“Support” is a word that is sometimes considered teaching-adjacent, rather than central to course design and pedagogy. For example, academic support centers and support services like advising, career development, counseling, financial services are often considered separate from the faculty work of teaching and learning.
Student support is an academic issue. Research shows that we can improve persistence if we, as faculty, learn more about how to support our students when they struggle academically and when they struggle to stay focused on their studies due to challenges that are not conventionally considered “academic.” If we use that knowledge to inform our teaching practice, we can ensure that students can persist even when they face hurdles.