Lean Cell Advising Model
NACADA 39th Annual ConferenceLas Vegas, Nevada
Lead Presenter, Jana Jacobs, Associate Director of Advising [email protected] Co-Presenter, Brandon Crow, Senior Academic Counselor
Image used with permission from http://www.squarewheels.com
AbstractA solid advising process for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and other fields is critical for student academic success and effective mentoring; however, it can also be very time and labor intensive. The core idea of the Lean Cell Advising Model is to maximize the quality and efficiency of the advising experience, while minimizing errors and wasted time.
Our model involves a blend of individual & group advising techniques, making it possible to advise over 75% of your students within 6-12 hours of total sessions (spaced out over 3-5 days). These are based on advising totals between 200-700 in a college of over 2700 undergraduates. Although originally created for engineering majors, it can and has easily been adapted for other disciplines.
ObjectivesAs a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:1. Define the core idea of the Lean Cell Advising
Model.2. Identify the benefits of Lean Cells in the
advising process.3. Outline the process of creating a model that
is suitable for their advising needs.4. Identify areas of wasted time and areas of
value within the advising process.5. Design a more flexible advising process.
What is Lean?
What is Lean?
• Maximizing value with fewer resources.• Speed &efficiency with minimal waste & error.
What is a Lean Cell?• A process that creates “continuous flow” via:
– Organization (5S)– Standardization (5S)– Eliminating forms of “waste”– Enhanced Teamwork– Reliability– And Increased Satisfaction
Some Terms:• Throughput-The rate of work (students/hours)• Flow time- Average time to advise each student• Bottlenecks- A point of congestion; lack of faculty & staff availability can affect throughput.
University and College Numbers
Aerospace and Mechanical Engr
Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engr
Civil Engr and Environmental Science
Computer Science
Electrical and Computer Engr
Industrial & Systems Engineering
Engineering Physics
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
726
461
290228
429
181
52
Undergraduate totals • The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. 28,966 enrollment as of 2015
• 2,450 undergraduate students (1918 men/532 women) in the College of Engineering.*
• Organized into 6 schools with each consisting of one or more programs.
• ABET accreditation• Both Faculty and Central
College Advisors are assigned to each student.
• Lean Cell Advising started 2007.
*Based on 2013-2014 academic year fact book.
Expected Advising PercentagesLean Cell Advising Model
AME SP15 683
CBME SP15 405
CEES SP15 232
CS SP15 199
AME FA15 684
CBME FA15 338
CEES FA15 217
CS FA15 189
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
524 305195
153 522 272 173 154
159 10037
46 162 66 44 35
School Comparisons of Students Advised During Lean Cell Advising
Advised Not Advised
The BasicsLean Cell Advising Model
• 3-5 days of Lean Cell sessions from 2-3 hours each• Faculty, College Advisors, and Departmental Staff
present as standard.• Process:
– Departments email students the session times/dates approx. two weeks in advance.
– 4-8 faculty present in one large space to advise; 2-4 college advisors present
– Students attend session (first come-first serve);Students may see the first available faculty member or wait for a specific faculty member
– Students are required to complete a FLOWCHART before advising session.
– After faculty advising, student visits with college advisor to review advising notes, any potential enrollment issues, and remove holds
Visual Setup of SessionLean Cell Advising Model
View a Lean Cell Advising Session
1. Students check-in with Staff to verify that a flowchart has been completed (or other requested advising materials) indicating completed and planned courses.
2. Student meets with Faculty Advisor for semester advising. Advising notes uploaded to online audit system.
3. Before leaving session, meet with College Advisor to remove any holds and review advising notes.
***Additional staff may be present to meet with students (i.e. Pre-Law, Pre-Med, Honors Advisors, etc.)
Advising Tools: Flowcharts
Advising Tools: Online Audit Tool
• Advising notes are entered into an online advising and degree audit tool that allows students to track their progress towards a particular degree.
• A similar audit tool would be necessary for faculty advisors to view completed coursework and provide semester advising notes.
Lean Cell Advising ModelSchool of Civil Engineering and Environmental
ScienceLean Cell Advising session for spring 2015 enrollment:
• 232 total students to be advised in 4 major programs.
• 195 students advised• 84% advised during 6-hours total of
Lean Cell: Days 1-3 (89/51/55)• ~6 Faculty present per session. • 3 sessions at 2-hours each (6 hours
total)• Throughput Averages
– 32.5 students were advised per hour• 195 students/6 hours
• Advising Flow Time– On average, one student was
advised every 11 minutes during the 6-hour total session.• 32.5/6 faculty=5.42 students
advised each hour/per faculty• 60 minutes/5.42= 11.07
minutes per student
Lean Cell Advising session fall 2015 enrollment:
• 217 total students to be advised in 4 major programs.
• 173 students advised• 80% advised during 6-hours total of
Lean Cell: Days 1-3 (72/41/60)• ~6 Faculty present per session. • 3 sessions at 2-hours each (6 hours
total)• Throughput Averages
– 29 students were advised per hour• 173 students/ 6hours
• Advising Flow Time– On average, one student was
advised every 12 minutes during the 6-hour total session.• 29/6 faculty=4..8 students
advised each hour/per faculty• 60 minutes/4.8= 12.5
minutes per student
Lean Cell Advising ModelSchool of Civil Engineering and Environmental
Science
FA 2011 219
SP 2012 211
FA 2012 242
SP 2013 262
FA 2013 227
SP 2014 220
FA 2014 213
SP 2015 232
FA 2015 217
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
170 153 166204 171 171 144
195 173
49 58 7658 56 46 39
37 44
Students Advised in CEES During Lean Cell Advising 2011-2015
Advised Not Advised
Realized Benefits of the Lean Cell Advising Model
• Creates learning communities that contribute to retention.
• Encourages student and faculty understanding of degree requirements.
• Promotes positives of both the individual & group advising experience.
• Improved faculty, departmental staff, student, and advisor interaction.
• Reduction in potential advising errors.• Efficient for faculty/advisors/students.• Creates continuous flow & standardization.• Allows for early detection of enrollment issues.
Addressing Potential Concerns and Ongoing Improvements
• Bottlenecks– Lack of faculty and college advisors can cause congestion and backups
during advising sessions.– Possible solution: We’ve incorporated an online sign up for 30-minute
time slots (15-25 student limits), which keep student flow more even. • Privacy/Confidentiality
– Only student and faculty advising combos allowed into the advising room. Other students wait in another area. Students that have concerns can schedule an additional appointment to discuss sensitive issues.
• Advising Space/Computers– Can be a room with laptops in the department or a larger reserved space in the university
• Faculty/Staff Availability– Numbers will depend on student population numbers to be advised.
• Faculty and Student Buy-In– Presentation to faculty– Initial Lean Cell Advising sessions with surveys
Student SatisfactionLean Cell Advising Model
*based on fall 2015 survey from School of AME
Not at all2% Not really
8%
Undecided9%
Somewhat37%
Very much43%
Not at all Not really Undecided Somewhat Very much
