Student consumerism in higher education

This content was written by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.

The higher education (HE) sector has experienced a fundamental cultural shift in recent years with students viewing themselves as consumers. This has brought an increased level of scrutiny to institutions, requiring them to demonstrate ‘value for money’ and quality of education.

Writing for ALARM - BLM's John Roberts has co-authored an article with Ashley Easen, Director of Risk Control at Risk Management Partners which explores how the pandemic has affected higher education students' opinion of getting value for money from their university, when a large portion of their tuition over the last 18 months or so has been virtual.

John said, "For institutions, this is difficult to manage. Universities are businesses and run on a profit and loss basis. Institutions have to make sure they don't over promise and student expectations need to be managed."

"A common student grievance is that, although they accept their university experience had to change during the pandemic, they do not see the justification for paying tuition and/or accommodation fees. This may have been fuelled by recent comments from the Secretary of State for Education not only indicating his preferences for a return to face-to-face teaching, but that if universities are not delivering what students expect, full fees should not be charged."

To read the full thought-provoking copy, please click here to be redirected to the ALARM website. 

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