.
Old Test papers are stored for about five years – a
practice that may come in handy when questions on
test results, especially of applicants, arise or for
future research on concerns like item analysis.
Cumulative folders are stored for some time after
graduation or departure, just in case references are
solicited about graduates or dropouts. These
materials fill up over the years, and will eventually
be too bulky. Since the materials are confidential
but must be accessible, it is important that the
storage area is within the Guidance Office, under
lock and key, and properly protected from dust,
insects or rodents.
Other office supplies can be kept in the storage area
to prevent overcrowding in the respective offices.
Location
Numerous studies in the past, here and abroad, have
consistently shown that guidance Counselors are
among the last people that help- seeking people
would go to for their concerns and problems. On a
positive note, this may mean that there are
significant others around who are willing and able
to help them –friends, family members, relatives,
etc.: or that they have enough personal resources to
handle their difficulties themselves. On the
downside, it could mean that the help-seekers do
not know that there are counselors they can turn to
for help; have the perception that counseling is not
for normal people: do not believe that the
counselors can help them; do not know or do not
trust the counselors enough; forget that there is a
Guidance Counselors; or will not go of their way to
see the counselor, according to Gibson and Mitchell
(1999), countless studies reveal that when
counseling centers are located far from the
populations for whom they are intended, clients do
not show up.
The location of Guidance Office can help minimize
the obstacles. Situating it in an accessible place,
within a frequently traversed area, can help
contribute to the prospective clients’ awareness of
the Program and the counselors. And since the
office is within reach, dropping in becomes a
natural thing. If they pass the area regularly, they
can see the counselors more frequently and become
more familiar with them. This way pre- counseling
relationships that lead to trust in the counselor can
be established.
The Centralized Guidance Program in some
educational institutions can have a special facility or
building that houses the entire Guidance Office for
all academic levels or courses. Such an arrangement
allows for sharing space, reading materials, bulletin
boards, and furniture and is thus economical;
Moreover, having a place dedicated to Guidance
Services and Personnel projects the Program as an
important component of the institution. However,
such an arrangement could isolate the Guidance
Office and make it less accessible to the clients. To
remedy this, some institutions provide centralized
facilities but deploy the counselors near the building
frequented by the students they serve. Counseling
rooms are located in these areas. In some cases, one
counseling room is made available and the
counselors take turns using it on a scheduled basis.
Some institutions bring the Guidance Program
closer to the students by having a Guidance corner
in the more traversed paths, running Guidance
activities in the classroom, and having counselors
make themselves visible during lunch, snack or
arrival and dismissal time.
The Guidance Office must, however, not be too
close to the Faculty Room, Discipline Office, ot the
Administrator’s Room. This is to prevent the
clientele from confusing Guidance work with the
work performed by the faculty, discipline officer
and superiors. Also clients who value their privacy
may become reluctant to approach the Guidance
Office if it is too close to these other Offices.
Appearance
The appearance of the Guidance Office is the
window through which prospective clients can
assess the Program and the people running it. The
office should look comfortable and homey, to
reflect the warmth and welcoming attitude of the
Guidance Personnel. It should be inviting so that the
prospective clients feel less threatened – the interior
must be soothing to the eyes, the decoration Is
enlivening, and the furniture comfortable.
Each Guidance Counselor or staff member should
also be given enough flexibility to express his/her
unique taste and preferences. However, the room
arrangement, furniture, décor and other contents
must be suited to the age level of the clientele.
BUDGET
The Guidance budget is crucial to the
implementation of all Guidance Programs. One
cannot have a well-delivered Program without
sufficient funds for salaries, activities and materials.
In many institutions, management and
administration grudgingly provide what is needed
because the Guidance Office is not seen as
contributing to the Institution’s finances. If the help
that guidance offers is seen in the context of
“Healthy Affect = Healthy Mind = Healthy Body =
Maximum Productivity and Effectiveness”
(something for evaluation and research to prove),
financial resources may be provided more willingly.
SOURCES OF REVENUE
The School Guidance Program derives its revenues
primarily through Guidance and Testing Fees.
 Guidance Fees – Most schools charge a
Guidance Fee as part of the miscellaneous
fees of the students. Because of the
regulation on tuition fee increases, many
schools are not able to adjust their fees,
salaries, and other items on the budget in
accordance with the requirements of
inflation.
 Application Fees – Some schools collect
Application Fees from prospective enrollees.
Since personnel, testing materials and
supplies, and time are used in screening
applicants for admission, a percentage of the
application fee is remitted to the Guidance
budget.
 Testing Fees – Some academic institutions
have veered away from directly testing their
students by employing the services of testing
centers like the Center for Educational
Measurement and the Asian Psychological
Services and Assessment Corporation.
Those schools charge their students a
separate testing fee or draw from the
Guidance Fee. Since both testing agencies
administer, correct, summarize, and interpret
tests and conduct related research on them,
savings are made on Guidance resources and
the school does not accumulate test
materials over the years.
Some Schools that do not employ external
testing agencies also charge a separate
Testing Fee.
OPERATIONAL EXPENSES
1. Salaries – In some schools the salaries of the
faculty and the Guidance Counselors are at
par with one another. In other schools, the
salaries of counselors are slightly lower.
Psychometrician and researchers usually
receive a slightly lower salary than
counselors. Secretaries are generally paid
according to the Plantilla for office
personnel.
2. Testing Activities – Test materials are very
expensive, especially for the lower grade
levels, as responses are placed in the test
booklets themselves, thus rendering tests
non-reusable. In most cases, a set of 25
booklets, answer and profile sheets, with
scoring stencil, manual of administration
and interpretation and information on test
development and norming, will cost at least
PhP30,000.00. Since tests are not supposed
to be reproduced without the publisher’s
permission, the original copies have to be
made available for all test takers.
3. Honoraria – for resource persons.
4. Professional Development Activities – for
conventions, workshops, seminars.
5. Production and reproduction of handouts or
announcements
6. Individual Inventory forms and folders
7. Books, pamphlets, magazines, brochures
and other printed materials
8. Films and audio materials for seminars,
workshops or Classroom or Homeroom
Guidance
9. Materials for research
10. Office Supplies – paper, ball pens, markers,
pencils, chalk, crayons, paper clips and
staple wires, etc.
11. Provisions for internet access
12. Computer software and licenses, discs, and
printer cartridge
 13. Communication expenses for mailed 1. Electricity and water
materials 2. Janitorial services
14. Transportation expenses for home visits and
purchase of materials Since it is Guidance Director who knows what
15. Snacks and lunch for resource persons is needed, it is important that he/she knows how
16. Decorations, curtains/blinds much money is allocated for Guidance Program
17. Repair and maintenance of equipment operations. In this way, he/she can apportion the
18. Miscellaneous expenses money in coordination with the Guidance Staff.
Priorities should be set. Should the funds be too
Capital Expenditures meager even for the essentials, the Guidance
Director should make representations to the
1. Computers and printers – Computer units management or administration for a bigger
and printers budget. The rationale for the request must be
2. Cabinets, shelves, drawers, tables and presented convincingly, and must be
chairs, bulletin boards accompanied by evidence of Guidance Program
3. Filing cabinets usefulness.
4. Overhead projector, video and audio player,
and preferably, multimedia player for If internal funds are not available, the Guidance
workshops and seminars Personnel can work with the Parents
5. Air-conditioning units and/or electric fans Association, or coordinate with socio-civic
organizations for funding or providing needed
Utilities resource speakers and materials. Economizing
These are contributions to be made to the school’s on materials – e.g., by recycling – is always an
indirect expenses. option

Group 6 Members:

 Jonalyn Palcon: Facilities|Counselor’s Room/ Guidance Director’s Room|Psychometrician’s Room|Researcher’s

Room|Consultant’s Room
 Aliza Reyes: Secretary’s Room|Multipurpose Room|Waiting Area
 Vivian Reyes: Storage Areas|Location|Appearance
 Donabel Sales: Budget|Sources of Revenue|Utilities