By Don Carpenter | Guest Contributor

As we start a new academic year, think of it like New Year’s Day — a good time to step back and look at the bigger picture. What are your goals and how can we help you achieve those goals? And by “we,” I mean your professors.

As a clinical professor on the accounting faculty, I tend to see the academic process as a variation of traditional business models. Clear expectations and deliverables are necessary for a successful business outcome, which is often measured in customer satisfaction.

In the academic model, the measurement of success can become a bit murkier. One contributing factor to the lack of clarity is the issue of where you, as a student, sit in the flow of the academic transaction. You might see yourself as the customer or you might be the product. It presents a few questions: the first is who determines that and the second is what is the difference.

The answer to the first question is fairly straightforward — if you are proactive, you make the determination. As far as the difference between the two, let me explain. As a customer, you see yourself as the consumer of a product. You pay tuition with the expectation of receiving value for money. And the value is measured in terms of enhanced technical skills or expertise, which in this structure is the product.

Conversely, if you view yourself as the product, your goal might be more subjective. At the risk of sounding crass, you, as the product, are being shaped into “an asset” that is valued in the marketplace. And the market, which is the customer, can be multiple venues — a career, a relationship or just being a responsible adult.

At this point, you might be asking, “how does being a customer differ from being the product?” Let me give you a simple example. As a consumer, you would be dissatisfied if you ordered a meal at a restaurant and then were served only a portion of your order while still paying the full price. As a customer/student, rather than being pleased, you should be equally frustrated when your class is canceled or a professor eliminates material due to lack of time or planning.

Why accept half a meal for full price? So why accept less than the full academic delivery? But if you are “the product,” then the need to adapt and redirect when a class is canceled plays right into your priorities. It requires you to develop character traits, such as time management and personal responsibility.

You might also be asking, “can’t I expect both, to enhance technical expertise and be shaped behaviorally?” At times, your college experience will meet both goals, but at other times these goals might conflict. And this is why it is important to set your priorities.

Just a couple of years ago, I taught a sophomore who confessed at lunch that he was struggling in some of his classes. As we discussed his difficulties, it came to light that he was not a morning person. Yet he felt that his sleep habits needed to change to better prepare him for a career (a product perspective). With this goal in mind, he signed up for 8 a.m. classes, which he then habitually missed due to lack of compliance with his several alarms. In this student’s case, the focus on himself as a product compromised any goals he might have set as a customer.

Your priorities might also inform which professors you select to assist in helping you achieve your goals. Personally, I approach students as customers with the goal of effectively delivering a product, which in my inventory is accounting and general business information. To illustrate, every class in Introduction to Financial Accounting is recorded and made available on Canvas. Students who are absent from class or who find their attention lapses, in spite of the riveting discussions, can view the class at any time and even multiple times if they choose.

This is conducive to delivering the product to the customer. But if my goal is to shape my students into adults who are consistently punctual and present (approaching students as products), I would not make the class available and let the customer take a backseat to the product.

But you also see how I cannot achieve both goals effectively. When selecting professors who are consistent with your priority, I find that one of the most transparent tests is what I call the “extra credit test.” The way extra credit is allotted in a class is either customer-based, being earned by subject matter assignments, or product-based, being determined by such metrics as attendance, punctuality or participation.

Unfortunately, consistency is not something in which we humans excel. As a student, keep focused on your priority. And we, as professors, should be equally clear on our teaching philosophy, keeping in mind that inconsistency introduces stress and a lack of clarity into the student–professor relationship. Which priority you choose might not be as important as the fact that you have a priority.