Student Relational Bonding – the key to focusing on needs of the individual – a UK study

The marketisation of Higher Education (HE) has created a rhetoric of individuality in terms of how students are defined and the extent to which they as individuals ultimately benefit and flourish. Yet as we propose, the system is actually based on a notion of commonality driven by financial imperatives which affect both the university and the student. To recognise this is not to be controversial but to confirm the rhetoric of what is delivered by universities. We suggest that the recognition of the inherent tensions can have benefits for students and for the university itself and suggest a notion of relationship might provide a worthwhile conceptual framework to effect this. We argue that a fundamental remit of universities should be to implement policies to nurture diversity amongst the cohort and to develop the individuality of each student and demonstrate that the feeling of being treated as a valued individual by academic tutors is fundamental to the symbiotic relationship between students and university. Our findings reveal that the feeling of being treated as an individual is highly significant to the student’s experiences. We briefly discuss the managerial implication for this through the lens of relationship marketing.