Content area
Full text
A common debate on most college campuses today is how to view our students-should they be treated like customers or not? Having worked in higher education for the past fifteen years, and encountering this issue at numerous institutions, I can attest that this is a difficult question to posit and resolve. I have also broached the subject with friends and acquaintances outside of higher education. They like to point out that we should be running our colleges and universities more like businesses, and thus, treating our students more like customers. Living in such a commercialized society, it is logical for students and others to think, that because money is changing hands, students should be considered customers and treated like customers.
Before analyzing the question at hand, we should first define the word customer. The dictionary defines a customer as a person who buys goods or services, especially on a regular basis. This definition would lead us to believe that as students are paying the college for services, they are indeed customers. But we must take a closer look, and also define the goods or services that the students are buying.
Some common goods and services associated with college easily come to mind: parking, food, books, housing, and recreational services, just to name a few. These items have a much more clearly defined function for the student, and thus are easier to group into consumer products or services. However, what about the central function of higher education? What is the primary reason that students attend college? In most instances, students come to gain an education and to learn. The main focus of every institution of higher education is student learning. So, if students come to learn, is that something that can be bought?
As youngsters, we do not have a choice as to whether or not we attend school. In America today, it is expected that students will attend approximately twelve years of primary education. However, when a student graduates from high school, it becomes his choice to obtain additional education. He is not required to continue his formal education, but may choose to avail himself of higher learning at any time, choose to work, or choose to further his learning in an informal way, such...