The University Senate debated a policy that includes the meaning of “counseling” for long-distance and online students Tuesday.

The policy includes “placement and counseling” among the services provided to students of distance education and Web-based courses, said Susan Harrison, chair of the University Senate.

Counseling Services wants a disclaimer that says it will not do personal counseling online.

“I think we’re on thin ice,” said Katherine Schneider, coordinator of training and a senior psychologist at UW-Eau Claire Counseling Services.

Counseling Services could not guarantee the confidentiality of counseling via e-mail, she said, because someone could hack into it.

Schneider also is concerned about the quality of service.

“Most people would kind of assume that (students) shouldn’t e-mail us that they were suicidal,” Schneider said, “but on the other hand, what if they did? And what if they e-mailed Friday night and I didn’t read that until Monday? That would be horrible.”

She said the disclaimer is important so students know what to expect at the outset.

“We don’t want students turning to us when they’re in some significant amount of distress and thinking they’re going to get something that we can’t ethically give,” she said.

Schneider said the UW System probably did not consider the different types of counseling when it wrote the policy.

“They probably just went down a list of student services and said `we provide this, this and this,” Schneider said.

The system also may think the technology is beyond where it is, she said, because some private enterprises are providing counseling over phone lines or via two-way television.

“But we don’t have either the technology or the knowledge to do that right,” she said.

For example, if someone in Alaska asked advice about child or elder abuse, Schneider said she might not know the exact state laws on mandatory reporting, because it’s difficult to know the laws for all 50 states.

“It’s asking people to do what they can’t ethically or responsibly do,” she said.

The motion was sent back to the technology committee, which will contact the UW System to determine what it meant by “counseling.”