ABSTRACT

conventional Institutions will become less able to rely on recruiting large numbers of new students in the hope that some will get through, and will need to develop more sophisticated ways of increasing retention. Student support offers the student some choices and some chance to challenge orthodoxies. If one justification for student support is to help students progress their studies, there is a higher moral imperative that sometimes conflicts with that — assisting students to do what is right for them in whatever situation they are experiencing. The phrenological model offers a way of classifying student support into two main modes: supporting cognitive development, as a result of academic support; and supporting affective and organizational development, through non-academic support. Clearly there are situations where a student support adviser or tutor will have irreconcilable demands. Typically there will be students who are experiencing difficulties - illness, divorce or bereavement - or who are simply struggling with intellectual demands of a course.