Mark Edmundson: Student Customer Metaphor

Does one ever find themselves feeling more like a customer rather than a student? If so, don’t think you are alone. Today more people are thinking about the so called “Student Customer” metaphor, and how it can have a huge impact on their future life and decisions. Mark Edmundson’s 2013 book “Why Teach?” explores the real meaning of the metaphor, and argues how Colleges and Universities in the United States are only focusing on the financial aspect of life.
In Edmundson’s introduction, He states “through the last decade of the twentieth century, American higher education changed”(Pg. 1). Colleges and Universities somehow shifted their objectives from being driven on education and students to operating more like a business. They sought money, and a very prestigious name that would lure incoming students to them. Since the nineties, colleges and universities have seemed to be putting profits ahead of actual education and student success. Edmundson states that this may have started in the mid 60’s and 70’s when the American birthrate began to decline. When these kids where ready for college, there were simply not enough to
Athletic teams strive off marketing and really rely on the fans, or in other words, customers. They call us fans, but to them we are just another customer who will pay outrageous prices for a shirt or a beer at the ball park. Do athletic teams really care about fans, or do they just really want our money? We pay so much money for parking, the tickets to get in, and then for food at the venue. It is almost like they take advantage of us and just use our money. Athletic teams try so hard with the marketing mix to get our business, because they have so many more teams to compete with. Athletic teams are in some way a huge business and do require a lot of money to operate. It makes one realize where this “customer metaphor” can really take