Page 127 - Crisis in Higher Education

A Customer-Focused, Resource Management Perspective • 99

5.1 CUSTOMER-FOCUSED: WHO ARE THE CUSTOMERS?
The trifurcated customer is discussed in Chapter 1, and a summary of the
key points is provided here:

1. Students: Pay part of the cost and gain knowledge so they can have
good jobs and better lives.
2. Third-party payers:
a. Parents, other family members, and friends: The provide financial
support and want what is best for students.
b. Government: The federal government offers aid to students who
attend public or private colleges and universities. State and local
governments subsidize tuition at public colleges and universities.
c. Universities, foundations, and other organizations: Universities
are major scholarship providers. Foundations and other organi-
zations provide scholarships directly to students, and this allows
them to use these funds at institutions of their choice.
3. Potential employers: They want quality employees. Many universities
do not recognize this group as a customer, do not understand this
group’s expectations, and spend little time and effort creating links
between students and potential employers.

Based on this discussion, universities have three distinct customer groups:
(1) students, parents, other family members, and friends; (2) governments;
and (3) potential employers. Students and their supporters can be treated as
one customer because their interests are closely aligned. Governments have
different reasons to fund higher education than students because they are
seeking economic prosperity and job growth, so governments are in a sepa-
rate group. University scholarships are marketing tools, and in reality, they
are price discounts that are used to attract students they want. Universities
are not customer of themselves. Scholarships from foundations and the like
tend to be given directly to students, so the interest of these scholarship pro-
viders and students are aligned. These entities are not customers because
students typically control the funds. Although potential employers do not
pay universities for their graduates, they are customers because they hire the
output from universities, which allows graduates to pay their debts and live
comfortable lives. Without employers wanting to hire graduates, few people
would attend universities. This clarification of the trifurcated customer is