Catalogs as Contracts

The courts have constantly refined the relationship between institutions of higher learning and their students since the nascence of American higher education. As societal expectations have evolved, new demands have been placed on colleges and universities by their primary constituency, students, for less paternalism and more accountability for services rendered. This dynamic relationship can be characterized by a judicial evolution from a time during which universities stood in loco parentis, or in the place of the parent, to the current contractual perspective, one in which students represent consumers, and universities act as providers. This entry examines the contractual relationship between students and educational institutions, particularly as embodied in college and university publications, before reviewing the most important cases addressing this relationship.