Overcoming potential negative consequences of customer orientation in higher education: closing the ideological gap

Substantial discussion has been going on surrounding the potential negative consequences of a customer orientation in college education. A major concern stems from the ideological gap – the perceived differentiation between what the students want and the educators' view of what is in the best interests of the students. A key aspect of the ideological gap pertains to students' short-term wants (pleasure) versus educators' long-term-oriented interests (learning). Inspired by the societal marketing concept, we examine the possibility of closing this gap by means of a desirable educational model that aligns the interests of students and educators. Empirically, an open-ended survey explores student perceptions of a desirable educational model in the context of the marketing discipline. Then, two quantitative surveys show that students prefer desirable over pleasing and salutary models, and that academic motivation moderates their preference.