The effect of tuition fees on students’ demands and expectations: evidence from case studies of four

This paper uses qualitative data from interviews with university lecturers to examine the effect of tuition fees on students' demands and expectations. Lecturers identified four main changes: a higher proportion of students enter higher education for career reasons than in the past; students are less interested in the intellectual content of their subject than in vocational aspects; students are less willing to under-take independent study and are more demanding of teaching staff's time. A further change was identified in the extent of part-time working by students which has a detrimental effect on learning.

These changes had adverse effects on university lecturers and have implications for job satisfaction and for recruitment and retention. Although lecturers felt that the link between tuition fees and students' attitudes was not direct, fees were believed to have given encouragement to a Ôconsumerist' attitude towards Higher Education.