A student is a student - not a customer

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>A student is a student - not a customer
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS mildly perturbed when I read last Monday's report, 'Every student is a customer at this school'. It was essentially an elaboration of one of the five core values of Republic Polytechnic - 'Customer-oriented'.
The report started with a sensational statement: 'Republic Polytechnic is not your usual school - it treats its students like customers.'
As I read on with raised eyebrows, my concerns escalated. One statement read: 'Staff are appraised based on how customer-oriented they have been.' Another: 'If students were won over by the benefits the school provided, they would become 'ambassadors' to convince friends and family to choose it too.'
At the risk of sounding prudish, the modern model of education may have gone off track if students are treated as 'customers'. There is one business mantra that comes to mind immediately: 'The customer is always right.' This popular saying is essentially true if we consider the ultimate motivation behind all customer-provider relationships - not 'customer satisfaction' per se, but a deal which benefits both parties.
However, this philosophy, if transplanted to the educational arena, might prove not only unavailing, but also unhealthy. Educators might be considered 'employees' in the organisational structure of any educational institute, but when it comes to teacher-student relations, they are not merely 'service providers' who 'trade' knowledge, nor should they 'please' students with reciprocation at the back of their minds (a better evaluation perhaps?).
While it is true that student feedback is vital when it comes to course design and self-reflection and improvement, to treat students as 'customers' is as good as saying that teacher-student relations are largely transactional. I worry that this fashionable term might slowly erode the foundation of mutual respect, love and spirit of continuity that education is based on.
Out of curiosity, I visited the Republic Polytechnic website. Under the core value of 'Customer-oriented', a one-liner follows: 'Customers are the focus of everything we do.' Then it dawned on me, this core value was meant to say: 'Students are given the utmost priority here in Republic Polytechnic, like customers.'
However, the intuitive discomfort I felt when I first read the report probably shows that the ambiguity of a 'customer' label exists and wrong messages may have been sent to parents, students and educators.
Zheng Yi

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Going to school getting to be like checking into a resort
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Monday's report, 'Every student is a customer at this school'.
I find this headline disturbing, and the text makes me wonder about institutions of higher learning today. Going to school is like checking into a holiday resort.
When I was at polytechnic some 30 years ago, academic lessons and social conduct were of paramount importance. Niceties like personal convenience and comfort took a back seat. We were not allowed long hair, singlets, shorts or slippers.
Attendance was strictly enforced and students could be barred from taking examinations if they did not meet a certain percentage. Assignments and projects had to be completed on time or we would have failed, even before the start of the exams. Disciplinary actions ranged from suspension from classes to termination of study. Most lecturers and administrators were strict and serious. The diplomas we received were of substance.
All of this will have to go or be acutely compromised if and when polytechnics are run like a holiday resort. Is this progress? What kind of graduates will we produce in future?
Will we go the way of some other countries - where everyone who can afford it has a degree or diploma; but in practice does not know much and, worse still, thinks he is the 'most-wanted customer' wherever he goes?
Daniel Chan

 

[makapaaa]

It not, how to justify regular fee hike? *chey*​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>SOAP BOX
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>More power to the student-customer
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>It will drive home point that being a customer is not just about taking </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Yi Han
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->REPUBLIC Polytechnic recently scored the highest among commercial schools in a recent survey which measured customer satisfaction levels across various industries. (Other winners include StarHub and Mustafa Centre in their respective fields.)
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>YOUR SAY
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The school's performance in meeting customer expectations and delivering high-quality services set me thinking.
If I had been told as a student that I was a 'valued customer', I'm sure this empowerment would have boost my pre-university years.
Thinking of students as customers is valid.
As stakeholders, they pay fees and contribute to their academic community, and are the reason schools exist. Why shouldn't they have the right to expect a say in the way they are learning, and for their needs and concerns to be addressed?
Although my own school years were memorable, I generally went with the flow, ultimately doubting that those in authority would pay me any attention, or think me a troublemaker.
The times when I needed more time to complete a project but couldn't get an extension, or when I felt some assembly talks were boring but had my suggestion to make attendance optional dismissed by the principal, come to mind.
While being branded as 'customers' at school might seem strange, I believe the shift in mindset would do wonders for students' self esteem, knowing that they matter as individuals, and that their views are being taken seriously.
At Republic Polytechnic, being 'customer-oriented' is a core value, and the school's administration goes out of its way to make students' lives better. That includes providing amenities like a One-Stop Centre to handle their daily needs, such as paying fees or organising events.
It also emphasises an 'open-door' policy, inviting students to directly approach their teachers or the principal with their grievances.
The message is clear: Students come first. If the customer is always right, then it follows through in this environment, that students are too.
What's not to like about this?
If the same rule applied to younger students, they would get a say in matters close to their hearts - how they felt about their uniform, what time lessons should start, how many CCAs they want to take.
They would probably like going to school more, too.
No one should be too young to be treated with respect, after all.
Sure, there have to be limits. Students are in fact*, often wrong, and need to have their errors pointed out.
But what better way to learn good values than from example?
Besides, understanding how to be a 'good customer' happens in response to exemplary service and attitudes. Teachers will play a key role as 'service providers', teaching students to express their views reasonably and intelligently, instead of making inconsiderate demands.
Being a customer isn't just about taking, but giving as well. If students learn that well, their communities - societies even - will be the better for it.
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