It is claimed that Personal Development Planning (PDP) is the only approach to learning in UK higher education that has been actively encouraged through a policy. This paper reviews the background to the development of PDP as policy, under conditions described as the "new moral economy", and the impact of these conditions on contemporary universities in the UK. A variety of approaches to the interpretation and implementation of PDP is considered, drawing upon the published work of a group of professionals from a range of universities, all of whom were participants in a National Teaching Fellowship Scheme. This review of the work of the project, and of PDP in general, also served to inform reflections on the overall purpose of learning at university.