Many of the ideas in this note come from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory and practice, but have been adapted for the higher education situation. Students are often referred to by some as ‘customers’, but we think it can be dangerous and damaging if you take the analogy too far. They are customers in some ways, but not in others.

First, some observations about the situation...

• Students often pay a portion of the actual cost of their education; e.g., subsidized in publicly supported institutions and cost + profit in for-profit, private situations.
• This creates a sense of being a customer, even if the analogy is not 100%, they do not know what they are a customer of, and they do not know how to act like a customer. They are a unique specie of customer. They do not know they are. Neither do most institutions or instructors. There is a relationship here that needs to be understood and managed; not left to Darwinism.
• Students are often under the age of 25 and this is the time that the brain is still developing, maturity is evolving, expertise is at the naïve and novice level, and executive functions are coming together.
• To put it simply, students are junior thinkers and are still learning how to assess, problem solve, and think things through. They might be smart, but most lack wisdom and commonsense. This will impact their perceptions and how they will engage with the institution and instructors. This is a gap or chasm that requires understanding and management. It will have high variability and inherent variance which is hard to deal with.
• Students do not really understand what they are investing in, how it should work, the value of it, how to be a professional student, what they are actually learning; although they will have opinions about all of this.
• They will understand Bloom’s knowledge level which is weighted towards facts, memorization, recipes, and will not ‘get’ the comprehension, applying, analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing bits. They do not know how to learn effectively and efficiently and many do not know how to learn by themselves. This is a gap that needs to be managed.
• Instructors rarely get training or an education in what the students and society are actually funding; they may be instructed by well trained specialists in a field, but the majority of specialists are amateurs when it comes to teaching and relationship management.
• It is the nature of the beast. Students are expecting professional skillsets and are often receiving amateur service and this can create a gap between expectation and reality that needs managing by the instructor, institution, and learners.

Suggestions from Customer Relationship Management

• Meet and exceed hopes and expectations
• There is a difference between hopes and expectations and every individual brings both to the table in every situation. To avoid a negative relationship, meet the expectations. To have a good, non-neutral relationship, exceed expectations. If you want the best possible relationship, exceed their hopes.
• Make it personal, individualized
• No one wants to be a number or viewed as a $$$ item. It is not possible to do the famous TV bar located in Boston, the bar where everyone knows your name; but it is possible to avoid treating students as mere objects, a means to an end, a commodity, a necessary evil. Where and when possible, have some kind of instructor/student mentoring arrangement set up for their duration in the program. If possible, arrange a 1-1 coffee chat between a faculty instructor and each student each year (or each term); not about course work, but make it about the students. This does not mean treating every student as if they are ‘special’, just treat them as humans.
• Understand the stakeholders
• Constantly study the incoming students, understand their expectations, baseline skillsets, understand their strengths and weaknesses. This does not mean that you cave or just cater to their whims and desires. You need to understand what you are dealing with if you want to do interventions, deal with the transition, re-program them, leverage their motivations, work with them, instead of fighting them.
• Manage the contact points
• Most high quality service processes try to minimize contact points, having the customers run around from one person to another to get things done. Respect the student’s time and try to provide one-stop contact for the most frequent and common interactions. Make sure that the contact point has sufficient skill, knowledge, wisdom, and authority to deal with the situation in a one-and-done fashion.
• Especially manage the first and last contact points
• In almost every service/contact process, the first contact will set the lasting impressions and set expectations. It should be a ‘wow’ moment. The last contact point is important for ‘after sales service’, the brand, and loyalty; e.g., the alumni relationship. The last term in the program should also be a ‘wow’ moment.
• Engage early and set expectations

• For first years, provide early interaction, communication to engage and involve the students in the specific program or topics before the term starts. Not just at the university level or faculty level, but at the instructor and department level when possible; start valuing them, showing them that you understand their issues, needs, and help them enter this big, new, and scary process. Do not leave things to their imagination and peer networking! Help them understand the holistic nature of education and the journey they are on; the different types of learning, value, immediate and delayed learning, and so forth.
• Caring
• If you truly care about the students and treat them with respect and fairness, they will care about you. ‘I am too busy for you’ is not a good way to show caring. ‘You are less important than research’ is not a good way to show caring. To be dismissive is not a good way either. Understand and value what the students bring to the table, contribute to the institution, program quality, reputation, value it and let the students know that you appreciate it and value it.
• Deal with problems and issues with stellar and unexpected service and processes
• The best relationships are when the right things are done, the right things are seen to be done, and deal with the customer’s situation. For example, if the customer has been inconvenienced, has to do extra effort (cost, time, emotions) because of something that should not have happened, the provider should own it, deal with it, and make the recovery process extra smooth and pleasant. It cannot be the simple ‘I am sorry’. That is not the way to impress the individual, create loyalty, or improve a relationship.
• Monitoring and quality control
• Have minimum levels for quality and what students can expect. Some variance can be expected and controlled innovation should also be expected. The secret society and black cloaks of ‘academic freedom’ do not entitle us to be amateurs and ad hoc about what we are being paid to do. Be responsible and accountable.
• Losing the relationship
• It takes multiple events and contact points to create trust and faith. One or two is not enough. There has to be regular and relatively frequent contact and engagement with positive outcomes if you are to create a positive and long term relationship. This means that the department Chair, Assoc. Chairs, Dean, and other ‘faces’ of the institution need to make a special effort and dedicate a substantial part of their work time for relationship management and interaction with the students. It takes just one mis-managed interaction to destroy all previous good-will and relationship building. Just one. And, it is almost impossible to recover.
• Respect
• Respect what the student is going through. Do not come to class unprepared. Do not surprise them with unexpected deliverables at short notice. Do not be late with handing out assignments, work, etc. Do not work under the assumption that yours is the only class that matters and that your course deserves to be the ‘hard’ or ‘heavy’ course just because it is your love. Do not talk at students, talk with them.
• Do not charge what the market will bear
• If you are taking the maximum out of a student (time, $$$, effort), do not be surprised by a neutral or negative relationship. Do not be surprised if there is little loyalty or alumni spirit/relationship. Of course, there are exceptions and institutions where wringing every last bit out of a student is seen as a qualification and ritual, actually something the students sign up for, are proud of, but these are rare. If you want support from the students when things go south or are challenging, there must be good-will and feeling of fairness, trust, and not being abused or ripped off. There is little retention or positive after-sales word-of-mouth when people feel exploited and used. If there are other, perceived ‘better’ choices, they will be chosen.
• Be the adult in the room
• Remember that the students are still evolving and do not expect them to be ‘adults’ in all ways. They are still naïve, novices and junior thinkers. Help them grow, but you are the one who should take the higher road and lead by example when things go south, when you need to compromise, adapt. Show them how to be good ‘customers’ and how ‘customers’ should behave.
• Active management
• It is not wise to make assumptions and be passive in any relationship. In a ‘best of class’ situation, you involve the suppliers and customers. You ask the suppliers ‘how you can be a better customer’. You ask the customers ‘how you can be a better supplier’. You actively assist and work with the suppliers to improve the flow and quality of goods to you. It is not just the occasional call or meeting, there is time and effort invested in these activities.

Further reading

• Conflict Management for Instructors. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/managing-students/setting-tone/conflict-management-instructors
• Effective Communication: Barriers and Strategies. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/communicating-students/telling/effective-communication-barriers-and-strategies