Hi Larry,
We have to mold a lot of our students to be quality employees. Our students are really depending on us!
Patricia Scales
While I was in school, I sold stereos. I recall my store manager saying once that there would be customers I'd regret selling to. I wish we had a filter then.
While a student is a consumer of education, I don't think of them as a customer, except that they deserve what we, for the lack of better terminology, call excellent customer service.
Ultimately, there are professional standards that must be observed. Ensuring our students meet the requirements of their new profession is customer service. How we do that is style.
What the for-profit schools offer often is structure, support, individual attention, and flexibility. But then we often have a different student than the typical public college or university.
Education is not job preparation, yet it is often presented that way. Vocational educational is a special case of education. One that industry, it seems, is interested in making the model for all of education. We have seen the results of that over the last few decades.
Customer service to me, then, is to guarantee to the student that they will achieve their potential to the best of my ability. To guarantee that the standards of the profession they are about to enter are maintained. Or when educational achievement is the focus to encourage the highest level of enlightenment.
They are are not always mutually exclusive.
In that sense we provide value added. We take our raw materials and transform them into something new. Of course our raw materials are paying us for this transformation. Proper preparation and we solve both situations.
Hi Vincent,
I concur! Educating is definitely a two-way process. The student must do their due diligence to grasp what the teacher is teaching.
Patricia Scales
Hi Tiffany,
Nicely stated! Students are definitely not always right! We must let our students know when they are out of line. We are here to guide/teach our students. Teaching is a lot like parenting.
Patricia Scales
Though our customers are the students they are not always right. From a customer services stance it’s important that our customers (the students) are getting quality services and advisement that will help them to succeed beyond the institution. It’s important that we emphasis to the students that they are responsible to take the initiative by using and maintaining their skills retained. Customer service is provided to help/guide and educate. It’s the customer’s (the student) discretion to utilize our customer services and not abuse our customer services.
I see two types of students. The ones who come in and want to learn and the students who come in and say "teach me". Either way there must be some responsibility and accountability on the side of the student in order to make the learning experience successful.
Hi Andrea,
I agree! Soft skills are extremely important. A lot of our students are lacking in the soft skill area. We have to teach them about attitude, teamwork, problem solving, leadership, etc.
Patricia Scales
I see students as customers because they come to our school for an education and experience (the product). Learning needs to be customized to each individual student, as they each prefer to learn in a different way. Although this is very tiring for the instructor, he or she owes it to the student to connect at their preferred level and make meaning of what is being taught/learned.
The student, however, is not "always right," as in the case of, say an automobile customer. The student has made an agreement to participate and be responsible to put in the effort to learn and understand, with facilitation from the teacher.
I agree, Patricia. I tell my students that their personal character, personality, attitude, and personal motivation all play a big role in whether or not they get hired for a job. Skills and education are one thing, but the soft skills of attitude and emotional intelligence are of utmost importance in our field.
Andrea Gibb
Hi David,
There is a difference. We are in the business to educate our students and help them become successful professionals. Everything we say the students may not like it, but we are only trying to help them become better for the real world.
Patricia Scales
First, customer service in an educational setting is not the same as customer service in a business setting. They are different and should be treated different. However,Educational institutions should always focus on educating students. Therefore, the customer service educational institutions should provide is quality education for all students. They should provide the following quality services: Teaching, Listening, Advisement, and Retention.
Hi Frank,
We are giving our students what they need in order to be successfu.
Patricia Scales
If one stops to think about it aren't we as instructors providing a service? Yes, we are not waiting on the student or serving them a meal but we are providing them with the tools to achieve their goal or goals.
Hi Krista,
I understand your perspective. You are a student and should be treated as such. We have to make sure that we take care of our students in all areas and push them to strive to get good grades.
Patricia Scales
Student customers in an educational setting are not like traditional customers. Educational institutions cannot think of their customers as ones who pay money for services. They must think of their customers’ career and education goals and make educating the student the priority. However, the fact remains that the student IS paying for a service. As an adult student myself, I expect to receive good customer service from my advisor, career counselor, financial aid rep, etc. I don't expect the Instructor to treat me like a customer though. In the classroom, I am a student.
Hi Sharika,
Nicely stated! I concur! When both play their role, students come out on the winning end.
Patricia Scales
I totally agree. The road to success is a two way street. Students have to meet us as we have to meet them. If there is only one party traveling, that party is just spinning their wheels. Students have to be willing to meet us, just as we must meet them. We are held accountable as service providers which makes the students accountable as customers.
Hi Niel,
Nicely stated! Never decrease the standards of the institution to make a student happy. It is always best to enforce rules/policies and be honest with students.
Patricia Scales
In an educational setting, customer service can vary slightly depending to whom we are interacting with. There are both internal customers; our faculty, staff, and purveyors; as well as our external customers, our students, their family members, and employers. Generally all should be treated fairly, with compassion, and with respect. There is a slight deviation when interacting with student because although they are "a paying customer", what is primarily important to remember is that what they are paying for is not only instruction, but the maintaining of the academic integrity of the institution. This may me that certain questions or decisions do not go as they want. It is important in these situations to make sure this is explained.
