Algonquin College chose their Recruitment through Registration process as their first Lean project. It was a cross-departmental process that created value for their clients from the moment they showed interest in the College until they registered as students.  The college started the project by using the Enterprise Value Stream Mapping™ Tool. 

The key elements of this exercise were to ensure everyone was ‘seeing’ the entire system and not just their own department and that the focus wasn’t on any department or individual but on the client; the student.

The results to date have been impressive.  Algonquin College clients have experienced a number of positive outcomes as the result of the recent identification and implementation of many process improvements. These outcomes include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Shortened delivery times
• Reduced wait times
• Improvements in service quality
• Improvements in product quality
• Increased revenues/decreased costs
• Process improvements
• 25% improvement in the processing time for student timetable delivery
• 95% reduction in the time to process their info packages to mail-out

This was a win-win-win. College administrators had a positive impact on the learning environment; the students gained the practical, hands-on experience and confidence necessary for the workplace application of these skills; and, the learning environment made a positive impact on the College’s business processes.

Algonquin College is committed to continuously improving the College using the Lean approach. Their focus continues to be their clients and in meeting or exceeding their ever-changing, ever-evolving expectations. 

Read the entire article at https://www.leanadvisors.com/lean-success-stories/education/lean-applied-to-post-secondary-institutions-algonquin-college