A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

9
Supporting student
learning
David Gosling
INTRODUCTION: LEARNING WITHIN A DIVERSE SECTOR
Not only are there more students in UK higher education than ever before, they are also
more diverse than at any time in the past. Students vary enormously in their financial
status, social class, family circumstances and age; their previous educational experience,
reasons for attending higher education, and aspirations and ambition; their religion,
ethnicity and nationality; their abilities and disabilities and special needs.
Closely connected to these trends towards greater diversity and ‘widening
participation’ is a recognition that the system is recruiting more students who need
significant help if they are to succeed in their studies. Students are increasingly
heterogeneous and have multiple identities which in turn create a multiplicity of learning
needs. We can no longer assume that there is a common understanding by students of
the purposes of higher education or of the nature of studying at higher levels. Many
students come from backgrounds without the cultural capital that would enable them
to have an understanding of the key demands being made on them by their teachers
at the point of entry. This has led to increasing concern about retention rates of students
recruited.
Because students now pay fees (in England at any rate) and take on substantial loans
for the duration of study, they and their families have to make greater financial sacrifices
for higher education. More students are also working, sometimes for many hours per
week, while also pursuing full-time studies. Students are therefore being regarded, and
regard themselves, as consumers of higher education who are entitled to expect good
standards of teaching and support for their studies. Their opinions as consumers are
being collected through the National Student Survey, which is without doubt influencing
the provision of support services in many institutions.
This chapter looks at how universities and colleges can effectively tackle ways of
supporting the learning of students to meet the expectations of students themselves
and improve their chance to stay on and succeed in their chosen studies. It will consider
the role not only of academic staff but of all staff across institutions who support
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