Learner support as communication: From service culture to (eco)systems in open, distance, and digital education (ODDE)

Learner support has a solid theoretical background as one of the crucial elements in higher education systems and operations. The vast literature on student retention and support systems highlights the fact that students need support due to both external and internal conditions throughout their learning cycle. Support becomes more critical in distributed learning as the learner is detached from the physical learning environment and needs to be self-regulated to progress in open and distance education settings. With digitalization in higher education, conventional higher education institutions face similar challenges in adapting their support systems and practices to suit the emerging/changing digital environments in which their students learn. To investigate the understanding and praxis of support in three institutions in open, distance, and digital education settings, this study interviewed core stakeholders, namely, faculty members, support service personnel, and students from the Open University in the UK, the FernUniversität in Hagen (Germany), and Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany). The findings revealed that learner support extends beyond services; it is a communicative process that identifies needs, fosters connections among stakeholders, empowers students, and employs both human and non-human resources. Future research should further explore the application of the proposed conceptual model to assess the strengths and needs of learner support systems to provide more insight into the ongoing systems.