Putting consulting services into practice.

On August 7, 2012, the Consulting and Training Support Team (CASA) held its first meeting with 18 lecturers – the official collaborators – to discuss issues related to the specific activities of CASA and the collaborator team in the new academic year.At this meeting, most speakers agreed that while the university's student counseling and support services for academics and research have improved, they still fall short of expectations. This stems from several factors: the lack of proactiveness from academic advisors and lecturers, and the students' lack of initiative. Furthermore, academic advisors' counseling primarily focuses on training policies and guidelines, and course completion schedules. Counseling on skills, learning methods, research, and academic matters, as well as career and professional orientation, remains largely neglected. In this context, the establishment of CASA is expected to make these activities regular, professional, and integrated throughout the university, helping students systematize their knowledge and skills and proactively access resources to support their studies and research. Associate Professor Dr. Do Thu Ha (Faculty of Oriental Studies) stated: the CASA model is very common and useful in universities around the world. Foreign universities truly consider students as the center of the teaching and learning process; therefore, they understand students' needs very well and focus on guiding them in the necessary skills for learning and research. From how to write an application to teamwork skills, work planning, research methods, etc. However, the functions and responsibilities of the CASA volunteer team need to be clearly distinguished from those of the academic advisor team to avoid overlapping. Dr. Tran Thi Hanh (Faculty of Philosophy) reflected on the reality that many student counseling and support activities have been implemented in various units, but the results are not high due to impractical methods, students lacking awareness and initiative in their studies, and some lecturers working in a formalistic and perfunctory manner. Even the current academic counseling team is not fulfilling its functions and duties properly and effectively, failing to provide adequate support to students. Therefore, Dr. Tran Hong Hanh believes that CASA needs to conduct a specific assessment of the actual needs of students and faculty to ensure truly effective and substantive counseling activities, avoiding superficial and formal approaches. Students in each faculty have their own characteristics and needs, so CASA needs to implement specific counseling activities. Also from the perspective of work efficiency, Ms. Nguyen Anh Thu (Faculty of Management Science) emphasized that CASA needs a clear plan with a specific roadmap and highly realistic activities that are manageable in each stage. Ms. Nguyen Anh Thu also suggested that in the first and second semesters of the 2012-2013 academic year, CASA could immediately implement activities to help new students familiarize themselves with the university environment, support academic writing skills, or support research skills. Mr. Dinh Viet Hai (Training Department) affirmed that the University currently has a strong policy and high determination to realize the goal of innovating teaching and learning methods and improving the quality of training. This context is very favorable for the development of CASA. However, for CASA's consulting activities to be effective and substantial, the lecturers and collaborators themselves need to establish their own awareness and value system: to be excellent lecturers and also effective consultants and supporters to help students study well. Only then will the lecturers and collaborators be proactive, positive, and responsible in this work, working together to contribute to improving the quality of training at the University.