The student as customer and quality in higher education

This paper explores some management concepts and how applying these concepts from business to higher education can be problematic, let alone incompatible, particularly in relation to measuring quality in higher education. A number of compelling reasons for this are explored. It discusses that the current bases for perceiving quality such as meeting customer expectations, satisfying the customer, ensuring quality control, meeting standards and assessing the costs associated with poor quality are in disagreement with the principal aims and measures of quality in higher education. Some considerations for understanding quality in higher education are proposed such as when thinking about quality of teaching, quality of programs and quality of the student experience. These considerations aim to refocus education to centre on the student as a learner and an active participant in the learning process.