Back in my early days of college, I complained often and loudly about any professor who had the temerity to include attendance as part of the course grade. “Not only am I capable of making my own decisions about going to class,” I’d explain haughtily, “my tuition and fees pay his salary, so I should really get to choose how I’m graded.” I eventually learned the inherent flaws of this opinion – thanks in no small part to several well-meaning professors more than happy to use ample amounts of that mandatory class time disabusing me of this and myriad other asinine notions.
Unfortunately, my consumer-based justification for why I “deserved” to be given a bespoke educational experience – I pay your salary – is quite common on college and university campuses. Rather than consider postsecondary education an undertaking of self-improvement or intellectual exploration, many students approach college as more akin to ordering off a fast-food menu: I already know what I want, and since I’m paying, I expect it served to me just as I asked, immediately.