Let me present an alternative answer. Although having the 'student as a customer' mindset is useful from a retention and marketing perspective, the student is also a client, much like a doctor or lawyer has clients. They come to college because they have problems, mostly economic. Career college students are not attending to have fun like they sometimes do in some public universities. They are also often at a big disadvantage. This applies not only to the way they learn, but the way they carry themselves, their attire, their use of language and a myriad of daily personal obstacles; lack of family support, babysitter challenges, health challenges, and even gas money to get to school. I am in awe everyday of the resilience of some of my students.
Having an additional perspective on a student as a client, helps us as teachers to see a student holistically. We need to think to ourselves, 'what about this student might prevent them from having a career in the industry?' For example, we would never tell a retail customer that their breath stinks, or that they need to take a bath, or wear clean clothes. Yet, that is exactly what we should do if someone is a student client. They are paying us to reshape them, mentally, socially and emotionally to compete for world class jobs that are literally globally competitive. To fail at this is to not give the 'customer' what they are paying for.
