ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the problems of distance students, explores the needs of students in the face of these problems and shows some ways of meeting these needs. It outlines some problems encountered in providing support for student learning. Students in distance-learning systems face not only the problems of conventional students, but also those generated by the system itself. All distance students at some time experience problems in managing their own learning effectively, for example in scheduling and using time efficiently, and in developing adequate reading and comprehension skills to enable them to make use of what they read and to cope with the volume of reading required. In a distance-learning system the student is more likely to experience isolation, even alienation, from the institution. In a number of distance-learning systems, support services are built on the concept of local centres. A key figure in most support systems is the tutor. Tutoring appears to mean different things in different distance-learning systems.
