ARE STUDENTS CUSTOMERS?

How to define the relationship within the

university setting

By Kitty Reeves

DEFINITIONS and RELATIONSHIPS

INSTITUTION CUSTOMER

PRODUCT

STUDENT

PARENT

SOCIETY

BUSINESS

INSTRUCTORS

SERVICE

INVESTMENT

KNOWLEDGE

EDUCATION

DEGREE

COSTS

EMPLOYMENT

CUSTOMER

“The base of the word customer is actually CUSTOM? It actually is derived from the habits of people that make it a habit to make frequent visits to a store.”

Ismael D. Tabijehttp://customer-relationship-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-30035-what-is-a-customer.aspx

DID YOU KNOW?

We are in the business of educating students…

DEFINE CUSTOMER

ACCORDING TO GOOGLE:◦ Someone who pays for goods or services

◦ Buyer or user of a paid product

◦ The person or group that is the direct beneficiary of a product or service

ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA:◦ Refers to a current or potential buyer

◦ User of the products of an individual or organization

◦ By extension, includes anyone who uses or experiences the services of another

◦ A viewer of the product or service that is being sold despite deciding to not buy them

ACCORDING TO YOU???

SERVICE PROVIDER

Are you a CUSTOMER?◦Lawn Service◦Store◦Workout Facility◦Police Officer◦Doctor◦Lawyer

Keep in mind…

What service are they providing?AND

Definition of relationship

WHAT IS…???

PRODUCT (goal?)• Merchandise• Commodities

offered for sale• An artifact that has

been created by someone or some process• A consequence of

someone's efforts or of a particular set of circumstances

BUYER• A buyer is any person

who contracts to acquire an asset in return for some form of consideration• An individual who

purchases; a purchaser• The agent who decides

what will be produced and the criteria (standards and targets) for judging performance

According to Google Define

Is the student a product? Is the student a buyer?

INVESTMENT

The purchase of an item of value with an expectation of

a favorable future

CUSTOMER OPTIONS

What if your product is a defective?

RE-CALLS

COMPLAINTS

RETURNSREVOKED

DIPLOMA received 1982

QUOTES ON EDUCATION

The mind is not a vessel that needs filling but wood that needs igniting. Plutarch

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. Sydney J. Harris, journalist

According to this conception, the sole function of education was to open the way to thinking and knowing, and the school, as the outstanding organ for the people's education, must serve that end exclusively. Albert Einstein

An education isn't how much you

have committed to memory, or

even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate

between what you do know and what

you don't.Anatole France

You can lead a boy to college, but you cannot make him to think. Elbert Hubbard

I teach students,

not subjects. Elizabeth B.

Moje

QUOTES ON EDUCATION

WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- Post-secondary education is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity in a 21st century business environment, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

"Never has a college degree been more important. Never has it been more expensive," Obama said during a speech before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/10/Obama-Post-secondary-education-necessary/UPI-20011236718384/

ARE STUDENTS CUSTOMERS?

YES - In some circles, the case is made that students should be treated like customers, in fact given better service – that we should pay more attention to their satisfaction.

NO - Others feel that calling students customers is inappropriate for instance because to do so devalues the student role by reducing it to a quasi-commercial one, or overemphasizes students’ right to have their wants satisfied, undermining the responsibilities involved in studying.

http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/next_to_the_circle/2007/03/11/are-students-customers/

Are students customers? March 11, 2007Posted by Roy Bayfield in: Edge Hill, Marketing, trackback

ARE STUDENTS CUSTOMERS?

NO - “I find considering students as customers lamentable because it fundamentally debases the relationship between student and teacher”

YES - “I agree that in one sense students are customers, for if no students came to the University, there would be no need for faculty”

– Virginia Gray of the University of Minnesotahttp://www1.umn.edu/urelate/kiosk/11.95text/fcc.html

SORT OF – “How can schools develop the best relationships with their students? Think of them as customers to be managed – for a very long time.”

– David Bejou

ARE STUDENTS CUSTOMERS?

YES - “Students are customers… they are buying an educational experience, because it sure ain't free.” Susie, parent of a college student

YES - “…they are absolutely customers…..although unwilling at times.” R. Davis, parent

NOT REALLY - We need to keep traditional academic expectations in mind as we create a different relationship with students. Instead of letting students assume that merely paying tuition entitles them to a good grade, we must engage them in their own education, require them to take responsibility for their ultimate success, and acknowledge the role of faculty members as experts in their fields who are, nonetheless, still learning and fallible. The most appropriate analogy for such a new relationship comes from medicine, not business: Students are like patients, and professors are like doctors.

PHILLIP H. SHELLEYhttp://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Need-to-Give-Students/16508

RELATIONSHIPS

Student

Instructor

Institution

GEAR

◦Interlocking ideals

◦What is each giving to the relationship?

Radial Cycle

◦Relationship to a central idea

◦In the best interest of…

RELATIONSHIPS

Student

Instructor

Institution

Parents

Society

Funnel

◦Parts merge to a whole

◦Emphasizes outcome

RELATIONSHIPS

Society

Student

Instructor

institution

ATTRIBUTES AND GOALS

INSTITUTION HIRE INSTRUCTORS

MEMBERS OF SOCIETY

TEACH STUDENTS

SalesmenBusinessMoneyCompetitiveReputation

How attract students?

SalesmenCareerMentorsKnowledge- Base

How help students learn?

LearnGrowCompeteInteractQuestion

How graduate?

ProductiveJobMoneyGive backAdvertise

Positive Economic Growth

INTERCONNECTED

What is the

product?EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

BizEd March/April 2005

What are we selling

to students?

EDUCATION

Will the idea of customer service in the educational environment (in the classroom) compromise academic integrity?

IT IS THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION

PRIORITIESPERCEPTIONS

Will we compromise by giving the students what they WANT versus what

they NEED – a QUALITY EDUCATION?

INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS

Institution “level”◦2 year vice 4 year◦Rankings◦Priorities◦Outcomes◦Harvard University vs Univ of Cincinnati

Some institutions, more than others, see the student as a customer…

Do you agree?

Online classes

Other?

SERVICES PROVIDED

As a student:◦Library◦Labs◦Help Desk◦Tutoring◦Office hours◦Course coordinator◦Advising Office◦Student Center◦Staff◦FacultyAccess to rather

than purchase of

http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/advocacy/mission-statement/

http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/advocacy/lessons-to-live-by/

STUDENTS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT IF THE CUSTOMER IS A STUDENT?

WHAT DOES THE STUDENT WANT?versus

WHAT DOES THE STUDENT NEED?

DIFFERENCE?Maybe this is where the customer service definition is different than what you might find elsewhere…

“I worked so hard and I got a C but because I put in so much time and effort I really feel like I deserve an A.”

CONCEPTS vs APPLICATIONS

Not just memorization – although there is that – but is geared more toward the application of the information learned.

Takes time; it takes experience; a lot of trying and failing to learn the material.

It’s the application process that leads to a time consuming learning curve that potentially stalls student motivation and realization of what the subject material entails.

LEARNING

KNOWLEDGE vs LEARNING

What is knowledge?Why is it important to gain knowledge?

It’s not just about the grade

THE RESPONSIBILITY

OF THE STUDENT

STUDENT-INSTRUCTOR

STUDENT – academic relationship; individual focus on learning

STUDENT CUSTOMER - needs are met to best support the student fully and successfully in their role i.e. in their academic endeavors

INSTRUCTOR – job is to ensure that student customer does not conflict with the needs of the student; in fact, job is to support the student customer in becoming the best possible student = STUDENT EXPERIENCE

http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/next_to_the_circle/2007/03/11/are-students-customers/

Student/ StuCustomer

InstitutionInstructor

SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

A symbiotic relationship is a relationship between two entities which is mutually beneficial for the participants of the relationship; when two organisms "work together," each benefiting from the relationship.

Zebra and oxpecker Flower and bumblebee

INSTRUCTOR ATTRIBUTES

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/381389/characteristics_of_a_good_teacher_what.htmlhttp://www.ripplesofimprovement.com/the-top-10-qualities-of-a-good-teacher/

A GOOD INSTRUCTOR… Displays self confidence Is a consumer of knowledge Is prepared Willingness to help students achieve by going the extra mile Listens Motivates Is fair Has a sense of humor Has true compassion for their students Is passionate about their subject and life Patient Understanding Dedication to excellence Unwavering support The ability to look at and explain things differently Takes pride in their student’s accomplishments

And TEAMWORK

With Equity andFairness to All

CompassionFlexibility

REQUIRES BALANCE

It is the instructor’s

job to TEACH and the

student’s job to LEARN

PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

CORPORATE or PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPAll the people with whom you initiate and or maintain a

relationship during the course of your business day

“The most effective way of handling this area to great personal success is to remember that your output is someone else's input.”Four Types of Professional and Personal RelationshipsBy Krish Dhanamhttp://www.candogo.com/search/insight?i=6294

It’s up to you to decide…

INSTITUTION is a service provider

INSTRUCTOR is a knowledge provider

STUDENT is… Product/Customer

Customer of the university… no doubt, but in the classroom?

A relationship, certainly, with the instructor, but as a customer?

If so, in what sense of the word?

IT’S COMPLICATED

CONCLUSION

THREETHINGS TO THINK ABOUT

FIRST ONE:

Were you the customer in school? Did your Instructor spend all this

time on you? Why the change? Technology?

Competition? Money? Etc?

CONCLUSION

Who is Cengage Learning’s customer?

Are we the customer? If so, what do we buy from them?

OR

Are the students who buy the books their customer?

CONCLUSION

Were you a customer

today?