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Guidance and counselling in higher education

Poland

12.Educational support and guidance

12.6Guidance and counselling in higher education

Last update: 22 June 2022
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Academic guidance

Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce (Law on Higher Education and Science) does not provide for a formal academic counselling and guidance system in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Poland.

(Ustawa z dnia 20 lipca 2018 r. Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce (text in Polish) / Act of 20 July 2018, The Law on Higher Education and Science; Journal of Law 2020, item 85, as subsequently amended)

Counselling and guidance services, understood as advising students (the term referring to first-, second- and long-cycle students) or prospective students about further education, choice of an area of study or another degree or specialism, or in the labour market context, are offered by careers services/ offices (akademickie biura karier) at many HEIs.

Such activities are also often undertaken by student self-government bodies which provide information to new students, for example, on the university’s website. Student self-government bodies and representatives of student organisations operating in HEIs organise meetings and set the dates of consultations on matters of interest to students.

Counselling and guidance for students and doctoral students is provided by officers or units supporting persons with disabilities.

 

Psychological counselling

Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce (Law on Higher Education and Science) does not provide for a formal psychological counselling system for students in Poland.

Nevertheless, many HEIs provide their students with this type of support. Support is offered by psychologists to students and doctoral students in individual face-to-face or online sessions.

Some careers offices in HEIs provide psychological counselling services, also in the context of career planning.

Furthermore, students and doctoral students have access to psychological counselling services at healthcare institutions as part of the national healthcare system.

 

Career guidance

Many HEIs have established careers offices / services to facilitate students’ and graduates’ entry into, and activity on, the labour market.

(Ustawa z dnia 20 kwietnia 2004 r. o promocji zatrudnienia i instytucjach rynku pracy (text in Polish) / Act of 20 April 2004 on the Promotion of Employment and Labour Market Institutions; Journal of Law 2020, items 1409 and 1068)

The responsibilities of careers offices focus on:

  • providing students and graduates with information about the labour market and opportunities for upgrading professional qualifications and skills;
  • collecting and sorting job, internship and practical placement offers, and making them available to students and graduates;
  • keeping a database of job seeking students and graduates;
  • assisting employers in recruiting suitable candidates for job vacancies and practical placements;
  • assisting in active search for work;
  • collaborating with the career information and planning centre at the voivodship (regional) office in order to update and disseminate career-related information.

Careers offices carry out their responsibilities by:

  • providing information about job, internship, practical placement and voluntary service offers;
  • providing career guidance on an individual basis or in a group;
  • tracking graduate careers;
  • organising workshops and training in job seeking methods and preparation for the recruitment process;
  • organising workshops and providing training in soft skills;
  • offering consultations and guidance relating to entrepreneurial skills and self-employment.

Careers offices establish and maintain links with employers through the following activities:

  • assistance in recruiting and selecting candidates to fill job, internship or practical placement vacancies;
  • organisation of meetings involving employers, students, graduates and higher education institution or faculty authorities;
  • organisation of job fairs;
  • organisation of student practical placements, both compulsory and optional;
  • conducting research on employers’ demand for competencies.

The most frequently used methods in career guidance provided by careers offices are:

  • review of application forms and documents;
  • individual or group interviews;
  • mock job interviews;
  • competence testing;
  • coaching;
  • psychological tests;
  • mentoring.

The Committee for University Careers Offices at the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (Konferencja Rektorów Akademickich Szkół Polskich, KRASP, which brings together Rectors of university-type HEIs) has developed recommendations on activities of careers offices.

(Source: website of the Committee for University Careers Offices at KRASP; information available in Polish only)

There are various organisations in Poland which support careers offices in their activities:

  • the Association of Academic Careers Offices;
  • municipal and regional networks;
  • the National Careers Offices Network.

In order to support business activity of their staff, students and doctoral students, HEIs may operate academic entrepreneurship incubators. An academic entrepreneurship incubator may be established as an institutional-level unit or a company. An incubator established as an institutional-level unit operates in accordance with regulations adopted by the senate of an HEI.