ABSTRACT
The massification and diversification of the student body, the structure and culture of HE, and institutions’ policies and practices can create a number of challenges for the individual student, as well as practitioners, trying to deliver a high-quality student experience. Marketing and recruitment strategies and promises made by institutions may have contributed to the rapid diversification of the student body but understanding student expectations, developing institutional infrastructures and determining the academic and non-academic support requirements of these students at faculty, school and departmental level takes longer to happen. Keeping structures, processes and systems up with the pace of change is a challenge. It is tempting to design solutions that primarily benefit the institution rather than the learning experience or personal support requirements of a diverse student body. If institutional policies and practices are not inclusive then students from some groups are likely to feel alienated and unwelcome, and they will face barriers in obtaining the necessary academic and non-academic assistance to help them succeed in their studies. There are general and specific diversity issues that institutions and practitioners need to consider.
