What does this research mean for the field?

A centralized university consulting center with an information core and specialized departments, accessible via multiple channels and languages, is needed to effectively address students' problems that existing bureaucratic structures fail to solve. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to identify and address students' problems within the contemporary university infrastructure.

November 25, 2019Open Access

Social dimension of students’ problems under the development of the contemporary university infrastructure

Puntos clave

The study aims to identify and address students' problems within the contemporary university infrastructure.
Conducted four focus groups with students from different courses and countries at RUDN University.
Utilized projective techniques and group discussions to inform the design of a consulting center model.
Identified key departments and employee qualities for the proposed model of the consulting center.
Proposed consulting center includes an information department, social support, and residence department.
Students prefer to receive information via online channels, phone calls, and in-person visits.
Existing problem-solving units are ineffective due to bureaucratic barriers, underscoring the need for a revised model.

Resumen

Improving the quality of students’ life is an important task for every university and the educational system as a whole, which fits into the aims of the studies of the social dimension of students’ life. To solve this task, the study of students’ problems is a priority, while the second step can be the creation of university structures that would solve these problems effectively. The article presents an ideal model of the consulting center that can solve such problems. The authors conducted four focus groups in the RUDN University with students of different courses from different countries, and used projective techniques and group discussions to identify models of the consulting center, departments that it should consist of, and qualities of employees working in these departments. The general model of the consulting center includes an information department as its ‘core’ responsible for the distribution of students’ requests to necessary departments; IT department (site, corporate mail, etc.); department of social support (scholarships, financial support, etc.); residence department (registration, dormitory, etc.); department of science and education (grants, competitions, etc.); student committee (leisure). The students prefer to receive all necessary information online, by phone and also in person. The preferred social network for information is Facebook - for foreigners - and VK (Vkontakte) - for Russian students. The students also mentioned three main languages for distribution of information - Russian, English and Chinese. The focus-groups allowed to find out that although some necessary units designed to solve students’ problems already exist, they do not actually solve them due to bureaucratic or other reasons. Therefore, the proposed model of the consulting center can be an effective management solution ‘from the bottom’ that would help the university to communicate with students and to understand their real needs.

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