In this article, the author explores the experiences of teaching staff on the conflicts and contradictions of working in a mass higher education system in the UK. The author conducted an in-depth interview with members of staff working in the area of the social sciences at different universities in the UK. She focuses on how her interview respondents described the students they have within their classes, the ways in which they go about teaching them, and how they support them. The interviews showed very different understandings about what and how much support the academic is expected to provide. Some members of staff are very sure about what support they are expected to deliver. The author concludes by observing that most staff adopt new ways of working and shift away from the highly personalized approach to teaching, where tutors regularly meet their students individually face-to-face and can tailor courses to suit particular student interests, to one where courses are defined and documented long before the student has enrolled.