Taking as his cue the House of Commons Select Committee for Innovation, Universities and Skills inquiry into "students and universities," the author begins by addressing four "pathologies" in the current discussion of the student experience: nostalgia and selective memory; condescension and disappointment; moral panic and pulling up the ladder; and contradictory expectations. He then examines four features of the very recent history of UK higher education: generational fracture; student co-creation; the international campus; and the question of student satisfaction. He concludes with some reflections on the Select Committee's approach to its work. (Contains 1 note.)