The Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer

Until recently government policy in the UK has encouraged an expansion of Higher Education to increase participation and with an express aim of creating a more educated workforce. This expansion has led to competition between Higher Education institutions, with students increasingly positioned as consumers and institutions working to improve the extent to which they meet ‘consumer demands’.
Especially given the latest government funding cuts, the most prevalent outlook in Higher Education today is one of business, forcing institutions to reassess the way they are managed and promoted to ensure maximum efficiency, sales and ‘profits’. Students view the opportunity to gain a degree as a right, and a service which they have paid for, demanding a greater choice and a return on their investment. Changes in higher education have been rapid, and there has been little critical research into the implications. This volume brings together internationally comparative academic perspectives, critical accounts and empirical research to explore fully the issues and experiences of education as a commodity, examining:


the international and financial context of marketisation
the new purposes of universities
the implications of university branding and promotion
league tables and student surveys vs. quality of education
the higher education market and distance learning
students as ‘active consumers’ in the co-creation of value
changing student experiences, demands and focus.

With contributions from many of the leading names involved in Higher Education including Ron Barnett, Frank Furedi, Lewis Elton, Roger Brown and also Laurie Taylor in his journalistic guise as an academic at the University of Poppleton, this book will be essential reading for many.

Mike Molesworth is Senior Lecturer in Online Marketing and Consumer Behaviour at the Media School, Bournemouth University, UK.

Richard Scullion is Senior Lecturer in Marketing Communications and Political Communications at the Media School, Bournemouth University, UK.

Elizabeth Nixon is Lecturer in Marketing Communications at the Media School, Bournemouth University, UK.

1. Introduction to the Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer Frank Furedi Section I: Marketisation of Higher Education in Context 2. The March of the Market Roger Brown 3. Markets, Government, Funding and the Marketisation of UK Higher Education Nick Foskett 4. The Marketised University: Defending the Indefensible Ronald Barnett 5. Adopting Consumer Time and the Marketing of Higher Education Paul Gibbs 6. Complexity Theory Lewis Elton Section II: The Marketised Higher Education Institution 7. Vision, Values and International Excellence Helen Sauntson and Liz Morrish 8. From Accrington Stanley to Academia? Stella Jones-Devitt and Catherine Samiei 9. Branding a University Chris Chapleo 10. Access Agreements, Widening Participation and Market Positionality Colin McCaig 11. ‘This place is not at all what I had expected’: Student Demand for Authentic Irish Experiences in Irish Studies Programmes Katherine Nielsen 12. The Student as Consumer Felix Maringe Section III: Students, Consumers and Citizens 13. The Consumer Metaphor Versus the Citizen Metaphor Johan Nordensvärd 14. Constructing Consumption Joanna Williams 15. 'A degree will make all your dreams come true': Higher Education as the Management of Consumer Desires Helen Haywood, Rebecca Jenkins and Mike Molesworth 16. How Choice in Higher Education can Create Conservative Learners Lizzie Nixon, Richard Scullion and Mike Molesworth 17. Pedagogy of Excess Mike Neary and Andy Hagyard 18. Arguments, Responsibility and What is to be Done About Marketisation Richard Scullion, Mike Molesworth and Lizzie Nixon 19. A Concluding Message from the Vice-Chancellor of Poppleton University Laurie Taylor