What is it about?
I explain why universities should NOT view undergraduate students as "customers" or "products". However, it can be useful sometimes to imagine them as being like "clients". We need to use our expertise and professional judgment to help them pursue their long term needs. That may be very differ from satisfying their short term wants.
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Why is it important?
It is important for universities to be innovative in serving their students. But thinking of them as "customers" can lead to poor decisions about the design and delivery of courses. For example, "the customer is always right" may fit a grocery store or hair salon very well. But it is clearly not true when it comes time for professors to mark exams.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Students as Clients: A Professional Services Model for Business Education., Academy of Management Learning and Education, December 2003, The Academy of Management,
DOI: 10.5465/amle.2003.11901964.
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Resources
Government rules are keeping students from innovative online products
Ontario has regulations that are intended to prevent universities from charging students extra fees for tests. This op-ed argues that the regulations unfortunately also prevent professors from using innovative online assignments.
Students Can Behave Too Much Like Customers
A letter to the editor in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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