Key Points

• Education has many transactional processes, like admissions, registration, and so forth, that can benefit from a disciplined, structured approach under Six Sigma.
• You might see some cultural resistance with a business-focused methodology like Six Sigma, but when framed as student-centered, you’ll get better results.
• Six Sigma provides measurable benefits, like reduced costs, better student experience, and fewer bottlenecks.

We often think of Six Sigma as the domain for manufacturing, goods, services, and so forth. In recent years, we’ve seen a shift in this line of thinking, which sees the methodology being used across some rather interesting industries.

Education isn’t what comes to most people’s minds when it comes to the reduction of defects, elimination of bottlenecks, and striving for continuous improvement.

That said, numerous colleges and other facilities have made the switch to Six Sigma and are netting some seriously impressive results.

So, let’s go on a deep dive into how these institutions are utilizing the methodology and where it’s benefiting them now.

University of Missouri-Rolla

Nothing is more discouraging for a student than a lengthy, arduous admissions process. Often, this can be what stands between a student and getting into their college of choice. The University of Missouri-Rolla was suffering reputational damage thanks to its lengthy, error-laden admissions process. Something had to be done, and quickly.

A Black Belt-led team took the time to map the admissions process, identify bottlenecks, and work through the issues thanks to DMAIC. Error-prone steps were identified, and students were well on their way to having a smooth, seamless admissions experience.

This had some net benefits, as turnaround time for admissions decisions went from a matter of weeks to mere days. Mismatched or lost documentation has also greatly decreased. One of the biggest lessons the institution learned from this exercise was that a streamlined process, where admissions were treated like a high-volume transaction, greatly improved the first impression students had when applying to the institution.

University College Dublin

UCD found itself looking to institute a broader process improvement initiative across both its academic and administrative functions. The approach needed to be structured, all-encompassing, and provide the necessary skills and training to its workforce. Lean Six Sigma was the methodology chosen, and it netted surprising results overall.

The university was able to get adequate training for its workforce and started the process of going through pilot projects guided by the DMAIC framework. Efficiency was greatly increased just by looking at the starter projects, and it saw additional benefits across the board.

Staff engagement and empowerment went up, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. The university was able to leverage this push into change into a successful adoption, even establishing standardized models for future expansion and scaling as needed.

University of Miami

Student housing is a difficult thing to do right. You’ve got to balance student needs with efficiency, and when you’ve got attendance in the thousands, that can be a tough task to land correctly. The University of Miami was stuck looking at options for designing a new dormitory, and leaned on DMADV to get things done.

Under DMADV, the project structured the design process around user requirements. Design specs were aligned with measurable outcomes, leading to a facility that met student expectations and institutional goals on the whole. If anything, this serves as a valuable reminder that Six Sigma isn’t just about the improvement of existing products and services, but can be leveraged to create whole new processes and outputs.

Further, these fall further in line with stakeholder expectations, which works brilliantly for Six Sigma in education as a whole.

What Can We Take Away from Six Sigma in Education?

I suppose you can look at these stories as unmitigated successes, but they highlight some of the benefits of using a methodology like Six Sigma to define your organization. Leadership buy-in played a massive role in each of these bite-sized case studies. Further, it was framed as student-first, just like we expect to be customer-first in any business.

While not readily seen in the classrooms, administrative and back-office dealings saw noticeable, visible gains when looking at Six Sigma in education. Given that admissions, dorms, and financial aid play a critical role in any student’s first impression of a higher-learning facility, making sure you stick the landing is invaluable.

That said, broader applications of Six Sigma in education are certainly feasible. Even just looking at the likes of student transportation in K-12 schools can be readily handled with tools like the DMAIC framework to iron out inefficiencies.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Ready to keep going? You might want to take a closer look at how Kaizen is benefiting the airline industry. When looking just at handling the likes of luggage, boarding, and so forth, embracing continuous improvement is one way to keep customer satisfaction high.

Additionally, you might want to take a closer look at how cross-functional collaboration is encouraged by Hoshin Kanri. Setting long-term goals is valuable for any organization, and providing the means of ownership and empowerment for your workforce is going to see superb results when looking at things a year out.

Conclusion

Six Sigma in education is about putting students first, above all else, and eliminating the likes of defects, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks. When done properly, you’re getting the means to provide a wonderful first impression to students both in and out of the classroom. Six Sigma isn’t just for the factory floor, but for every industry.