The Impact of Consumerism on Graduate Student Learning

ABSTRACT This study aims to inform the literature concerning the prevalence of consumerism among graduate students by measuring specific consumerist attitudes and approaches to learning to determine if consumerist attitudes are related to approaches to learning. Graduate students from a public university in the Southeastern United States were invited to complete a 43‐item questionnaire. Responses were collected from 356 students. Results indicate that while there is a presence of consumerist attitudes, students in this sample do not think of their education as a product they are buying, and most do not expect easy grading or to have input in university decisions. However, these students have higher expectations regarding university complaint processes and faculty performance. Based on the work of Entwistle and McCune (2004), three approaches to learning (deep, strategic, and surface) were investigated. Two‐thirds of the students in this sample reported using a combination of strategic and deep approaches. One‐third used a surface approach. Comparison between the two groups demonstrates that as graduate students’ expectations of having more input into university decisions increase and their expectations of easy grading increase, the probability of the student being classified as a deep/strategic learner decreases, thus demonstrating that consumerist attitudes influence approaches to learning. Implications and recommendations for administrators and faculty are discussed.