Guidance Services in Spanish Universities

Abstract

Since the 80s, higher education in Spain hasundergone important modifications such asgreater autonomy, expansion in the number ofstudents and the introduction of more flexibleprogrammes. In this context, guidance serviceshave proliferated in an unstructured way. Thispaper presents a description of guidanceservices in Spanish universities and the maininnovations they have developed. Two sources ofinformation have been used: institutionalwebsites; and telephone interviews to those incharge of guidance services at Spanishuniversities. The study concludes that guidanceservices are in a dynamic situation,characterised by the introduction ofinnovations at some universities in order to bemore cost-effective and to adapt to a morevaried student population. However, the lack ofa legislative framework for guidance, and thelimited interest shown by institutionalauthorities, indicate the necessity of debatingthe importance given to guidance services andtheir impact on quality levels within thehigher education system.