ARE
STUDENTS
CUSTOMERS?
How to define the
relationship within the
university setting
By Kitty Reeves
CUSTOMER
INSTITUTION
PARENT
COSTS
STUDENT
BUSINESS
KNOWLEDGE
INVESTMENT
PRODUCT
INSTRUCTORS
SERVICE
DEGREE
EDUCATION
SOCIETY
EMPLOYMENT
DEFINITIONS and RELATIONSHIPS
“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. Tabije
http://customer-relationship-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-30035-what-is-a-customer.aspx
We are in the business of educating students…
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???
DEFINE CUSTOMER

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
SERVICE PROVIDER
 PRODUCT
(goal?)
 BUYER
• 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
Is the student a product?
According to Google Define
• 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
Is the student a buyer?
WHAT IS…???
The purchase
of an item of
value with an
expectation of
a favorable
future
INVESTMENT
What if your
product is a
defective?
DIPLOMA
received
1982
CUSTOMER OPTIONS
You can lead a
boy to college,
but you cannot
make him to
think. Elbert Hubbard
I teach
students,
not subjects.
Elizabeth B.
Moje
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
The whole purpose of education is
to turn mirrors into windows.
Sydney J. Harris, journalist
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
The mind is not a
vessel that needs
filling but wood
that needs
igniting. Plutarch
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-educationnecessary/UPI-20011236718384/
QUOTES ON EDUCATION
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.
Are students customers? March 11, 2007
Posted by Roy Bayfield in: Edge Hill, Marketing, trackback
http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/next_to_the_circle/2007/03/11/are-studentscustomers/
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 Minnesota
http://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. SHELLEY
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Need-to-Give-Students/16508
ARE STUDENTS CUSTOMERS?

GEAR
◦ Interlocking
ideals
Institution
Instructor
◦ What is each
giving to the
relationship?
Student
RELATIONSHIPS

Radial Cycle
Instructor
◦ Relationship to
a central idea
◦ In the best
interest of…
Society
Student
Institution
Parents
RELATIONSHIPS

Funnel
◦ Parts merge
to a whole
◦ Emphasizes
outcome
institution
Instructor
Student
Society
RELATIONSHIPS
INSTITUTION
HIRE
INSTRUCTORS
TEACH
STUDENTS
MEMBERS OF
SOCIETY
Salesmen
Business
Money
Competitive
Reputation
Salesmen
Career
Mentors
KnowledgeBase
Learn
Grow
Compete
Interact
Question
Productive
Job
Money
Give back
Advertise
How
attract
students?
How help
students
learn?
How
graduate?
Positive
Economic
Growth
ATTRIBUTES AND GOALS
BizEd March/April 2005
What are
we selling
to
students?
What is the
product?
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
Will the idea of customer service
in the educational environment
(in the classroom) compromise
academic integrity?
Will we compromise by giving the
students what they WANT versus what
they NEED – a QUALITY EDUCATION?
IT IS THE JOURNEY
NOT THE
EDUCATION
DESTINATION

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?
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
As a student:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Library
Labs
Help Desk
Tutoring
Office hours
Course coordinator
Advising Office
Student Center
Staff
Faculty
Access to rather
than purchase of
SERVICES
PROVIDED
http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/advocacy/mission-statement/
http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/advocacy/lessons-to-live-by/
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.”
STUDENTS RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
 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.
CONCEPTS vs APPLICATIONS
What is knowledge?
Why is it important to gain knowledge?
It’s not just about the grade
THE
RESPONSIBILITY
OF
THE STUDENT
KNOWLEDGE vs LEARNING
STUDENT – academic relationship;
individual focus on learning
Student/ StuCustomer
Instructor
Institution
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-INSTRUCTOR
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
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/381389/characteristics_of_a_good_teacher_what.html
http://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
INSTRUCTOR ATTRIBUTES
REQUIRES BALANCE
Compassion
Flexibility
It is the
instructor’s
job to TEACH
and the
student’s job
to LEARN
With
Equity
and
Fairness
to All
And TEAMWORK
CORPORATE or PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP
All 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 Relationships
By Krish Dhanam
http://www.candogo.com/search/insight?i=6294
PROFESSIONAL
RELATIONSHIPS
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 up to you to decide…
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?
CONCLUSION