In the UK students are (legally) consumers and have recourse to consumer laws. There is evidence that they are more likely to complain - but perhaps not that the complaints are more likely to be upheld (see link).

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student-complaints-rise-but-fewer-are-justified/412051.article?storycode=412051

Thanks Denis - very helpful.  I found this summary:

Professors are clearly anxious about changing labor relationships. Where not so long ago professors "owned" the tools of scholarship, controlled the labor process, and certified the quality of our product, the process of McDonaldization has torn this relation asunder. Rapidly increasing student faculty ratios, mass classes, and the use of low-wage teaching assistants and adjunct faculty have changed the job of professor (pp. 64 ff.). Faculty are pressured to recruit and retain students seen as "customers" (p. 67) and to compete with private for-profit universities (pp. 71-72). With declining government aid for higher education, students increasingly see education as a form of consumption and demand control, choice, and "edutainment" (p. 64 and elsewhere). This is seen most obviously in "course evaluations" which some of the authors refer to as "customer satisfaction surveys" (pp. 36, 132, 147).

I wonder if there is a counter argument?

This issue has become more important in the USA as state legislatures continue to cut public university funding. A typical response is to adopt a customer-centric philosophy, and adding programs to increase enrollment. Online learning is a good example.  

"My students have paid £9,000 and now they think they own me".

This is not very good situation.

Students must be part of the academic community and must to help create a suitable atmosphere - with own effort and hard work. Purely consumer access of students leads to hell, not to a prosperous university.

However, I think that everyone knows it.

@George - Thanks for this feedback.  Ritzer's book and the article seem to be about the UK.  I personably have not found student demands unreasonable at UOIT in our Master's program, but perhaps it is different at the undergraduate level. 

@William - Is that for all States or certain areas?  Funding and money to drive policy.  What impact does it have on the professors?

@Josef -  You make a good point about community - a customer model doesn't really line up well with creating a collaborative, thriving academic community.  The again, I wonder if students were marginalized in certain ways in the past.  They certainly were when I was in university.  There wasn't much of a community at the undergraduate level - more of a oligarchy ;-)

For bachelor's studies I see a problem.

A considerable part of students is a little "motivated" - and impairs "learning atmosphere" - certainly in our country; it is no good situation.

Students are not consumers! It's not even about "collaborative, thriving academic community" - it's about the concept of education as a public good. Many have written very eloquently about how neoliberalism has become the ideology of our time, and how many people have internalized neoliberal values, which in turn shape their beliefs. In education, it's includes uncritically held assumptions about individual gain (over public good), in conflating student-as-consumer (not to mention citizen-as-consumer, which often takes the form of referring to a citizen as a tax-payer). Henry Giroux and Michael Apple have made massive contributions in teasing all this out. I think it is an important issue for students in our faculties to contemplate!

A few non-academic resources that could be shared with students who erroneously buy into "casino capitalism" (see Giroux's book on neoliberal assaults on higher ed for that term)...

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/cultural-capital/2011/07/students-work-education

http://leftfootforward.org/2014/06/is-it-really-a-good-idea-to-treat-students-as-consumers/

@Laura - If I understand you correctly, you are stating that students aren't consumers based on an ideological argument that education "should be a public good".  However, I wonder what the reality is - what is actually happening.  So you would have to admit that students in some higher education institutions act as if they are consumers - that they have paid their money and they deserve a certain degree of service and maybe more.  It appears some believe that paying money entitles them to the educational rewards.   Then again, maybe I need to back up and ask you what "student as a consumer" means to you?

In the UK students are (legally) consumers and have recourse to consumer laws. There is evidence that they are more likely to complain - but perhaps not that the complaints are more likely to be upheld (see link).

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student-complaints-rise-but-fewer-are-justified/412051.article?storycode=412051

I have shared that article with colleagues working in private universities in Turkey. There was not much of a reaction except for a few. They think our students here in Istanbul do not make such complaints out of kindness or because they actually do not see the professors as the main cause of their problems. And so far the better, it is the private university administration/s that decide on budgets, academic expenses, compensation packages, benefits for graduate students/academics and the like. Don't you agree?

I guess my first impression is not... Students want to get the degree not the service, the benefits, ...etc. Customers would perceive such experience differently.

Yes students are the customers in school business. The school is selling education and student is buying education. The student as the customer and the school as the seller are in the business relationship. Once the student enrolled, she has the right and responsibility as a student-customer. Right and responsibility are inseparable. I encountered grade issues among high school and college students but not in post graduate students.

Lifted from your attached article:

I recalled the student who told me he was disappointed with his low grade because he had “paid so much money”. My answer to this is, "I'm not selling grade and the student is not buying grade out of the tuition fee payment. This is the grade that you gave me based on the results of quizzes, exams, project, etc. I only recorded the grade you made and gave me." The grade must be supported by documents. The students should be kept updated on their academic performance. Are the students aware of the grading system? Assess students' understanding on the grading system and re-orient on the policy related to academic performance evaluation. When a student does not agree with his grade, I ask the student to do the computation of his grade with documents.

Lifted from your attached article:

When one of his students was asked to leave a seminar for not completing the reading, they retorted: “I pay you to teach me what’s in the article, not the other way around.” My reaction to this is find the reason why the student made such statement. Did I communicate the learning objective and outcome of article reading activity clearly? Did I assess their understanding of the learning objective and outcome of the article reading activity? If the answer to these 2 questions is yes then apply the rules that were made known to them. But if the answer is NO, there is something wrong with the teacher, learning objective, content, strategy, and evaluation.

@Thom - Thanks so much for this - I would never have known.  So Laura, in the UK, whether it is ideologically acceptable or not, "students are consumers".  Now whether this actually means something - well Thom's post indicates that the complaints are not often upheld (but I am sure they take a fair bit of time)

@Asli - Very interesting cultural difference here.  Thank you. Not sure that private vs. public makes a difference in Canada though. 

@Emad - I think you are right, but it is how they get the degree that may be an issue.  For example, unreasonable demands on professors times, expectations that they can hand in work at any time, expectations that they can re-do an assignment f they get caught cheating, expectations that they are responded too right away when they send an email, and expectations that they paid x amount of money and they should get their A.  In other words, they are paying for their degree and they expect a certain level of service.

@Florencia - Thank you for your view on this - very informative.  The consumer model may work well if we are talking about students insisting on good quality teaching experiences and I support what you are saying.  If students are complaining or demanding more, there may be something to this.  Professors have a responsibility to teach well, to be effective educators.  If they aren't then students have a right to complain and not just with the year end reviews. There is another article in the Guardian that suggest that academics need to be managed.  A different perspective but relevant to this topic.

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/aug/21/academics-you-need-to-be-managed-its-time-to-accept-that

I would emphasize that my point was narrowly on the legal status of students in the UK. I wouldn't be surprised if the same weren't true in at least a few other countries.

It would be also wrong to thing of consumer status as just about products - education is a service (in the legal sense) rather than a product, but this does seem to be an issue which some students misunderstand.

@Thom - I wonder, though, why this has come to fruition.  Is there a chance that a consumer type approach makes professor more accountable for the quality of education they provide?  Just wondering.

I agree with Thom S Baguley in saying that students are consumers and have recourse to consumer laws. Personally I consider the student as customer or consumer because of the use of money as tool to purchase the products and services and buyer-seller relation exists. However money is not a single requirement in buying and selling relationship. The terms and conditions are the most important in buying and selling relationship. There are rights and responsibilities for both parties, the student customer as buyer and the school as seller. The buying and selling of the degree will not be consummated without full compliance of the requirements existing in the buying and selling relationship. The requirements must be fully and satisfactorily complied.

A student asked, "why is your tuition fee high?" Our tuition fee is high because our school is selling excellence. Our services are expensive because we are selling excellence. Another related question is, "where can you buy quality education?" The existing buyer and seller relation makes the student a customer or consumer.

Similar question is this, "Is education a commodity?" Base on simple definition of commodity as something that is bought and sold, therefore education is a commodity..

Hi Robin, My answer is related to the situation in Norway and my own experience from the university of Oslo. This do not really apply to the norwegian educational system since our students do not normally pay for attending university or colleges. In the very few that take a fee, I really do not know about the students' attitudes. However, from my own experience as teacher at the secondary school, and several discussions with teacher colleagues I have learned that the students at that level act somehow that they own the teachers and can do whatever they had like to. The students do not pay, but they are very clear about their rights as pupils (-and often tend to forget their responsibilities :).

@jAN.  Thanks so much for this reference and your perspective.  So one has to be careful that a student "consumer" attitude does not interfere with learning and the quality if education experience.  It is critical then to understand the parameters or common understanding of expectations.  Paying for something does not, for example, mean that the teacher does the work of summarizing articles for you.  However, it is reasonable that a teach responds to your questions and requests promptly.  Perhaps the consumer mentality can be used excessively or incorrectly by students who are struggling?

In general I don't think there is anything unreasonable about using consumer law as a framework for ensuring good service from education providers, though I think there are areas where consumer law can be unhelpful.

Most of the problems in this context arise from thinking of education as a product rather than a service (and a very particular kind of service in which the opportunity and appropriate environment to learn and develop are provided).

It is also important that students aren't thought of (and don't think of themselves) as just consumers.

Nice summary Thom - Are you in the minority with this opinion though in the UK or was the Guardian just trying to stir things up?  There is a tricky problem here with the idea of a service being provided that requires the consumer to actually participate in a significant manner.  That is unique and I can't think of too many services like that?  Maybe outward bound groups or group therapy?  Usually the service sided is provided and therein lies a potential problem with the consumer metaphor.

We define the students and education variably. The term student as consumer or not consumer is defined  based on our individual perspective.

I agree with Thom. Students as consumers must be protected by the consumer law for ensuring good services in education industry.  I agree that education is a service not a product.

Personally, I define the students as consumers and education as a commodity within the perspective of marketing. This perspective will promote quality and excellence in education because of competitiveness in the market of education industry. Within the perspective of marketing the demands of the student as consumer or customer is not on high grades and not on the degree or diploma to be awarded but rather the demand is the quality and excellence of services to be educated. What will satisfy the demands of the students as consumer is quality and excellence in receiving education services. The universities must meet customers’ demands with satisfaction. Therefore students and education are defined  within the context of marketing. Attached articles that you may find relevant to the posted question.

Driving forces such economics, culture, demography, technology, lifelong learning,  create changes in the macro environment that affect academic systems. It is of vital importance to analyze the market and adapt to the changing macro environment. Thus, I agree with universities for incorporating the vision of students as customers and education as commodity. The universities are responding to change. Resistance to this vision is normal reaction to change. The vision of student as customer and education as commodity that emerged from constant change drives the universities to compete for their market position based on the analysis of customer’s satisfaction. Universities need to consider the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) in order to meet the consumers' needs and demands effectively. These elements in the marketing mix are equally important.

Florencia - Nicely reasoned. SO we clearly have differing opinions on this answers.  Perhaps "consumers of what" is the modifying factor - Not consumers with respect to good grades, but consumers with respect to quality education.  However, there are differing opinions of what that means of course.  I might think that spoon feeding students, especially at a graduate level, is not a a good way to teach.  My students might think otherwise demanding that they paid to be "taught".  Teaching to them might mean summarizing articles, giving them my notes, providing step-by-step explanation. So the amount of scaffolding provided in the "service" is critical.  Another example might be that students might demand a VERY detailed rubric for an assessment however, the instructor might believe that the students should be working some of the details out.  Bottom line - the details are tricky AND it probably depends on what is being taught.

The idea of students as consumers has been around for quite a while now. I first came across this idea in the late 90s when I heard university administrators telling faculty to see our students as customers. The idea being promoted was that customers need to be satisfied with their product, specifically the courses they were taking.

After thinking about this idea and not wanting to subject to the unreasonable whims of the so-called costumer student, I thought about the different kinds of customers my students might be know something about. So, trying to make a point about what students might expect in my class, I started and sometimes still begin each course with a discussion of 2 kinds of customers. I first mentioned the Macy’s customer. This customer, I tell students, pays $100.00 for a sweater and if s/he is not satisfied can bring the item back for a refund. In this case, the customer pays simply has to be satisfied with the item. There is another customer I tell students. This one is a customer who joins 24 Hour Fitness, or another health club. In the health club, the customer pays the fee with the understanding that they will work out and as result become fitter and get into better shape. If the customer doesn’t do his/her part, work out that is, s/he can’t expect to get any results and would be remiss in trying to recoup the money paid for the service. This class, I tell my students does not operate on the Macy’s model of customer satisfaction, but on the 24 Hour Fitness model of customer satisfaction.

In order to benefit from the class, one has to work out—do the reading, participate in class, study, do the assignments-in order to get results. And the results will be determined by how diligently one works out. Students have no problem understanding this idea. And while this does not entirely eliminate students trying to do as little as possible, get a good grade, and claim dissatisfaction when that doesn’t happen, I find it minimizes this behavior.

I’ve shared this approach with several professors new to teaching and most of them tell me that when then use this with their students, it helps.

I don’t spoon feed my post graduate students. Roles and expectations must be communicated clearly. I create a learning environment that will motivate and inspire the students to learn through self directed learning within the course description. Students are also guided by the course syllabus. I don’t make or give notes. In the conduct of self directed learning (SDL) students are given guide questions to make notes. These questions are thought provoking and challenging.

From the course syllabus, students are required to formulate a title of topic for investigation and present the investigation as an article. The article should reflect in-depth analysis of the literature followed by discussion and synthesis. Writing an article develop skills in writing introduction and related literature in research. It is one of the learning experiences to prepare the student for thesis and dissertation writing. The article is formatted in not more than 7 pages 8½” x11”paper size, double-spaced, and font 12. Page number is placed at the center bottom. The required references include 25% textbooks, 25% journals, and 50% researches.

Since most of my post graduate students are working students, I customized the implementation of the course with consideration to the time, place, and pace of the students.

Yes, I agree that these days students are more aware about their rights but they do lag in their duties towards educational system (including teachers). I have heard from my colleagues that students are of the opinion that teachers are getting salary only because they are paying it. Its a fact that they are the real consumers of educational services and the teachers are providing some services to them. But for the survival of a quality educational system, we need to understand the need of the hour and that is the betterment of our system and that too can be achieved by following a participatory approach. Teachers have to be good managers after all.

@Michele – Love the discussion about the two kinds of customers.  The fitness metaphor works really well.  I would add that we, as professors, have to make sure the equipment/club/facilities are in ideal working order to facilitate progress.

@Florencia – I wonder if there are fewer consumer-related issues with graduate and post-graduate students who probably understand what they need to do to succeed at an academic level.

@Jan – You have summarized the discussion nicely – Thank you!

From my perspective, it is a given that we professors have to make sure the equipment/facilities are in working order.  In another discussion on this site about the balance required between hewing to the syllabus  and improvising as required to meet student needs and interests, I weighed in about what I think is the appropriate balance. My response in this discussion focused primarily on student responsibilities because in my current position I have found that too many students expect to get high grades without expending much effort.  This situation is not entirely the students' fault.  It occurs because of the institution's singular focus on student retention that unfortunately often focuses exclusively on giving the students--customers--what they want without attention to what or whether they are learning.  

Earlier in my career,  when I  was on the faculties of more elite universities, this did not seem to be as much a problem as it currently is.  My sense is that this is both a product of the institutional culture and well as the times. 

Robin Holding Kay your posted question is interesting. I will keep threading on your post because this is relevant to my online job in education industry.

There is voluminous literature on consumer-related issues with graduate and post-graduate. Academic performance and Success in education is multi-factorial. There should be a balanced partnership between students and university towards quality education, success, and quality life.  Some students are in the university just to earn the degree, get diploma or certificate without sincerity to learn. For some students they need the degree, diploma, or certificate to get employed. There are several reasons why students are in the university. There are several reasons why student need to study to learn or not to learn.

Hi Robin,

I consider teaching as a passion and profession, Learning is a passion too, but sometimes when money is the dominant factor in an education setting, the mutual respect and admiration of teacher & student which is the essence of a student - teacher relationship goes out of the window!

From my experience at universities in few countries, there do exist a slight difference in perception of  the education system by the students where the education is extremely expensive like in US, UK, Australia, Canada.e.t.c And in case of places like.. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, India, Germany, Belgium e.t.c where the education is not that expensive or infact cheap (in view of the customer learners as they call them in the article) 

Mostly it comes as a stimulus response pattern where both sides play their destructive roles, but sometimes it is onesided where the student is in that teaching-learning situation not due to his own passion or craving for knowledge but due to other compelling factors like..

1. The student aspired to be in one field of study but due to economic or other factors he ended up somewhere else, where he has little interest to learn and is just biting his time!

2. A student who does not indent to work after the studies and he is there to just attach a tag of that university to his name, and has just bought (is how he might think of his studies) admission to that university. 

3. The university system is not student oriented but teacher centered except in tution & fees.

4. When one among a group of students has issues with a teacher, probability is that the student  might need some sitting with a qualified counselor!! On the other hand, when majority of the student group is rebelling against the attitude or action a teacher, there could be a possibility that the teacher also needs an introspection if not counselling!! 

Regards

Robin Holding Kay your posted question is interesting. There is voluminous literature on consumer-related issues with graduate and post-graduate. Academic performance and Success in education is multi-factorial. There should be a balanced partnership between students and university. Some students are in the university just to earn the degree, get diploma or certificate without sincerity to learn. For some students they need the degree, diploma, or certificate to get employed. There are several reasons why students are in the university. There are several reasons why student need to study to learn or not to learn.

@Rathish - Thank you for the reminder about how complicated the issue can be and how their are at least two sides to the story.  You present a number of factors that can come into play.  I will add that one post from Norway suggested that in spite of the low cost of education, students were quite active in advocating for their rights.  I clearly have to read more on this.

@Markovic - I'm not sure what you mean by "we wanted market conditions in higher education" - What "we" are you referring to?  I don't think it is strange for students to have high expectations - In fact I think it is good for education.  That said, if you read the previous posts, the issue gets complicated because students and professors have different ideas about what is "excellent" education.  So the "customer is always right" metaphor doesn't work well.  The type of service provided is unique in some ways.  Then again, in the business world there are all sorts of customers - some reasonable, some not so much.

@Denis - That's quite a response.  I would like to add that, as a director of a graduate program, I am partially responsible for the quality of the teaching in the program.  It is a Masters or Educations/Masters of Arts so we do at least feel we have a reasonable take on what good quality teaching is.  In addition, I have participated in a Tenure & Review committee and have reviewed 40-50 applications.  While I commend you for your teaching awards and/or nominations, my sense is that university teaching is not that good - plain and simple.  Many professors hang on to a lecture-based, death-by-PowerPoint approach AND were never trained to be teachers.  They are simply teaching the way they were taught (minus the text laden PowerPoint's).  In other words, the service is not that good overall.  I am guessing many complaints arise because the quality of the service is, overall, quite poor in some instances.  Not in your case, but we have to be mindful that our own situations do not necessarily represent the larger population.

I have had this issue with some of my students. They feel that if they paid for the class, they paid for a good grade. I have to sit them down and explain that they paid for a service (course instruction) and what they do with that service is not linked to what they paid for. I think it is essential that students understand that they are paying for instruction, not a grade.

@Denis - I believe you have a far more optimist attitude about the quality of teaching in higher education than I do.  The lecture based approach is certainly tried, but rarely tested.  I would say there is a wealth of research to suggest that this approach does not work well, at least in North America. You underlying message that the student is to blame and not the instructor certainly has not been my experience at the graduate level for the majority.  But I digress.  To get back to the topic.  I strongly believe that students should be part of the teaching process, that they should be asked formatively if certain approaches are working well (or not).  Of course we all draw the line at grades which is obvious. 

@Denis - Sounds like you are really doing some good teaching work at University of Huddersfield - that's inspiring.  That's another area of interesting discussion - students as assessors and guidance that they might need.  There is some evidence to suggest that students give high ratings to professors they "like" or to professors who give good grades.  The challenge is - how do you train students to give effective evaluations.  That would be a very interesting study.  Are you game?

@Robin - the whole issue of student evaluations vexes me. Though institutions attach high or semi-high stakes to them, the fact is that they are probably more "symbolic" than accurate measures, as you point out.

This is not a bad summary of the problems: http://cte.rice.edu/blogarchive/2015/07/09/studentevaluations

and the link from that to AAUP's statement: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/10/aaup-committee-survey-data-raise-questions-effectiveness-student-teaching

We can't overcome the impacts of gender bias on evaluations unless we (someday!) manager to overcome gender inequity (I know you know I've shared this before Robin!)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/12/09/gender_bias_in_student_evaluations_professors_of_online_courses_who_present.html

To me, this comes right back to the whole issue of neoliberalism in the academy - especially this rather scary trend of "metrics" to commodify everything. *sigh*

@Laura - I see all the clear problems you have pointed out and I hope we can do more than sigh (smile).  What you seem to be saying is that you don't like course evaluations and metrics to assess quality of teaching (if I have that right).  How do we ensure quality of teaching and abuse which is a huge issue in higher education?  I can only imagine what would happen if professors had no evaluations.  Any ideas?  I know they are tough questions.

@Robin - you asked, "How do we ensure quality of teaching and abuse?" - I guess I would ask if the current system "ensures quality?" If not, why not? If so, how so?

Next, I would want to define what "quality" teaching is, obviously, but I'm not going to attempt that here. However, I think that "quality" in teaching is not a numeric measure.

I think that the problems with the current form of course evaluations are fairly evident, and I am inclined to conclude that we are using the wrong tool for the job. It's not that I have a problem with continuous growth, professional learning and improvement, but the use of "metrics" seems like a poor fit. What about qualitative measures for the qualitative phenomenon of "teaching" - for example, asking students to do a "start >stop>continue" with the instructor can help (though they are notoriously and empirically shown to be bad at judging their own learning!)

I think if there were an easy (or feasible!) answer to this, we might already know what it is. The seismic shift to post-qualitative research may bring us closer to the answer. Don't you think this is a post-quantitative and maybe post-qualitative problem???

@Laura - I don't think the current system based on what you were saying about student feedback, ensures quality at all.  I am not even sure if professors, in general, take the feedback seriously (regardless of the obvious flaws).  I would say one HUGE way to monitor quality is to gather formative feedback from students on a regular basis - non-numeric.

Personally, I don't have a problem with number ratings and in some ways they can be more reliable than qualitative feedback - both are preferable really.  That said, there is a quick tendency to rely solely on the numbers way too much and therein lies one danger

So stop-start-continue can be effective BUT qualitative feedback has its drawbacks because of misinterpretation and not being representative of the group.  I have found myself adjusting things based on one students feedback only to find it doesn't jive with other's students ideas of what are helpful.  Qualitative feedback can also be very seductive depending on the author and powers of persuasion.

I have never heard the terms post-quantitative or post-qualitative.  My personal belief is that is that both types of feedback have considerable value.  I also think the current systems, as crude as it is, does identify bigger problem areas.  I know our recent grad evaluations were quite effective at identifying specific opportunities for growth.

Back to the original question - it does really matter whether the feedback is number of words, students do have a right to good quality education.

@Laura @Robin While I agree that students deserve quality teaching--whatever that is--students have been shown to be biased against women as well as faculty of color.  A recent article that discusses some of the research showing students' bias against women faculty is available in the following article

@Denis - Interesting point about students not being trained as teachers AND I am not quite sure that is what we want.  We want the student's perspective as a learner - from the other side as it word.  We think what we do as teachers works (why would we do it otherwise) but it is good to check that assumption at various points along the way.  So perhaps formative assessment, as Hattie reports, is the way.  Qualitative feedback along the way, instead of one final evaluation.  Denis, I do accept that some student comments may not align well with good pedagogy like wanting to be spoon fed all the way, and that would have to be dealt with by the instructor who could explain the proverbial "madness" in her/his methods.