The current discussion of consumerism in higher education focuses largely on what the providers are obliged to do for the consumers, against the background of rising tuition fees. This framework does not always sit comfortably with lecturers in the context of a learning and teaching relationship, as it appears to ignore the reciprocal obligations lecturers and students have to one another. The purpose of this article is to offer an alternative view of what lecturers and students are obliged to do (...) in the learning and teaching relationship, if learning is to be effective. I argue, drawing on Aristotle's function argument, that both students and lecturers in higher education have moral role obligations; that these moral role obligations are derived from the functions of the roles being voluntarily undertaken by each party; that therefore, by ascertaining the functions of a student and of a lecturer, both a descriptive purpose and a normative purpose will be revealed for each; and that using moral role obligations as a basis for the student/lecturer relationship offers a less contentious alternative to the consumerist model. (shrink)