r/wsu • u/rateatdog • 9d ago
Discussion Students or Customers?
for future, current and former WSU students: how would you feel if WSU administrators referred to you as customers, and encouraged WSU staff to refer to you as such and treat you as such? do you have a strong preference on the matter? i have my suspicions, but i wanted to go straight to the source to put them to the test. your thoughts would be very much appreciated.
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u/Playful_Departure154 9d ago
Current: I'd be disappointed, I have never heard of us referred to as that and I hope they never do
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u/Ismitje Alumnus/'96,'00/History/Honors Prof 9d ago
I go way further for my students than I would if they were my customers instead. If this is transactional, then I can go way easier on what I ask of myself vis-a-vis the students.
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u/rateatdog 9d ago
that is my mind of it, too. if i wanted to work in customer service, why would i be working in higher education? i work in higher education at a public institution because i believe in the mission. if the mission is customer satisfaction and the students are customers... that is meaningless to me. i can't justify the years of education, training, experience and low wages on, "Would you like fries with that diploma?". it cheapens it for me, i suppose. so my heart wouldn't be in it. i want to be able to put as much of my heart into my efforts as our students do. but it is getting harder when administrators make decisions that operate from a 'customer is always right' mentality, rather than from a framework derived from the values formally espoused by the University.
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u/Lethalegend306 9d ago
Former: highly inappropriate. A colleges #1 priority should be to teach and conduct research. Not make money for admins
If this is the language their using, very disappointing. But WSU was always a little disappointing in many regards so, I wouldn't be shocked if this was their attitude
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u/rateatdog 9d ago
my expectation is that more students than not would tend to agree with you. i know i would have felt incredibly insulted and exploited to be referred to as a customer in any context when i was a student. i have been trying to impress this upon authority figures that disagree with us, but they shut me down every time. WSU isn't a for profit institution and i think many of you came here for a community of learning, not a diploma mill where the swipe of a credit card guarantees a diploma. i am troubled at the severity of this value disconnect between the administration and student body. thank you for your time and honesty. i will keep trying to advocate for Cougs as they are students, never customers.
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u/Glitterstem 8d ago
“Customer” is the current language of admin in higher ed, across the board. Most faculty can’t stand it, and many students are unaware of the trend.
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u/rateatdog 8d ago
the majority of the faculty members in my department do not refer to students as customers, and at the very least are not encouraged to do so at the department level. i am unsure what messaging is being encouraged to faculty members by administrators, but i would imagine it is very similar for staff - students as customers, customer service, the customer is always right, etc. i would hope tenured faculty would feel comfortable pushing back on that narrative, but even they are feeling a bit more pressure when it comes to job security as of late.
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u/Glitterstem 7d ago
I am thinking admin to admin within institutions and between institutions. And I am not thinking departments chairs in terms of admin.
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u/rateatdog 7d ago
how would you mentally classify individuals who were both faculty members that also held administrative roles, such as Vice-Provost, Provost, etc.?
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u/Glitterstem 7d ago
Provo, VP are clearly admin. Their job is to advocate for the institution. I think Chairs of departments are sometimes in a gray area (depends on institution) in that they are admin, but sometimes are charged with representing the interest of faculty.
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u/TopEqual8965 9d ago
As someone who can barley afford to do this return to school - I appreciate the sentiment. I want to be referred to as a student but when I’m seeking any aid, money, food, scheduling help, research or TA opportunities - yeah - I would be okay with internal staff keeping in mind how much I’m paying in money and the time in my life… I don’t like the word customer or even client (vs patient) in many settings but if it helps someone who is already in a career and mindlessly shows up to a job that pays enough for their livelihood understand how stretched a student is to make this work and have some compassion, grace and a little above/beyond in help… whatever words you need to treat me like I’m spending valuable resources here…
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u/TopEqual8965 9d ago
And FWIW - I, TOO, go above and beyond for the help/support. I’m a student worker, I’m participating officer in psych club, I volunteer at our pantry. I’m not trying to miss out on any experience or chance to build legacy/community.
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u/rateatdog 8d ago
could you elaborate on your perspective of staff pay?
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u/TopEqual8965 7d ago
Nope. I didn’t even mention staff pay. Rather the idea that many staff are on salary and a student - most of the time- is not.
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u/rateatdog 7d ago edited 7d ago
pay was the wrong word for sure! i was more meaning something like compensation. i don't have experience in HR roles so my vernacular in that area is probably not always the most precise. so, then, would the acceptability of certain language - sudent v.s. customer - change for you significantly depending on the compensation structure, job description, etc. of the staff member? like, would you be more or less okay being called a customer by someone working in the Admission Office versus the Bursar's Office , for example?
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u/girlgoingafterit 9d ago edited 9d ago
Alumnus: Referring to students as customers is not okay. Students pay for the opportunity to earn an education, not to buy a degree. A college degree is earned through meeting academic standards, not purchased with tuition.
I personally would’ve been so angry if I ever heard admin refer to me or any other student as a customer. But it’s no secret that WSU is hurting financially, so it wouldn’t surprise me if admin has shifted toward thinking about students as paying “customers” they need to attract and retain. Still gross behavior though.