The New York Times recently ran an interesting debate about whether business schools should view their enrollees as students or customers.  Although the contributing authors are all at schools south of the border, similar issues apply – the commodification of education, the emerging identity of schools and students,  and the economic concerns of educational institutions.

My sense is that to many educators there is something offensive about the students-as-customers view because it diminishes the overwhelming importance of the purpose behind education at any level and in any form, as if to say: “We’re not just selling you fruit-loops – we’re providing you with fundamental tools with which to understood yourself, the nature of the world, and your role in it.”

But the farther the subject matter of education strays into purely trade-specific terrain, students feel more that they are buying particular tools to generate their future income, as if teachers were manufacturers and students were wholesalers or retailers.  Students feel entitled to what they are receiving from schools and hold high expectations - like any group of customers - especially given the considerable expense.

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