Skills for sale: what is being commodified in higher education?
Abstract
‘Commodification’ is a sociological term that has become widely adopted as part of the higher education lexicon. It has been argued that an increased emphasis on the commercial relevance of university courses is anathema to the values of the academy, resulting from the widespread adoption of neo‐liberal policies towards education. This article will discuss the use of the word commodification in this context, with particular emphasis on its economic roots. It will identify three models of commodification derived from the literature and use these to attempt an understanding of what it is that universities are selling. Finally, the article will examine the use of the term commodification within the broader debate about the purpose of higher education.
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The consumerist turn has had a profound effect on the nature of academic work and upon academics themselves.
“The result of the consumerist turn has, it is argued, had a profound effect on the nature of academic work and upon academics themselves.”
From The academic as consumed and consumer (2020) · cites this paper as Miller, 2010
Cited by
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The McDonaldization of Academic Libraries and the Values of Transformational Change
Nicholson, K. P. (2015) · College & Research Libraries · doi:10.5860/crl.76.3.328 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
The academic as consumed and consumer
Page, D. (2020) · Journal of Education Policy · doi:10.1080/02680939.2019.1598585 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
- Authors
- Miller, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Gloucestershire (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Brian
- Venue
- Journal of Further and Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2010-05
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 199-206
- ISSN
- 0309-877X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-9486
- OpenAlex
- W2011095663
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 16.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Further and Higher Education (publishedVersion)
- Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › University Challenges and Reforms
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Higher Education Governance and Development
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies
- Keywords
- commodification, higher education, neoliberalism, university commercialization, purpose of higher education, academic values, university courses
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