How does consumerism affect education?

Recently I've been writing a paper on consumerism and how consumerism effects education. It is interesting to think about how professors cater to their students by being more lenient on grading and how students in turn are affected by the consumerist culture that surrounds them. Even universities today are becoming consumerist by putting funds towards more recreational buildings rather than new academic buildings. Yet I ask myself, is consumerism completely detrimental to students learning? I think it does have negative affects but I do not know the full extent of those affects.