Open AccessYou Are Not My Customer
Author(s) -
Keith BurgessJackson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of educational issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2377-2263
DOI - 10.5296/jei.v6i2.17547
Subject(s) - nothing , commercialization , meaning (existential) , terminology , value (mathematics) , service (business) , service provider , public relations , marketing , business , sociology , political science , epistemology , linguistics , computer science , philosophy , machine learning
I argue that it is degrading (and therefore insulting) for university administrators to refer to students as “customers” or “consumers” and to refer to instructors as “vendors” or “service-providers.” There is nothing inherently wrong with economic analysis, much less with economics as an academic discipline; nor is there anything objectionable per se about commerce or the commercialization of (mere) things; but economic terminology must not be allowed to encroach on institutions, practices, or relationships (such as the teacher-student relationship) that have special meaning and value.