Student As Customer

I approach teaching assignments as I do consulting assignments. My role is to help my clients achieve their goals. It is my responsibility to give the clients what I perceive they need to achieve those goals. What they need may differ from what they want.

When I am teaching a course, the students in the classroom are my clients. They are my customers. To serve them I must first know what it is they want from the course. I begin each course asking the students to write for me why they are taking the course, what they want to learn, and how they prefer to learn. I use this input to help me design the course. This is why I do not finalize a syllabus until I have received the students’ input. Even then I will make changes during the semester as I discover ways that may better serve the students’ needs.

Viewing the student as the customer can have a profound effect on how you teach. Such a perspective fosters a learner-centered approach to teaching. The student as customer does not mean that control is handed over to the students. As with my clients, I am responsible to provide students with what they need to achieve their educational goals. What they ask for may not be what they need. I am to help them to realize this and to deliver that which will move them toward achievement of their goals.