June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering1 A Six Sigma Student Success Program Presented to:  Dr. Horace Fleming Executive Vice President and Provost  Dr. Peggy Dubose Provost and Director of Graduate Programs  Dr. Dayne Aldridge Dean, School of Engineering July 1, 2003

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering2 The Six Sigma Business Approach  Six Sigma is “a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success. “  It is uniquely driven by  a close understanding of customer needs,  disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and  diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing the business process.

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering3 Six Sigma Aplicability  Six Sigma has been successfully applied in manufacturing environment (eg Motorola).  Six Sigma has been successfully applied in the service sector (eg GE Capital).  More recently, Six Sigma has shown to be exceptionally effective in educational settings.  Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award  two school districts in 2001

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering4 Benefits of the Six Sigma Approach  cost reduction  productivity improvement  market-share growth  customer retention  cycle-time reduction  defect reduction  culture change  product/service development

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering5 The Six Sigma Philosophy  Designed to foster data-driven management decisions  The Three C’s  common metrics  “constant” communication  culture change  “The Big Picture”

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering6 Six Sigma Approach to Student Success  Genuine Focus on the Customer  Data- and Fact-Driven Management  Process Focus  Proactive Management  Boundaryless Collaboration  Pursue Success; Tolerate Failure

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering7 Six Sigma from a Business Perspective Six Sigma is “a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business process.”  Pande. P.S., Neuman, R.P., & Cavanagh, R.R. ((2000). The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies Are Honing Their Performance. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. xi

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering8 Six Sigma System Inputs  External  Voice of the Customer  Voice of the Market  Comparison with Competitors   Internal  Voice of the Process  Voice of the Employee

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering9 Guidelines for Determining Metrics  Consider ways to measure Service as well as Output factors.  Practice continuous improvement of your measurement.  Set measurement priorities that match your resources (Prioritize for maximum potential gain.)  Stop measurements that are not needed or useful.

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering10 Qualifications for Six Sigma Improvement Projects  There is a gap between current and desired/needed performance.  The cause of the problem is not clearly understood.  The solution isn’t predetermined, nor is the optimal solution apparent.

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering11 General Guidelines for Implementation of Six Sigma Improvement Projects  Start small; don’t go for large scale changes at first  Select several well-defined projects  Expand projects after early successes are accomplished

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering12 Implementation in the School of Engineering  Focus on freshman/sophomore year success  Seek to identify factors that are Critical to Quality (CTQ)  Culture change – students are simultaneously the customers and the product  Both quantitative and qualitative methodology  Six Sigma Team  Two faculty  One administrator  One staff member  Two students

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering13 Pilot Projects  Voice of the Past Customer  Voice of the Current Customer  Others as determined by Six Sigma Team

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering14 Student Success – Voice of the Current Customer  Begin with Voice of the Current Customer  Freshman/Sophomore Focus Groups  Stayers  Leavers  Metrics  Confidence in math and science abilities  Commitment to major/career  Work ethic  Financial considerations  Calling  Expectations/satisfaction

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering15 Student Success – Voice of Past Customers  Voice of Past Customers (Fall 2000 Freshman Class)  Design of Experiments  Stayers: engineering seniors  Leavers: non-engineering seniors

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering16 Student Success – Voice of Past Customers  Potential Critical to Quality Factors  Pittsburgh Freshman Engineering Attitudes Survey results  Confidence in math and science abilities  Reasons for choosing engineering  Threshhold courses  Commitment to major/career  GPA in math/science courses  Pre-entry factors: SAT, HSGPA  CIRP/YFCY data if available

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering17 Continuous Improvement Coordinated Data Collection  Currently available customer satisfaction data  CIRP  YFCY  NSSE  Pre-entry characteristics (SAT, GPA)  Longitudinal performance  Course selection  Migration in/out major  Financial considerations  Aid  Employment

June 2003Dr. Joan Burtner Industrial Engineering18 Six Sigma Student Success Project Timeline  Year 1  Implementation of pilot projects  Development of plan for constant metrics  Year 2  Continuation of pilot projects  Preliminary feedback to administrators  Implementation of new metrics as needed  Year 3  Evaluation of pilot projects  Final feedback to administrators  Initiation of additional Six Sigma projects