How to implement Six Sigma black belt methodologies in the Education sector?

Educational Institutions require an innovative supporting tool which helps in improving the quality of processes pertaining to the important functions particularly teaching, research and service. Institutions of higher education can also improve their chances of attracting students by improving the levels of service. To find success, they must demonstrate that they can offer what others cannot. The quality of education is more important to the customers of the educational institutions such as students, parents and the organizations where they are getting employment. Six sigma five phase methodology i.e., DMAIC (Define - Measure - Analyse - Improve - Control) is adopted to establish a novel approach with a view to improve quality in a higher education institution. A synergistic approach created by analysing and simultaneously using the benefits of Six Sigma certification in Bangalore plays an important role in the development and improving the quality of a higher education institution.

Recently six sigma as an improvement approach has gained wide popularity in many service sectors such as banks, healthcare centers, utilities services and Airline industry primarily to gain customer confidence and to boast business growth. In fact education segment is of no exception as it is fast inclining as a profit generating business enterprise with minimal impact towards nation building. Six-sigma is an improvement strategy geared towards reducing defects on existing products and strategies efforts in improving business growth and sustainability. This methodology has two techniques which are known as DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) and DFSS (Design for Six sigma). The main difference between these techniques is that DMAIC is a process improvement strategy applied on developed and existing project or system while DFSS is geared towards designing new product or process.

Six Sigma is a process that brings additional benefits and helps institutions to adopt best practices for service delivery through a quality process which ensure its success. This paper has discussed two approaches which are highly complementary and can be used in combination effectively for the continuous quality improvement of an educational process.

The DMAIC, a standard six sigma process is proposed as it has gained vast positive reviews of its capabilities. Furthermore, an attempt has been made to establish a relationship between this popular industrial methodology and the scope of study in an academic environment involving undergraduate engineering program. This is to ensure that academic institutions are committed towards producing innovative talent graduates and are not deviated towards commercial motives. Cultural changes require time and commitment before they are strongly implanted into the organization. In its most common use, education quality refers to the extent that an education system is able to achieve the generally accepted goals of education, central to which is knowledge and skill development.

Our Conceptual Framework propose a new insights to the managers in organizations that typically interact with education and quality. Just like ISO 9000, Six Sigma focuses on quality improvement by reducing the defects and flaws in the processes of delivering educational services. To be successful in universities and colleges, Six Sigma and other improvement initiatives should be aligned with element (e.g., accreditation efforts and/or institutional effectiveness departments which are responsible for data analysis and report submissions). And national quality initiatives, including finally, students should be involved in Six Sigma and other excellence initiatives. After all, students are the ultimate stakeholders. They are customers, in co-managers of the teaching/learning process, and final products as they graduate and seek employment. Higher education institutions should more often consider and refer to Six Sigma black belt certification as a success strategy in maintaining academic quality at high standards, improving it continuously and reaching a higher level of performance.

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