Student as King Customer:
First Chair in Germany commits with Service Promises [02.12.07]
Public announcement on Wednesday 17 January 2008 at 11:00,
University of Hohenheim, Chair of Marketing, East Courtyard of the Palace,
Room 33/111, 70599 Stuttgart
Service guaranteed: Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth from the Chair for Marketing at the Universität Hohenheim wants to list the 10 Service Promises on the wall, promises which go far beyond the official obligations of the University. These include the above-average quick correction of examinations and theses, course information updated daily, support for students when contacting companies and an in-house promotion of excellence for students. There is a voluntary commitment that broken promises will be punished by publication on the internet. The Economics course at the Universität Hohenheim is one of the largest departments within the state capital of Stuttgart and the specialist field of Marketing is one of the most popular specialist options.
Personal feedback discussions after every tutorial, theses corrected within four weeks, answers to e-mails within 24 hours – these are conditions, the likes of which students at many universities can only dream. "During their degree course, many students often feel like supplicants – and with our Service Promises we would like to show them that students are our much-sought-after customers,“ explains Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth.
The background to this is also the fact that Baden-Württemberg wants to introduce tuition fees during the coming semester. "We then have to offer the students more than simply what the Examination Regulations lay down", muses Prof. Dr. Voeth. A key step in this process is the shift in mentality. "We have to look at education as a market, in which we have to ensure that our product range meets the needs of our customer as best as possible, in order to survive long-term in ever-greater competition."
Prof. Dr. Voeth
The 10 Service Promises are the result of current management practice. "We carried out market research to analyse what our students perceive to be the biggest obstacles preventing them from a faster, more successful degree course. Thereafter, we examined the entire organisational structure of our Chair by examining each and every process and revising and improving it. However it is also clear that the performance can only be achieved in the long-term if the staff fully support it. This is why our Service Promises have had to be worked out by everyone together.“
Location map: www.marketing.uni-hohenheim.de/content/lehrstuhl/Wegbeschreibung.pdf
The 10 Service Promises
Prof. Dr. Voeth
Prof. Dr. Voeth
Contact for press:
Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth, University of Hohenheim, Chair of Marketing
Tel.: 0711/459-22925, e-mail: voeth@uni-hohenheim.de
