A Critique of the Customer Model of Higher Education

Robert J. Soucy earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison after an M.A. from Kansas University. Over his career as a historian, he has taught as an instructor at Harvard University, an assistant professor at Kent State University, and as a full professor at Oberlin College. He is presently a professor emeritus at Oberlin College. He has published five books on different aspects of French fascism, over thirty articles in scholarly journals, and numerous conference papers.

Acknowledgments – Introduction – Challenging the Customer Model – What’ s a Teacher to Do? – Likeability, Personality and Grading – Evaluating the Evaluators – Students at "Midwest State" and Elsewhere – Is the Customer Always Right? – Out of Step with Some Students – Social Class in American Academia – Social Class and College Teaching – "To Disturb Is My Function" – What Should Count Most in College Teaching and Learning – A Critique of Collaborative Learning – A Dysfunctional and Misleading Evaluation System – Solutions – Afterword – Appendix: Chronicle of Higher Education Articles – Bibliography.

"This book is an important contribution to the debate on the decline of American higher education, which allows students to think and act like customers. Having paid so much tuition, they are encouraged to stand in judgement over their teachers through the evaluation process, resulting in relaxed standards and reduced demands. In this appeal for an abandonment of the ‘customer model’ of higher education, Dr. Soucy brings a lifetime of experience to bear and examples from many college settings.”
Patrick Allitt, Professor of American History, Emory University

‘‘Education is a fundamental institution of civilized humanity. But like any other institution, it is often at the whims of those who are involved in it along with ephemeral trends within the society that enfolds it. Robert J. Soucy’s critical analysis of American higher education is an eyeopener. It dissects what is inherently anomalous about it, namely its susceptibility to trends, which erode the possibility of true learning, a Socratic bond that must arise among teacher, student, and knowledge. This is an especially crucial book given the times in which we live. It should be read by everyone, from educators and academics to anyone who truly cares about learning and education. It is written with both intellect and heart. It talks to both the mind and the soul at once.’’
Marcel Danesi, Professor of Anthropology, University of Toronto

‘‘Based on a long career of teaching at elite universities and a careful reading of a wide range of opinions on how to assess university professors, Robert J. Soucy, an eminent American historian of Europe, delivers a sharp rebuttal to the idea that student views should dominate the approach to teaching. This is a no-holds-barred, well-crafted response to those who are willing to risk the quality of education in order to please students who no longer see themselves as education seekers, but as customers.’’
Patrice Dutil, Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University