The ideas behind the student as a customer are complex, touching on a variety of issues includingJthe law and dispute resolution, the role of the university and its members, the semiotics of the relationship and the role of higher education. The "Deech analogy" still encapsulates the essential paradigm: "if you join a gym, you have to pay, but you still have to work to get/keep fit".
A lot of research has been done into the student-university relationship and it is now more relevant than ever.J Tim Birtwistle
Professor of law and policy of higher education
Leeds Metropolitan University