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From “Customer” to “Partner”: Approaches to Conceptualization of Student-University Relationships

Student Support Services

Part of the book series: University Development and Administration ((UDAA))

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Abstract

Under the pressures of massification of higher education, increasing competition among institutions, and a diversification of the student body, universities face challenges related to the quality of teaching and learning and student services. To understand how to support students, each university needs to decide on which theoretical assumptions about student development and student-university relationships with student support services should be based on. There have been many suggestions for conceptual models of student-university relationships: consumerism, student engagement model, student-centered model, and coproduction model. The most influential of these can be classified into three groups: “student as consumer,” “student as active learner,” and “student as partner.” However, there is an absence of literature, which review and classify the most popular conceptual models of student-university relationships or which agree on the most productive model(s). This chapter examines models that conceptualize student-university relationships, identifies their crucial assumptions, and discusses their applications for mass higher education. Five criteria were developed to compare the models: (1) outcomes of higher education; (2) student participation in the educational process; (3) responsibility for learning outcomes; (4) the capacity of students to influence the educational process, courses, and programs; and (5) quality indicators. Challenges for implementing the models for mass higher education are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Sociology of Higher Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Natalia Maloshonok & Irina Shcheglova

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  1. Natalia Maloshonok
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  2. Irina Shcheglova
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Correspondence to Natalia Maloshonok .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

    Fernando F. Padró

  2. University of Southern Queensland Learning, Teaching & Quality, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

    Megan Kek

  3. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Henk Huijser

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Maloshonok, N., Shcheglova, I. (2021). From “Customer” to “Partner”: Approaches to Conceptualization of Student-University Relationships. In: Padró, F.F., Kek, M., Huijser, H. (eds) Student Support Services. University Development and Administration. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_4-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_4-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3364-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3364-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    From “Customer” to “Partner”: Approaches to Conceptualization of Student-University Relationships
    Published:
    06 August 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_4-2

  2. Original

    From “Customer” to “Partner”: Approaches to Conceptualization of Student-University Relationships
    Published:
    11 March 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_4-1

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