Dr Geoff Sharrock, University of Melbourne: Students as customers: how far do we go in the name of...

Students as customers:

how far do we go

in the name of “student satisfaction”?

Geoff Sharrock

[email protected]

• If students are customers what business are we in?

• Student experience spectrum: beyond “customers”

• Quality assurance and “customer/client focus”

• Functions of a university: what are we managing?

– social institution

– bureaucratic authority

– Business enterprise

• Conclusion: how far do we go to “satisfy” them?

Outline of presentation

“Satisfaction” as a business principle

“The customer

is always

right”

Harry Gordon

Selfridge

Mr Selfridge 60

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYHBHfNuzwo



Allergic reactions to the “Uni-as-business”

“Students aren’t customers!

We can’t just give them what

they want.

They don’t yet know enough to judge

...why pander to their demands?

You’re a middle manager with a

marketing brief:

how can I make this university more

like a shopping mall?”

“In the past, being a professional…presumed a calling – a vocation – and a dedication to service…

A physician (one who healed) served the needs of a patient (one who suffered).

A professor (one who professed) served the needs of a student (one who studied).

Today we question whether concepts such as “student” and “teacher” are appropriate...

Do we have students, or are they customers, clients, stakeholders, constituents, or (indeed) products?

Do faculty members profess, or do they manage, coordinate, or facilitate learning?”

Crisis of identity for scholars?

Student experience: are they well served?

Love etc 120

http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/love-and-other-catastrophes/clip1/




Student experience spectrum

Framing of

“students”

Analogies and examples of

“quality” or “professional service”

As (simple)

consumers

(e.g. where &

what to eat?)

• “Know what they want” (but from a menu)

• Choose on the spot: “a big Mac with fries”

• Are “always right”

As (informed)

customers

(e.g. which

course to

study?)

• Sort of know what they need: “a PC, not a Mac”

• May shop around & take time to decide

• Need advice on the options (costs? benefits?)

• Expect “satisfaction” via informed choices

(no false promises, no hidden costs)


Framing of

“students”



As (complex)

clients with

undefined

needs

(in need of

diagnosis,

guidance,

supervision)

• May not know what they need: “to see a doctor”

• Need expert advice on “needs” & “options”

• May need a tailored or non-standard solution

• May play a part in co-producing the solution:

“Stop eating fast food & playing computer games”

• “Satisfaction” turns on how “needs” & “options”

are framed: is the client’s best interest served?


Framing of

“students”



As citizens/

constituents

(entitled to

access, support,

fair treatment)

• Have “membership” rights to services:

“to borrow books from the university library”

“to get helpful, impartial advice & support”

As subjects

(“the student is

often wrong”)

• Have “member” obligations they must meet:

“to do the reading, attend classes”

“to submit work on time, meet standards”

“to return books when due, or pay a fine”


Framing of

“students”



As graduates:

“products”

for a

“virtual client”

(stakeholders

beyond the

student)

• Must have earned degree by mastering skills

& knowledge, acquiring capabilities & attributes

• System integrity: third parties are protected

(other students, employers, clients, society)


Framing of

“students”



As partners:

(postgrads,

future work

colleagues)

• Identified as future scholars: “one of us”

• Collaborate on projects as junior colleagues

• Risk of exploitation (professors may become

de facto “clients” of under-paid students)

• A “public-spirited” social institution: engaged in inquiry, discovery, critique, debate, innovation

• A “bureaucratic” credentialling authority: certifying acquisition of learning, readiness for responsibility

• A “business” enterprise: offering products & services, responding to client needs & market demand, reliant on a cost/revenue business model.

Functions of the university

Role of university & role of student

Function of

the institution

Analogies for the

student relationship

Business

enterprise

Consumers

Customers

Clients

Credentialling

authority

Subjects

Products

Social

institution

Citizens

Partners

Example:

Student experience of Grad Cert in University Management

Students as “customers” + “clients” + “citizens” + “subjects”

(but not “consumers” or “products” or “partners”)

Process:

A live group survey (small class)

Data is collected, replayed and discussed in class

mid-semester, and end-of-semester

See Sharrock, (2012). “Quality in teaching and learning: one path to improvement.” Australian Universities Review, vol 54 no 2

Quality assurance: “customer/client focus”

Questions?

QA via live group student feedback

Questions?


“All the way” to support students so they can:

– make well-informed & independent choices

– make good use of facilities & services

– be engaged & use their time well

– achieve results & benefit fully from study.

But, some professional “no-go” zones:

– no special treatment: students are “equally special”

– upholding standards: students aren’t “always right”

How far do we go to “satisfy” students?

Mr Selfridge, 30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBysHjcyDrI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBysHjcyDrI

Thank you!

Questions?

Dr Geoff Sharrock, University of Melbourne: Students as customers: how far do we go in the name of...

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