Online Support Service via Mobile Technology—a Pilot Study at a Higher Education Institution in South Africa

Abstract

This study describes the findings of a pilot study of an online support service via mobile technology using chat facilities at a Higher Education Institution in South Africa. The online support service, accessible via cell phone chat and computer chat facility, augmented a face-to-face counseling service in a Student Affairs Department at a medium size university. The participants were 729 first year students who were part of a voluntary self-select peer support program, (34% male, 66% female). Data were gathered on the numbers and gender of students utilizing the online chat service, the range of presenting concerns and the type of responses provided by the counselor. Key findings indicate that this online support service presented a lower barrier to help seeking behavior for male students, compared to the total gender distribution of the university and more specifically, compared to the gender distribution of student who had utilized the face-to-face counseling during the same year. Issues presented to the online support service were similar to the presenting concerns listed at the face-to-face counseling service of the university.