Students are consumers of services and products at MSU. Look at all of the advertisements in the State News. The ads could be small or full pages with white words on a black background or black words on a white background. All the advertisers want their ads to be noticed or read with the aim that you would be a consumer of their products. The ads send the message that the students are important and their business would be appreciated. Know what you are in the market for and what you are buying. You would not go to a clothing store to buy a car. You would not be happy if a store did not have the advertised product but wanted to substitute an inferior product at a higher price.
The Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University document spells out how "business" at the University is conducted. This document is a guideline for expectations and responsibilities with which the University and students live. To oversimplify, the University will provide the environment and instruction for an education (i.e. a red car). It cannot substitute a red bicycle. The student is responsible to learn (pay for the car). Either side can seek remedies for grievances or complaints.
If a student does not perform her/his assignments, the student will be held responsible and suffers the consequence of a bad grade. When a student is in trouble, then the Student Rights and Responsibilities become very important. It is how the University will interact with a student and the student needs to know how to react.
The purpose of this article is to point out that students are part of the University community with responsibilities and rights. If a unit of the University is not providing the services (diagnosis, treatment, referrals, accessibility) that the student thinks should be delivered, then the student should bring this up with the unit. If there is no satisfactory resolution, a complaint can be filed or a supervisor can be contacted (and so on). This applies to all University faculty and staff.
Students should not just react. They can expect to be respected and demand to be listened to if this is not happening. Employees of the University have jobs because the students are here. I am writing this article because I have seen many students who don't realize they have rights within the University. There are times that both students and University employees forget that theirs should be a cooperative and reciprocal relationship with the purpose of "advancement, dissemination and application of knowledge" (Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University).