College admissions is a great non-manufacturing example for the application of Lean and Six Sigma. We’ll look at three examples: one from the United States, another from Nigeria, and a final one from Canada.

Admissions Application: United States

This is a project presentation titled “Applying the Six Sigma Methodology to Improve the Admissions & Financial Aid Processes, Perceptions and Accountability” from the University of Missouri – Rolla  (UMR).

A seven-member project team worked to improve the business processes at the UMR Admissions office.

The project was defined as to “Increase the efficiency and accuracy of the student inquiry and application process for UMR admissions.”

The project which was completed in 2002 achieved the following results for the completion of applications:

  • Undergraduate Apps Completed 17% Faster than in 2000
  • Graduate Apps Completed 24% Faster than in 2000

You can access the project report here.

Admissions Application: Nigeria

In an article titled “Lean Six Sigma Approach to Improve the Admissions Process for a Nigerian HE Institute,” authors Anthony Oko and Parminder Singh Kang discuss the use of Lean Six Sigma to address the ineffective and inefficient admission process at the Benue State Polytechnic.

As a result of the subsequent improvements instituted, lead  time,  cycle  time,  rework  and  idle  times were all reduced.

You can review the details here.

Admissions Application: Canada

Ryan Hung presents the result of the Intake Lead Time Reduction project focused on the admissions process at Norquest College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The project goal was to reduce the admissions lead time from nearly 22 days to 10 days.

The main tool used in the project was the value stream map which established that most of the lead time was taken up by queue times.

The final result was a lead time of slightly over 9 days.

You can view the project presentation here.