Counselling and advising services provided by colleges and institutes are frequently used by immigrant students. Many institutions have enhanced their services for immigrants through services provided through Learning Centres, and innovative mentor or peer helper, and language partner programs as described below. Depending on the needs of the immigrant students, colleges and institutes are also referring students to the services of immigrant settlement organizations within their communities for additional counseling and integration support.

Some interesting examples of counseling and advising services provided by colleges and institutes to immigrant learners are outlined below.

• At Camosun College in Victoria immigrants learners have access to a Multicultural Counselor to whom students are referred if they are having difficulties. This counselor has a relationship with one of the community agencies that has settlement counselors. If a problem seems like it would be better dealt with in that forum then immigrant students are referred to one of these agencies.
• Centennial College in Toronto confirmed that college counseling services are also very cognizant of the issues immigrants face as they enter the college system and these issues are very much part of the mainstream of what the college offers through those services. In order to meet specific needs, workshops are sometimes organized that might be particularly pertinent to immigrant learners.
• At Douglas College immigrants typically make up approximately two thirds of the students who access regular counseling and academic and advising services. Immigrant students have full access to the Learning Centre where two thirds to three quarters of the users are English Second Language speakers. According to the coordinator of the Learning Centre, they receive support not just with English, but accounting, business math, and economics. Sometimes they need help because of their limited English or knowledge of the culture. Other times they need help because they do not have sufficient background knowledge for the courses.
• George Brown College has established a new service called Access Advising that replaces guidance counselors. The team of advisors work with students who have any kind of barrier, for example they lack credits, need PLAR, want to change careers, have been regretted, and work one on one with these individuals to help them to get into college. This service began in April 2003, and from May to September 2003 the college assisted 800 students. Although no specific numbers are available on the number of immigrant students, given the service area of George Brown College, a significant percentage of those were immigrants.
• Red River College has developed some innovative counseling services:
  • First, through the creation of the Student and Community Advisor – Diversity and Inclusive Initiatives Office, that has multiple roles including a specific mandate to support immigrant learners through assessment processes, to provide counseling, to work cooperatively with immigrant service agencies and the provincial government immigration department.
  • The college also currently offers a Cultural Exchange Mentor Program where immigrant students are matched with Canadian students to enhance both student’ cultural knowledge and to provide immigrant students with a Canadian mentor.
  • For immigrant students in Career Focused programs, higher level free workshops are offered such as Advanced Pronunciation; Test Taking for ESL students; Creative Writing, etc.
• Vancouver Community College’s Peer Helper Program helps to enhance the counseling services provided for immigrants. Peer Helpers are students who are trained by the counseling department to provide specialized counseling services to immigrants in their mother tongue, such as assistance with translation, referrals and applications.