Graduate view: 'we are not customers'

Universities should be challenging their students to become collaborative learners rather than conformist consumers. As two recent university graduates we are concerned about the labelling of students as customers who need to be kept satisfied. We believe that positioning students in this way in relation to their learning is deeply damaging to all our futures. Entering the next stage in our lives, at a time of uncertainty and rapid change, we need to be able to be proactive, think for ourselves, take a critical approach to problem solving, communicate effectively with a range of people and use our knowledge creatively.
If we are seen, and come to see ourselves, as customers who respond and react to what is given to us, who are asked if we like our courses (not what we gain from them), then we are unlikely to emerge from higher education as effective lifelong learners. More...