LEAN APPLIED TO LEAVE
OF ABSENCES
MISSION
Berea College’s Leave of Absence program exists to assure that students are able, for
good reason, to pause their degree progression in order to attend to more pressing and
immediate personal, medical, educational, occupational, or family related needs.
Vision
Adoption of Processes:
• To simplify and clarify the procedures related to: (1) Granting, (2) Recording, and (3) Administrating Leave of
Absence Policy
• To reduce time dedicated to administration of Leave of Absence policy (most of this will be gained by students on
their return and the administrative office that facilitate that return)
•
Planned
reduction of time on processing “exit” and “entry” of ≈ one hour per LOA student.
•
Achieved through the reduction of steps for exit
•
Achieved through reduction of steps for entry
•
Achieved with superior instructions/checklists for students.
• To eliminate errors, incomplete processing, and lack of notification to appropriate stakeholders.
• To provide a clear institutional vision that students on Leave of Absences are expected to return to Berea College
and processes should reflect this fundamental assumption.
CHARTER
•
Mission –To provide a well-functioning Leave of Absences opportunity to support the mission of Berea College.
•
Burning platform –Students returning from leave of absences are often “lost” in the shuffle and do not know how to get everything
lined up for their return.
•
Process Description –In the past, students taking a leave of absence were asked to return their computer and lost access to
myBerea the email system.
•
Problem Statement – Students on leave should be treated more like ordinary students. They should keep their advisor, computer,
and access to myBerea and email.
•
Sponsor – Derrick Singleton
•
Process Owner – Scott Steele
•
Team Lead – Scott Steele
•
Facilitator – Scott Steele
•
Team – Scott Steele, Curtis Sandberg, Chris Lakes, Wanda Burch, Gus Gerassimides, Sara Corrnet
Suppliers
• Students
• Advisors
• Student
Life
• Instructors
• Labor
Supervisor
• Office of
Academic
Services
• Other Staff
• Campus
Christian
Center
• Student
Labor
• Health/Cou
nseling
• Tech
Resource
Center
Inputs
SIPOC
Process
Outputs
Requests for
LOA
LOA Policy
Reports
Signatures
Process of
Granting
Letters
Forms
Policy
Documentation
Customers
Students
Faculty
Good Outcomes
Limited tracking
Information
Assumptions
Regarding
Student Return
Staff
Financial Aid
Enrollment
Policies
Committee
HIGH LEVEL LOA PROCESS
From Student
Possibility of
LOA
Emerges
From Faculty
or Staff
Decision
is
Made
Paper work
is completed
Data is entered
In Banner
Student Status
Changes
Student
Returns to
Campus
Advisor and
Class Assignment
•Opportunity for Leave of
Absence
•Data Systems
•Thoughtful Decision Process
•Clear Policy
Strengths
Opportunities
•Improve Service
•Improved Data Management
SWOT Profile
•Lack of Standard Work
•Lack of Tracking System
•Information is located on paper or
in the minds of personnel not in
data-base
Weaknesses
Threats
•Lack of Understanding of Whole
Process
•Busy people
GAP ANALYSIS OPPORTUNITIES
AND PRIORITIES
• Leave of Absence provides a needed opportunity for a small group of Berea College students.
However LOA can be somewhat cumbersome to navigate as a student and time-consuming to
administrate.
• Opportunities exist to:
• Simplify and clarify
• Reduce errors
• Increase information exchange
• Ease transition for returning students
• Priorities
• Enhance student experience
• Reduce time dedicated to administrating LOA
VALUE STREAM-POST IT NOTES
VALUE STREAM MAPPING
THE VALUE OF 5 WHYS
During the value mapping the “5 whys” were often implemented.
Most fundamentally the “5 whys” helped the stake holders determine that a subtle change in
policy led to the possible simplification of “exist” and “entry” procedures for LOA students.
Change of assumption:
From—students on LOA may or may not return.
To—students on LOA will return.
Results:
• Modified LOA Clearance Form (LOA students do not need to follow all the steps of
students withdrawing; saves student administration time).
• Modified Approval Letter
• Change of processes
• Reduction in time in processing of LOA [one hour per LOA saved]
• Hoped for result—greater percentage of students returning from LOA.
NEW LOA
CLEARANCE
FORM
STANDARD WORK
WITH CHECK
LIST
The advising
relationship will no
longer be broken.
This eliminates the
• SFAREGS – Enter B#, make sure that the current term is entered, ctrl page down, when the
need to reestablish
students status reads “EL” go to record and select remove, save. (If message comes up
displaying holds and cannot register, before you can page down you must type “ovr” in the advising relationship
holds field and then proceed with the preceding steps.)
and improves
communication
• SGASTDN (status screen) – Take term out, ctrl page down, duplicate record, enter current
term, select reason (ex. GR, FC, etc.), save. Go to comments tab, enter current term, type
between Advisor and
in verbatim format (WITHDRAWAL, double space, yymmdd ((ex. 130828)), double space,
Advisee in
REASON= single space, reason code ((ex. LF)), save (f10).
preparation for
• SPAIDEN – Go to address tab (make sure to display CO address), enter end date, save.
return.
BANNER PROCESSING CHANGES
• SGAADVR – In the top right term field you would enter the following term from the
student’s withdrawal (ex. if the withdrawal is for 201311, enter 201312), ctrl page down,
select maintenance and select end advisor, save.
• SPAAPIN – make sure that current term for which the LOA is requested is changed back in
the top right term field, ctrl page down, remove record, save.
• GOATPAD – ctrl page down, check disabled for the pin, save.
Student PIN is no
longer disabled
facilitating return to
regular status
APPROVAL LETTER CHANGES
Non-value added.
There was little to
no reason to
change/modify
student access to
information
technology
systems.
SUBTLE POLICY ADJUSTMENT
Submitted to Technology Resource Center –
In previous semesters when a student has taken a Leave of Absence we have removed
their access to myBerea and required that they return their laptop computer, the same
as we do for student who officially withdraw from the college.
At the beginning of the spring semester, when a student is approved for a Leave of
Absence from the College we would like for them to retain access to their myBerea
account, and have the option of keeping their laptop during their Leave of
Absence. This change supports other policy shifts we are making in how we treat
students on Leave, such as communicating with them through email while they are
away, and allowing them to register for the next term’s classes during the regular
open registration period while they are on leave.
NEW VALUE STREAM MAPPING
Modified
CONCLUSIONS
Asking “5 whys” helps lead to an alternative operating assumption allow the reduction of
steps to process and lead time.
• Approximately one hour of time is likely to be saved on each LOA.
• Approximately 6 steps are removed from a process that has approximately 30 steps.
• Saved Steps:
• Compute turn in—
• Break Advisor relationship
• Reestablish Advisor relationship
• Initiate the step
• Find an advisor
• Ending of Banner PIN
• Reestablishing Banner PIN
• Administrative involvement in registration (students will complete on their own)