ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we argue two main ideas. First, that in the field of higher education in the United States there are three institutional prototypes structuring the general understanding of post-K-12 education. Two of these prototypes, Educational Entrepreneurism and Redemptive Consumerism, are closely associated with consumerist conceptions of education. Second, we argue that these three institutional prototypes that can be seen in public discourse and the news media are a rich source of data on the dynamics of this on-going policy discussion.
