Open, distance and elearning institutions of higher education often face ethical issues relating to their distinctive mission, especially where the core role is to open educational opportunities to under-represented groups while maintaining academic standards. Openness is surely a "good thing"; and yet there are often tensions relating to government policies, recruitment, access to technology, curriculum, teaching and student support that sometimes involve uncomfortable trade-offs. We consider some ethical aspects relating to learner support in the broadest sense, drawing in particular on the experience of The Open University, United Kingdom.