MyCounselor: Guidance and Counseling Support System
for Higher Education Institute in the Philippines
Damie Lee
School of Information Technology
Mapua University Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
damie0423@gmail.com
Ralph Matthew P. Caparas
School of Information Technology
Mapua University Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
rmpcaparas@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Guidance and counselling enhance discipline and must continue
to be provided to students whenever possible. These are the
primary tasks of school counselors however, due to multiple
assignments counselors tend to attend to several school activities.
The study aims to develop a Guidance and Counseling Support
System for a Higher Education Institution in the Philippines that
will provide aid for the Guidance Counselors in improving their
current processes, able to manage the students’ needs and
schedule for counseling. This system will also help the counselors
in making decisions through analytical reports that the system can
be generated.
CCS Concepts
• Information systems➝Information Systems
Applications➝ Decision Support Systems
Keywords
Guidance and counselling, DSS, Knowledge Management,
Counsellors
1. INTRODUCTION
School counselors serve a very significant roles in educational
institutions as they apply cognitive, affective, behavioral, and
systemic intervention strategies to ensure that mentally healthy
individuals can fully improve themselves in all of the personal,
social, academic, and vocational domains. [1] Counseling may be
a major task in the Students Programs and Services because it
deals mainly with college students’ issues which include social
relationships, family, academic and financial--‐ related matters.
Without the appropriate knowledge and understanding of the
needs and characteristics of the students, counselors may not
know how to contribute to their academic, social and personal
development Furthermore, the counselor’s role is to provide ways
for students to examine their thoughts, feelings and actions and
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ICSEB 2019, December 9–11, 2019, TOKYO, Japan
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ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-7649-5/19/12…$15.00
https://doi.org/10.1145/3374549.3374578
1
Jayson Kenn P. Julian
School of Information Technology
Mapua University Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
dev- info@jkpjulian.com
Grace Lorraine D. Intal
Mapua University Muralla St., Intramuros Manila
Philippines 1002
+632475000
gldintal@mapua.edu.ph
eventually arrive at solutions best for them. [2]
According to the American School Health Association, the
maximum recommended student/counselor ratio is 250:1 [3] In
the Philippines, Commission on Higher Education Memorandum
Order (CMO) No. 9 section 14 contains "Enhanced Policies and
Guidelines on student Affairs and Services" and emphasizes that
the services offered by professional guidance counselors in
improving the students' potential to the fullest has an acceptable
ratio of counselor to student population of at least 1:1000.
Guidance Counselors in Metro Manila, Philippines were
frequently conducting student’s appraisal and counseling which is
commonly done using paper- based and face to face method. It is
also stated that the primary source of guidance-related information
were print-based, but few also cited the Internet. [4]
Currently, the Guidance and Counseling (CGC) department of the
Higher Education Institution (HEI) has 9 counsellors attending to
more than 10,000 students. Thus the counselor to student ratio is
about 1:1100. These counselors are tasked to administer
intelligence tests as part of the entrance examination, process the
results and prepare reports. Upon enrollment they provide the
students with psychological and personality tests and these series
of tests are provided every year. Enrollment takes place four times
in a year because the HEI is on a quarterly mode. Before
graduation, CGC provides exit and critical examinations as well.
Moreover, these counselors will have to attend to different
concerns of the students when counselling is needed. But with the
current numbers of counselors, there is a challenge of doing face
to face counseling to those 1100 students. Also there are limited
counseling schedules and there is also difficulty in monitoring the
counseling activities done because CGC does not have a better
information system.
1.1 Objective of the Study
The study aims to develop a prototype of the guidance and
support system (MyCounselor) that will:
 enable the students and counselors to communicate
online through a secured messaging platform and will
also serve as an online reservation system for
scheduled counseling;
 keep track on the progress of the student and
assessment of the counselor assigned.
 generate reports of the cases and counseling results
with graphs and charts helping the counselors to
evaluate the development of a student :
2. METHOD
2.1 Assessment of the Current Processes of
CGC
During enrollment period, the academic entrance examination
which includes intelligence testing as prescribed by accreditation
agencies for the guidance and counseling offices in the higher
education institutions is being administered to the students. When
students passed the requirements, they proceed to enrollment
process during which the admissions/registrar’s
office encodes the student’s information into the system and the
guidance office takes over to assess the incoming freshmen with a
series of psychological examinations and interview. This process
of psychological examinations and counseling is routinely done
each year to check if there are any progress or any change in
students development and socio-emotional well-being. As part of
students’ requirement to graduate they need to undergo exit and
critical examination, the purpose is to identify the progress of the
student since the time they enroll until graduation. Moreover,
counselors conduct intake interviews which is part of the
counseling process. Results of the examination and counseling are
called ‘outcomes’. Outcomes can either be good or indifferent.
With indifferent results series of guidance and counseling is
important and the counselor must notify the student.
2.2 Weaknesses of the Current Processes
The counselor has to calculate for each test and evaluate interview
results which consume a lot of time. Reservation process is also
problem among counselors and students because students cannot
schedule an appointment with the office if the counselor has a
meeting or an event and making schedule can only be done during
work hours. With this, students opted not have the counseling
anymore. Another problem is on student notification. When the
counselor needs to search for a student who has family or
personal issues, the counselor would check their record from
excel or interview paper. And to inform the student, the counselor
should find the class schedule or the student will have ‘block’
status in ID system to inform him that he needs to visit the CGC.
Lastly, records of the counseling activities are recorded manually
per student file, thus updating and monitoring is quite difficult.
2.3 Design of the Proposed Processes
MyCounselor system will have administrator, counselor, and
student accounts. All progress of the students’ examinations and
counseling either online or though messaging or actual
counselling sessions will be recorded to the counselor’s note
module. The administrator of the system can create student
accounts wherein the database is extracted from the University
Database. Also, the admin users can monitor system status and
manage student and counselor accounts such as creating, reading,
updating, and deleting their data. The counselor can view
assigned student profiles which are segregated by their program
in the school. Counselors have the function to make counseling
appointments and accepting counseling reservation requests. They
can immediately contact the student and can also leave counselor
notes to update the students of any information. Students can view
and access their student profile and can request schedule for
counseling by using the reservation function that will notify the
guidance counselor for the reservation request and generate
confirmation upon the availability of the student and counselor.
The information inside the system can generate reports useful for
the counselors.
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2.4 System Architecture
Delivering guidance and counseling such as in the form of forum,
electronic discussion and retrieval of important student
information can be achieved through the internet either in urban
or rural setting [5]. Administrator, counselors, and students can
access through mobile (mobile responsive) and PC (web
application). In order for the users to access it they must be
connected to the internet since the system will be uploaded in an
online server. Every data that the users will access will be saved
in a database and can be retrieved for later use. Administrator
saves user data, while counselor saves student report and
counseling data (refer to Figure 1).
Figure 1. System architecture
3. REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES
Decision Support System
In the study “Development of a Web-based Intelligent Career
Guidance System for Pre-tertiary Science Students in Nigeria”,
some limitations of the manual approach to guidance and
counseling are non-availability, scarcity, non-accessibility,
professionalism and commitment. In addition, students do not
have the same level of intelligence, understanding,
comprehension, knowledge of mathematical concepts, interest in
the chosen field, and past academic record. Decision-making
support system helps in making effective decisions [6]
Visual Analytic Reports
Through utilization of information and communication
technology (ICT), the Guidance and Counseling Information
Support System could pave way for the development of systems
that will help in the information storage of guidance counselors.
The online database management system enables to manage and
track records for convenient use. The limitation of this system is
that it only analyzes record. Analyzed record/data will support the
counselors to make informed decisions. [7] Visual representations
could help in expediting data support and decision-making
process since counselors can quickly perceive the salient aspects
of available data. Also, data, combined with visualization, could
provide analysis and quantitative overview of large and complex
data sets in order to produce a summary [8] Instead of
exhaustively looking into tables to identify data characteristics,
the user is able to see, explore, and understand a large amount of
information by using visualization techniques [9]
Knowledge Management
Knowledge management provides a means to capture and store an
organization’s data while individuals and teams generate the
knowledge for the organization - the organizational intelligence.
Organizations in every area are striving for new processes,
methods, frameworks, and best practices to better understand and
leverage their most important human resource – knowledge.
Teams are one such strategy that allows companies to
successfully leverage human capital and intellect, meeting
customer demands in a competitive global environment.
Knowledge management and information systems often ignore
the complex and nested nature of team knowledge acquisition and
sharing. This complex system of team knowledge management
can benefit greatly from the capability of information technology
systems that leverage the learning and performance complexities
of teams. This is a rich area of research that leverages theories and
frameworks from knowledge management, information science,
human resource development, psychology and management
toward the goal of learning and
performance innovation for the individual, team, and
organization[10]
systems interaction, such as login, adding of users and error
detection, for a developer, using telescope would make
maintenance and management easier as it detect where and when
did the issue of the system error occurs, what preventive measures
the technical support of the system can do during process failure.
Schedule Management Module
This module will enable the students to request for counseling
schedule while the counselor can accept the schedule and set the
schedule in the calendar.

4. RESULTS
4.1 MyConselor’s Modules
The system has the following modules: (1) User Management,
Program Manager (3)) Schedule Management, (4) Student Cases
Ticket Management, and (6) Graphical Visualization & Report
Generation.
User Management Module
The User Management works with administrative privileged.
Figure 3. Counselor’s
Administrators has the access to control the restrictions with the
system depending on the type of user, allowing the said users to Student Cases Ticket Management
have BREAD (Browse, Read, Edit, Add, Delete) functionalities Upon student verification, a needs analysis survey (refer to Figure
over the modules. Students Information is injected in a secured 4) will be shown by the system. The screen shows the common
Google Sheet API where it can only be accessed by the problems that the student maybe encountering such as weight
Administrator, this process doesn’t need to inject data inside the problem, height problem, being sickly, difficulty in making
database, this allows a secured transfer as the Google Sheet API is decisions, identity crisis, anxiety, etc. Answers will be
updated so does database inside the system, information inside the categorized by the system based on its severity. This functionality
system can’t be manipulated because the data gathering process to will also trigger the urgency of the counseling. If the counselor
populate the google sheet is through google forms, a link given to finds the problem to be critical, a ticket will be prepared by the
the registrar’s office where they will place a station for incoming counselor for series of counseling.
students must fill in thus handling the data for authenticity, a
verification email will be sent on the student’s email account and
once the student is verified then they will have access to the
system. Figure 2 shows the MyCounselor log-in screen.

Figure 4. Needs analysis survey

Figure 2. Log-in screen
Program Manager Module
Allows administrator/director user type to assign a specific
counselor to a specific program, this filters the students handled
by a counselor based on the program it is currently enrolled. It
also allows administrator to filter the IP accessing the system, this
also allows administrator to change the password of all users for
maintenance purposes. The system also includes a Chat API
where counselors and students can communicate through social
media such as Messenger. An API called Telescope logs all of
Graphical Visualization & Report Generation
Some of the reports that the system can generate are as follows:
Severity Analysis (Figure5 ) which allows the counselors to
visualize the number of cases they handle, it is divided into 6
categories: (1) Open, (2) On-Going, (3) High, (4) Urgent, (5)
Critical, (6) Close. Open tickets are cases created during needs
analysis that needs further assessment before classifying it into an
higher-tier severity, On-going tickets are cases that needs
additional time for student/s to consult with their counselors, High
tickets are classifications that needs to be look thoroughly
because this cases can either be an urgent matter or critical,
Urgent Cases are tickets that needs further follow up like in on-

3
going cases but this needs to have constant assessment preventing fully functional and acceptable to its users- the counselors and
it to escalate to a critical level, Critical Level Tickets are the most students. Summary per test is shown below.
important and can either be handled by a third-party institutions or
the director must handle it personally, these cases should be Table 1. Summary of counselor account module unit test
handled as soon as possible to prevent issues larger than the result
services handled by the Guidance and Counseling Office for the
Test Case Description Initial Final Unit
Higher Education Institutions.
ID Unit Testing
Testing
UserMgt_Co Tests the user 4 passed 5 passed
unselor management 1 failed 0 failed
process for the
account of
Counselor
Reservation Tests the 3 passed 3
_Counselor reservation 0 failed passe
system process d 0 failed

for the account

of Counselor
Ticketing_ Tests the 0 passed 2 passed
Counselor ticketing 2 failed 0 failed
management
process for the
Figure 5. Severity analysis report
account of
Needs Analysis report which contains breakdown of the cases into Counselor
specific student needs, and shows the frequency of each problem Reports_ Tests the graphic 1 passed 2 passed
(Figure 6). Knowing which problems frequently encountered will Counselor report process 1 failed 0 failed
help the counselors in providing effective solutions. The system for the account
also stores different advises made by the counselors which can of Counselor
also be evaluated in terms of effectiveness and this may also be
used as references to future cases. This is a functionality of Table 2. Summary of student account module unit test result
knowledge management system because sharing of ideas enhances
knowledge and experience in making decision and problem Test Case Description Initial Final Unit
solving. ID Unit Testing
Testing
Reports are automatically generated by the system in PDF file UserMgt_ Tests the user 1 passed 3 passed
format, breakdowns all analysis into a single file created for the Student management 2 failed 0 failed
purpose to be required in the reports by the Guidance and process for the
Counseling Office. account of
Counselor
Reservation Tests the 1 passed 2 passed
_Student reservation 1 failed 0 failed
system process
for the account
of Student
Ticketing_ Tests the 0 passed 1 passed
Student ticketing 1 failed 0 failed
management
process for the
account of
Student

Figure 6. Needs analysis report
4.2 System Testing
The proponents have used the iterative and increment Approach
for developing the MyCounselor system, in which the system
undergone through a series of repeated cycles until the system is
5. CONCLUSION
The proponents have developed a prototype and named the
application MyCounselor. This system is projected to be used by
different higher education institutions as it focuses to aid the
guidance counselors with their decision making process, and
allows them to navigate through the system in searching for
similar cases that might help a student with the same issues. This
improves the previous process of the Center for Guidance and
Counseling in managing the students and their specific cases
without the risk of mishandling any cases by human error. The
application may be improved further by developing it to be a

4
mobile application for Android and IoS, allowing students to use
the services that MyCounselor offers in just one click using their
mobile devices.
6. REFERENCES
[1] Yuksal-Sahin, F. School counselor’s assessment of the
psychological counseling and guidance services they offer at
their schools.2012 Procedia - Social and Behavioral
Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) 327 – 339
[2] Distajo, LF. Counseling needs of college students and
guidance program of Harris Memorial College. Harris
Journal of Education. 2013
[3] Hamid Hassan, A. E. (2015). Effectiveness of School
Counseling program Based on counseling Activities to
Support Mental Health among Basic School Pupils. 3, 393-
400. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
[4] Vinluan, Lorelei R.(2011). The Use of ICT in School
Guidance: Attitudes and Practices of Guidance Counselors in
Metro Manila, the Philippines. International Journal for the
Advancement of Counselling.International Journal for the
Advancement of Counselling, 33(1), 22–36
[5] Oraegbunam, Ngozi M. (2009). Applying Information and
Communication Technology in Counseling Practice.
Retrievedfromhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/artic
le/pii/S18 77042809003127
[6] A, A. K., A, B. I., M, K. B., & E, I. O. (2017). Development
of a Web-based Intelligent Career Guidance System for Pre-
Tertiary Science Students in Nigeria.
[7] Tuazon, J. L., & Tacuban, T. N. (2017). Guidance and
Counseling Information Support System. Guidance and
Counseling Information Support System, 5, 9-15. Retrieved
December 14, 2018.
[8] Aguilar, D. A., Guerrero, C. S., Sanchez, R. T., & Penalvo,
F. G. (n.d.). Visual analytics to support e-learning.
[9] Intal. GLD. 2018 Design and development of a decision
support system with visual analytics to improve MRT
maintenance operations. International Conference on
Industrial Engineering and Operations Management
[10] "Teams as a Process for Knowledge Management", Journal
of Knowledge Management, Vol. 16 Iss: 6, Retrieved from
http//sageprofessor.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/turner20
12_teams-km-emerald-e-cite.pd