Student Support in Higher Education: Understandings, Implications and Challenges

This paper attempts to offer a critical examination of the notion of student support in higher education in the UK. It compares some of the key ways in which student support is understood across the sector and contrasts a humanistic view with understandings driven more by instrumental and therapeutic concerns. The possible risks and effects that could be associated with these differing understandings are also examined. Against this background, consideration is additionally afforded to international students studying at UK universities. Finally, the paper identifies a number of questions worthy of institutional consideration.