Lean in HE: Improving MBA student recruiting process through use of Value Stream Mapping

Transcription

1 Lean in HE: Improving MBA student recruiting process through use of Value Stream Mapping Paulette Alexander, PhD, Associate Dean Janyce Fadden, MBA, Executive in Residence University of North Alabama

2 Building the case for change Fewer students are entering higher education Yet, more students go online to make their college decision Counteracting Forces in the Market 2

3 Students are applying to more and more institutions

4 Today s MBA situation Acquisition costs are increasing as schools fight for market share Competition will be based on differentiating a program s value and quality Given consumer behavior trends, digital continues to be the present and future of higher education marketing Sustained influence and relationships with prospective students are critical for success Source: Collegis 4

5 The opportunity The UNA MBA program identified an opportunity to differentiate by improving the recruiting and admissions process The Goal: Create an efficient, student-centered process inspired by the Amazon customer service model by utilizing data to find opportunity areas for improvement 5

6 What Is a Value Stream? Defines value from the customer s perspective All of the actions and tasks, both value added and non-value added or waste, required to bring an item (an idea, information, product or service) from its inception through delivery. These include actions to process information from the customer and actions to transform the service on its way to the customer.

7 Value Stream Mapping Helps us see where value is created, and where waste exists: o Shows flow of both material & information o Helps us see where/how specific Lean tools can be used to improve flow and eliminate waste o Consists of two types of maps: Present State - as it is Future State - how it should be

8 VSM First try

9 MBA Process Map Updated Prospecting Nurturing Application Admission Registration Prerequisites PPC Proactive Marketing Campaigns Organic Specialty Ad Zoho CRM College Net: ApplyWeb/ Admin Filing Cabinet Banner Xtender Campus CE Ivy Software GMAT Prospecting Nurturing Application Admission Registration Prerequisites Referral Info added to CRM alert to Zack Begin Applyweb Application Application Assigned to COB in Admit Orientation phone call Create account with CE Incomplete CollegeNet Passive Auto response sent Leave VM 6 days in a row + Connect periodically for 2 weeks Phone call Connect Make interview appt. Conduct interview Determine Readiness to apply Incomplete Nurture to Complete App Complete Application Application Submission message sent to student from ApplyWeb Auto Confirmation sent to student App Submission Notification sent to COB Auto alert sent to Evaluator for "Ready for Review"/ Alert sent to Amanda. COB review file Manual sent to Dean from Evaluator of file summary/ recommendations Schedule appt Connect Orientation Complete/ Upload Orientation Advisement Sheet Registration VM and sent Does not purchase prerequisite MBA /Phone Follow up Purchase Prerequisite CE Report of new Students CE sends Student info to Ivy Ivy sends CE confirmation Student receives prereq packet Max attempts Made Connect Continue to nurture COB sends of Checklist to student App Populates into Admit Admissions Prints App/ Creates File App Manually Entered into Banner Decision Made Program recommendation is made Admit by Evaluator Admit alert sent to Admissions that decision was made Update admission status in Banner Delay in start Nurture to register 601 Congrats from Dean Enroll Prerequisites Congrats/Prereqs from Dean Phone call to Enroll Student s MBA with prereq completion Congratulations Complete File decision letter release date entered in Admit COB phones and s periodically App Material prepared for review Auto Alert sent to applicant/decision letter posted to ApplyWeb account COB Phone calls and s to 6+ attempts Receive App Materials Application Material uploaded to Admit/Banner Admissions sends manual notification to Amanda that status has been updated Max attempts Made Complete File Decision Material copied from Admit nurturing for Next semester sent COB follows up for missing items Index Documents in extender Admissions sends snail mail letter of change form 9/14/

10 Process Cycle Efficiency Value-added Time Stages-124 Min. Prospecting Nurturing Application Admission Registration Student Waiting Time Fall-82 Days Spring- 89 Days Summe r-108 Days Process Cycle Efficiency 0.1% 0.09% 0.07% Process Cycle Efficiency= Value-added Time/Cycle Time. Typical Process Efficiency is 5-10%. Through 3 cycles, MBA process is about.1%. 9/14/

11 Value versus Waste Value is that for the sake of which a process exists o The customer is interested only in the value flowing to them. James P. Womack Waste in a process is anything else o Waste is anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, and working time absolutely essential to production. -Taiichi Ohno

12 Learning to see waste From Brad Loetz

13 Stories from learning to see waste What would it look like if every one of our actions added value to the student? What could we do? Why do we do it that way now? Questioning the status quo? o Peeling the onion- GPA calculation Prerequisites

14 GPA Calculations For Admissions Present state: All GPA for all institutions taken into account and recalculate GPA if there was o o o o a different grade point scale (4 point vs. 3 point scale). a different credit hour basis (semester vs. quarter). a repeat/recompute or other forgiveness option for grades. a +/- grading system impacting GPA. Issues seen: o o o o The amount of time spent on some of these GPA calculations was an hour per application. Lack of consistency in identifying potential need for recalculation. Many opportunities for calculation errors. Many opportunities for interpretation errors.

15 GPA Calculations For Admissions Future state: Accept the GPA calculated and presented on the transcript of the degree granting institution as the basis for graduation. o o Convert that GPA to a 4. scale if necessary. Recalculate only if there is no GPA for graduation presented on the transcript from the institution. Result: More efficient and effective process for determining admission eligibility based on GPA o o Time not wasted on manual calculations of GPA from a variety of institutions Errors not likely because manual calculations and interpretations are eliminated.

16 Prerequisites Present state: o Students must demonstrate a satisfactory background in the following topics: accounting principles; economic principles; statistics; financial management; management principles and marketing principles. o UNA has a variety of ways that these prerequisites can be met, including non-credit competency courses and challenge exams. These options allow students to complete the required prerequisites more quickly and economically. Typically if you did not graduate with a BBA you will need to take prerequisites.

17 Differing results comparing BBA vs non-bba Non BBA Spring Semester Summer Fall Nurturing Application Admission Registration 9/14/

18 Prerequisite Requirements & Percentages Total of 94 Students from Fall Now *Out of the 7 students required to take 3 courses, 5 registered for 601 in the summer. 9/14/

19 Variance Analysis of Prerequisite Students 94 students in prerequisites from Fall 14 until Fall enrolled in a prereqs course currently 8 are already registered for 601 and purchased a prereqs (10 more are registered but not enrolled in a prerequisite) 4 postponing another year 5 Chose another School 5 taking undergrad course(1 at another university) 52 students not working on anything that we know of. 9/14/

20 Prerequisite Requirements & Percentages 9/14/

21 Prerequisites Assessed the landscape for best practices: o Benchmarked peer colleges o Met with faculty o Talked with AACSB Business Deans Designing future state o Incorporating into first classes o Qualifies for tuition reimbursement and loans o Eliminates waste from the value stream

22 Actions and Discipline Drive our Results Implementation of a CRM tool and sales stages Deeper level of data and insights Development of clear and effective program value proposition Ongoing conversion gains from testing advertising copy and landing page Weekly meetings focused on capacity Monthly meeting focused on results VSM meetings focused on process changes and achieving future state map 2 2

23 Success defined by new enrollment growth Semester % Change from Prior Term Spring % Summer % Fall % Total % 2 3

24 A snapshot in time of paid search enrollment funnel 14,980 clicked the advertisement and visited the UNA MBA landing page (1.04% click through rate) 801 requested more information through the online form or by calling directly (5.34% conversion rate) 680 engaged with UNA (85% contact rate) 160 applied (24% application rate) 50 registered (31% application to start)

25 MBA Executive Summary Chart Example Weekly monitoring of semester attainment to goals 9/14/

26 Samples of data analysis Domestic MBA Prospects by Source Percentage Total Prospects: % 32% 1% 2% 3% 59% PPC Organic Referral GMAT College Net Apps Other June August 2015 Other- anyone who applies and did not speak with Zack. They do not fit in any

27 UNA Vs. Non UNA Students Non UNA UNA Spring Semesters Summer Fall Nurturing Application Admission Registration 9/14/

28 Now we see and take action Creating a pull system o Improved use of CollegeNet o Tracking each prospect through CRM o Building relationships based on prospect need o Staying connected to student through , voice, and text Using Data to make changes o Prerequisites o GPA o GMAT and GRE scores Improving academic successes o Relationship building o Real time feedback

29 Small changes lead to significant improvements o MBA new enrollments above prior year over the past three semesters o Incremental gains in process efficiency times o Pipeline analysis determines historical yield and allows for more accurate forecasting and planning o Clear visibility to the MBA enrollment process and the ability to use to data to pinpoint future opportunities for improvement

30 How to connect to our story How can we help you? How can you help us? Paulette Alexander Janyce Fadden,