PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Mar 18, 2002--A billion-dollar industry with no customer service. That loses up to 12% of its customer base annually because of poor service but does little about it. That puts employees` desires before customers` needs. That believes its customers want to be cheated. ''That`s the condition of most of American higher education,'' said Neal Raisman, Ph.D., author of Embrace the Oxymoron: Customer Service in Higher Education.
Colleges and universities have been existing with no real concern to the care of their customers - students - for years, according to Dr. Raisman. ''Many claim they do care,'' he said. ''After all, they have student services offices and even create short-lived student programs. But the reality is, many college employees still believe the adage, `This would be a great place to work if the students weren`t here.`''
And their indifference has caught up with them.
''Students and their parents are paying increasing tuition payments and getting less on their investments,'' Dr. Raisman said. ''And in a service industry like college, that translates into the education itself.'' Long-term, poor service affects our society, culture, economy and future by graduating poorly educated citizens and workers, according to Dr. Raisman.
In the first book published on the issue of customer service in higher education, the former college president investigates how colleges and universities treat and mistreat students - and what can be done about it. In the 191-page book, he discusses:
-- How poor customer service cheats students and can hand them an inferior education.
-- What do students really want and expect from college. And why they chose one college over another (And it`s not what most academics think.)
-- Why being ranked zero is the best rating for a college, and how some colleges have gotten there.
-- Why students do not count as much as administrators, faculty and researchers at some colleges.
-- How administrators have allowed students to become undervalued and even overlooked.
-- How a lack of customer service affects the bottom line - in lost enrollments, transfers and low return on investment and future donations.
-- What good colleges do to make students feel valued.
-- The 12 principles of ''Good Customer Service'' in education.
-- The ''Field of Dreams'' syndrome in college marketing: ''If we build it and offer some classes, they will enroll.''
-- What a customer service audit is and how it can help a college understand what it can do to improve the experience and education for students.
Embrace the Oxymoron: Customer Service in Higher Education is available for $39.95 plus $4.50 shipping/handling. To order or for more information, call 1-800-341-7874, ext. 347, or access www.lrp.com/store online.
With offices in Palm Beach Gardens; Horsham, Pa.; and Alexandria, Va., LRP publishes various resources for higher education professionals including Enrollment Management Report, Campus Legal Advisor and Title IX Compliance Bulletin for College Athletics.
About the author: Neal Raisman, Ph.D., is president and founder of AcademicMAPS (Marketing, Advertising & Positioning). Dr. Raisman was president of SUNY Rockland Community College in Suffern, and SUNY Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. He also served as an associate provost at the University of Cincinnati, a dean and a faculty member. He was a Fulbright Fellow in France where he worked with French administrators on faculty development. He has authored 64 publications, appeared on Good Morning America, CNBC, and speaks and consults nationally and internationally on academic and marketing and advertising issues.
Editor`s Note: For a free media-review copy of Embrace the Oxymoron: Customer Service in Higher Education or to speak with Dr. Raisman, call Gary Bagin at 561-622-6520, ext. 370, or e-mail [email protected].
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