Considering the Labor Contributions of Students: An Alternative to the Student-as-Customer Metaphor

Education researchers frequently have promoted the view of students as customers and of education as a service that they purchase. In this article, the authors argue that the student-as-customer metaphor is problematic and propose a more appropriate metaphor based on the literature concerning customer labor contributions in human resources management. The authors provide strategies that instructors can use to manage the labor contributions of students.