“If you think education is expensive – try ignorance.”
– Derek Bok, President, Harvard University

As a proud father of three, I wonder about both the availability and quality of education provided by the public school system, especially during these recessionary times. One recent Sunday morning, I woke to find in big print on the front page of the Huntsville Times Newspaper, “Teacher Layoffs Possible in Spring” (Stephens, 2009). The Huntsville school system will have to make cuts and still possibly seek a line of credit in order to operate in the upcoming school year. Huntsville is not alone, as according to the Alabama Department of Education, 65 of the state’s 131 systems have already established lines of credit to help make their payrolls next year (Stephens, 2009). .

This fiscal pain is also felt by Alabama’s two and four year colleges and universities. In June of 2009, the University of Alabama lost more than $130 Million in state appropriations for the 2009-2010 school year. Auburn saw similar cuts of approximately $69.3 Million. The Alabama Community College System (composed of 22 community colleges, 4 technical colleges, Athens State University and Marion Military Institute) has also faced large cuts. In all cases, universities are reacting by trying to reduce cost and increase tuition.

While this is a multi-faceted issue and must be addressed from many fronts…I had an interesting question recently posted on my “Ask Byron” Blog:

“I work in an upper division university in Alabama. I see that you have embraced many fine theories that work well in manufacturing & production oriented orgs- will your program work in the education industry where the primary stakeholders are tenured and seemingly not at risk? Thanks” – An Anonymous Professor

The short answer is, “YES!” Lean is a continuous improvement approach that focuses on reducing cost through the elimination of waste while increasing customer value. Lean philosophies and techniques have been used successfully outside of manufacturing environments for years now. A quick internet search will identify multiple case studies where lean has been successfully applied in such fields as healthcare, construction, and financial services. You will even find success stories dealing with the application of lean in public education systems to reduce cost while improving overall performance. In 2004, a Rand Corporation study entitled “Organizational Improvement & Accountability – Lessons for Education from Other Sectors” noted that lean process improvement was one of the most powerful tools that educational systems could deploy. Yet when I made an internet search for lean deployment in Alabama education, I could not find any reference to the deployment of lean. While this is some what understandable at the K-12 grade levels, I found it shocking that I could not find any reference to the deployment of lean at the university level, as I am aware that several Alabama universities have been working with local industries teaching and applying lean for several years. How could there NOT be a strong lean program underway at most schools and universities in Alabama?

One reason why may be implied in the wording of the above question – “Will your program work in the education industry where the primary stakeholders are tenured and seemingly not at risk?” Organizations are composed of people and while it is true that all people do not resist change, it is also true that people do not change unless there is good reason. There must be a catalyst situation that drives the need to learn and develop new skills. Up until recent years this type of catalyst situation may simply have not existed within the Alabama educational system. However, times are changing. In the same Huntsville Times article noted above, Huntsville City School System Superintendent Ann Roy Moore said, “Non-tenured teachers would often be the first to go by policy, but some may be difficult to replace, such as an advanced physics teacher. And the system could be forced to take the unusual step of reducing the number of tenured teachers (Stephens, 2009).”

Another reason is that most schools and universities do have some form of continuous improvement occurring and may believe what they have is good enough. It is very rare to find a school that does not employ some form of Total Quality Management (TQM) or Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). Alabama Colleges and Universities are accredited through the Southern Associate of Colleges and Schools. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC) accredits virtually all colleges and universities in the southern region of the United States. To receive and maintain accreditation SACS requires each school to develop Quality Enhancement Plans (QEP) focused on engaging the wider academic community and addressing one or more issues that contribute to institutional improvement. The QEP describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue(s) related to enhancing student learning. While these activities have led to the development of quality and performance improvements, they have often failed to offer a tactical approach that both reduces overall cost and drives improvements. Lean, on the other hand, could fill this gap with practical tools and methodologies that could both improve the overall quality and performance of school processes (thus increasing value), and ensure that waste is reduced eliminating excessive costs. While lean could be used as a stand alone CIP, it is fully compatible with existing TQM and CIP models and practices such as QEP.

Lean has delivered improvements in every industry that has made application ranging from healthcare to banking – thus demonstrating the universality of its principles to both reduce cost and improve performance. While lean alone will not save Alabama public education, it could make a significant difference in both the cost and quality of the education being delivered at every level. The expertise for implementing lean already exists at some local universities… Why are we waiting? Can we really afford to wait?

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
If anyone is aware of lean techniques being applied within the Alabama educational system, please feel free to post the news below. Nothing would please me more than to learn that this is currently being pursued. If you have questions regarding creative techniques for applying lean in the education industry, feel free to contact me directly.

REFERENCE:
Stephens, C. (2009, December 20). Teacher Layoffs Possible in Spring. The Huntsville Times, p.1