That is something I heard a lot when I started working in higher education in the UK, and it’s a strange idea to me. In Hong Kong, where I come from, I received harsh feedback that I now found constructive and honest. During my master’s degree here, I gradually lost interest in reading feedback as I know it was not real. I cannot make any progress or improve based on the constant ‘good job’ or ‘interesting’. When teachers keep saying exaggerated positive feedback and then give a C/D grade on the report, no students will feel good about it. This is just hypocrisy.

This is what I experienced and witnessed as a student and a teacher. After reading a chapter on Race and the Neoliberal University, the whole situation is starting to make sense to me. The student is the customer, the source of income, the white knight saving the failing education system. The first rule of customer service, keep them happy.

The marketisation, commercialisation and privatisation’ of higher education saved it from the 2008 financial crisis. This has come at the expense of the quality of education and teaching support with the shift of roles in the education system. The students become customers who have no need to contribute their parts. The vice chancellor is the CEO making sure there is enough sales admission to win the biggest paycheck. We, the staff, keep the customers happy. This probably explains the ongoing strike.

Just keep them happy?