Universities need to listen to what students want

University students have become ‘customers’ and if universities are uncomfortable with that idea they are out of touch. The chief executive of study support service, Studiosity, Michael Larsen, said a survey of student experience showed the demand-driven system has shifted what students expect to get from higher education and many universities are running hard to catch up, writes Robert Bolton for Australian Financial Review.

The survey asked 1,100 students to rate their satisfaction with university education. Nearly 49% said they did not believe the course they were studying was worth the money it cost. More than 55% said it would "take years to pay off my student loan". That was despite the fact only 16% thought what they learnt at university could have been learnt in a job. And only 10% felt the quality of what they learnt at university was not of a high standard.

"Value is a big part of the student experience," Larsen said. "Everyone in society has become a consumer. Services like Netflix and Menulog have changed expectations. The availability and immediacy of those services has raised the bar for what students experience."
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site