Counseling

Arul Anandar College (AAC) (Autonomous) goes beyond the walls of the classroom – beyond the traditional teaching-learning - to foster “unity of Heart, Mind and Soul: Developing the whole person and integrating all aspects of our lives.” With this integral formation in mind, and in line with the values and traditions of the Society of Jesus, AAC is committed to offering Counselling Services.

Counselling and Mentoring programmes at AAC are geared towards the development of wholistic persons – personal and professional development along with acquiring knowledge and skills, and positivity and optimism in life. Their prime objective is to enable all the students to overcome the hurdles in the process of learning, emotional imbalance and social disabilities. Since a considerable number of students at AAC are from rural backgrounds, AAC takes extra care in mentoring the students who are academically, socially and economically underprivileged.

Counselling Services are offered by professional counsellors and competent faculty members who focus on the Jesuit value of ‘Cura Personalis’, which means “Care for the individual person”. Each student is ‘respected as a child of God’. The counsellors take genuine efforts in motivating and guiding the students to develop ‘critical thinking and commitment to responsible action‘.

Mentor Care

Mentor Care forms an integral part of the Counselling Services at AAC. Faculty members who take the role of mentors exemplify the ‘Magis’, the Jesuit value of striving for excellence. They cater to the felt needs of mentees of their respective departments by holding periodic meetings. They motivate the mentees by monitoring their academic progress and suggesting ways to perform better. If, in case, the students require mental health support, the mentor takes the initiative to refer the wards to the Counsellors. In all, the mentors form a firm base and offer genuine support to students who seek guidance for a right career, higher education or a successful living.

AAC wants to transform students into persons, robust in character, ‘Men and Women for others’ who will reach out to the poor and the marginalized. The Counselling Services Team at AAC gears all its activities to facilitate the students and the staff to share their gifts and sharpen their sense of justice to create a New Aspirational India.

Features

i. Gives a sense of purpose

ii. Develops inter-personal skills and intellectual competence

iii. Causes mutual acceptance of social and religious differences

iv. Forms each student towards his/her moral, ethical and spiritual maturity

Strategies

i. Each mentor takes care of 20 students.

ii. Each mentor spends an hour per month with a student

iii. Individual and group contacts

iv. Monthly and periodical contacts

v. Mentor’s and student’s records are maintained separately