The section traverses through the facts and actualities about the relationship between Six Sigma methods and student retention. The implications of student retention linked to Six Sigma have been heard in the academic field, showing a hopeful result in the matter. Economical as well as expertise necessities from the field of study, especially from the engineering sector have created a demand for a qualitative approach to address the problem.
Use of Six Sigma in student retention
Student retention is a major concern connected to any university’s or necessities for development because it affects their ability to the economical or industrial needs for human resources. A clear cut method for helping out in the issue has been explored, which came up with a business standard suitable to be applied in academic levels as well. Six Sigma is a method which executes appraisal, estimation and scrutinizing of differences evident from the academics of any student. Keith Hargrove and Legand Burge (2002) observe that an improvement is evident only when a student rises from a lower grade of study to a higher one. Philosophy of Sig Sigma applied to trade and business has succeeded much giving a scope of analysis even in educational sector. The utility of the approach is to increase the percentage of student retention by making use of a particular line of attack modeled for the purpose.
The realistic application of Six Sigma employs various implications and complications posed by different factors of retention. It is a fact that the entire set of reasons for decrease in student retention can never be tabulated. Only an analysis of possibilities and probabilities is made. Quantification is impossible for most of the reasons because all those are linked with human features. Michael F. Simelton(2007) observes a new Model: Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Kano Model are two tools made use of in Six Sigma approach of analysis. These model assess various factors affecting the performance of a student in academics, ease the retention, and makes use of the initial tool to identify the actual necessities of the candidate to interpret those into calculable constraints while the later on student qualities and aspects.
Six Sigma is a superior supervision tool in any sector, and it has found a place in academics and student retention because of its approach through analysis and measures the problem rather than a superficial quantification. An amalgamation of devise experimentation and arithmetical progression direction is seen in the methodology, which definitely observes procedures depending on the specific target. The same makes it usable in the student retention issue. Owing to the enhancements possible, recently various universities have implemented these qualitative measures as an element of their institutional efficacy measures. Budget makes an issue when these are made into reality with respect to any types of academic establishments. Scholastic accomplishment and engineering intercession sustaining manners are now making much explorations and applied research studies on the application of Six Sigma in student intervention, especially in technical areas of study (Ermer, 1995).
The submission of Six Sigma to the educational field can be seen as a technological insertion to academics. Since the approach is consistent and dependent on different customized constraints, analytical solutions of quality assessment are made with proper observation of available technologies. Apart from this, even the technical field is benefitting with the inducing procedure of Six Sigma into the engineering academic retention. Increasing demand for highly capable candidates has increased more with decreasing percentage of retention. Therefore a technological introduction to achieve technological benefit through qualitative mode of loom is made real with Six Sigma. The success stories include the expansion of customized approach for college administration. A packed incorporated and self-restricted revision was expanded which was expected to improve apprentice retention using inclined Six Sigma tactics (Hargrove, 1998).
The research on the student retention during past two years reveals reasons that had not been identified before. Lower levels of intellect that cannot be corrected can result in ultimate failure. Initial selection of stream can do much in study reversion that is depicted in the decision making of a student at initial stage. Other reasons including broken relationships, negativity in student teacher links etc can easily be plotted in Six Sigma. While researches run behind different qualitative modes of retention studies and enhancers, other methodologies were also assessed and implemented. But Six Sigma finds its unique position owing to its customized approach and innovations exhibited at the result end (Dervarics and Roach, 2000).
The non compromising situation that arisen in the technological sector due to lack of technical student retention has much influenced the researchers. They have concluded that the application of Six Sigma which is working on an industrial standard developed by Motorola in student retention qualitative analysis and correction will be successful (Moller-Wong and Eide, 1997). Many scholars have studied the scope of Six Sigma; they generally recognize it as a great tool for the improvement of various fields includes education. Six Sigma is the technique, to reduce the waste of resources, and misuse. In the educational ground Six Sigma is rapidly gaining more significance. However, educational institutions are backward in introducing Six Sigma. There is the necessity for the educational institutions to improve student retention. Use of Six Sigma techniques provides positive impact to the development of students and any institutions. Educational institutions have the need to develop their monetary support systems, schedule classrooms, reduce the cost of janitorial supplies, improve educational counseling procedures, develop their arrangement for answering the phone, and provide parking. It is sure that the use of Six Sigma is helpful to schools in student retention.
Use of Six Sigma techniques is ensuring positive impact on the development of students and conditions of many educational institutions. Two main factors are necessary for effective execution of the Six Sigma method of development in educational institutions. Management and teachers of the institution must have confidence in Six Sigma methodology. For this purpose, management should give obligatory support for the implementation of this method. So, analysis of the difficulty and realization of the suggestion are the part of this implementation. A Six Sigma curriculum implementation is possible though a team from special disciplines. Teams must include the head of the institution, head of the Departments, senior teachers, and senior Students. Each stage of the program is scrutinized by this team; this sort of systematic implementation helps to the retention of students. Pande defines that, “just as important, though, is the role Six Sigma plays in building new structures and practices to support sustained success” (Pande, 2003). As a result students improve their performance and decrease waste.
Michael F. Simelton (2007) has studied about the possibilities of Six Sigma related with the development of engineering students by his work, “Utilizing quality function deployment and Kano model to identify the factors affecting minority retention.” He states, retention among students is very significant matter according to the educational institutions, particularly, in engineering students. In comparison, engineering students belonging to a minority are less likely to graduate than their white classmates. So, this type of situations should be considered for the use of Six Sigma. “It is suddenly emerged as a methodology transforming institutions” (Smith, et al, 2002). The author used the Kano analysis model to discover the causes affecting preservation among engineering students because improvement is necessary to the educational institution. The retention elements are identified by the writer based on the research of Tinto and other researchers. Moreover he conducted a survey in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Engineering, to collect feedback from minority students on the Kano model analysis. The author aims to find out what factors affected retention and collect suggestions to help students in their educational development. In words of Thomas Pyzdek and Paul A. Keller(2009), “Statistical inference is used to provide probabilistic statements regarding a scientific inference” (p.332).
A framework for applying Six Sigma improvement methodology in an academic environment, is a work written by Lawrence O. Jenicke, Anil Kumar and Monica C. Holmes (2008). Their paper shows considerable variation between the environments. Implementation of Six Sigma in various areas within an educational institution is challenging. George Eckes (2003) remarks that “Such tools as the detailed agenda and agreement on a decision making method go a long way toward achieving better Six Sigma results” (p.73). However, there are limitations to the application of Six Sigma; in an academic organization. The six sigma methodology has been more systematically developed and advanced in industrialized or business environments than in service systems such as in educational field. The authors’ purpose in this work is to observe the challenges of applying the method of study in academic world and provide a framework as a guide for educational institutions in implementing Six Sigma. Their findings of propose that the distinctive structure of an educational institution, would make students interested in implementing six sigma. Peter S. Pande and Lawrence Holpp (2002) write clearly about working smarter: “in a lot of ways Six Sigma is about putting into practice the notions of working smarter, not harder” (p.4). Their proposal is a three-tiered framework for the application of Six Sigma; through administrators, faculty, staff and students. According to the opinion of the writers, Six Sigma is a successful element of many organizations for their improvement in quality. A three-tiered framework is proposed by the writers to improve academic performance by the Six Sigma methodology. In addition, they recommended a methodology for the appropriate administration of educational institutions. Thus, their work is a helpful one to inspire thinking about excellence management methodology in academic surroundings.
In all aspects of life, individuals and groups involve problem solving. The following work is a great example related with the problem solving. It is also applicable to the retention of students in their educational improvement. Six Sigma methodology demands accurately identifying the problem and next step is to solve it. In Six Sigma and Beyond: Problem Solving and Basic Mathematics, Stamatis (2002) speaks to what a problem is and defines the process of solving the problem. He talks about the importance of the team, people power and dedication to solving a particular problem. This book provides to the readers a comprehensive motivation and an academic clarification of the problem solving method. The writer draws attention to the basic mathematics used in all aspects of quality control. Besides, the author brings a Global Problem Solving (GPS) course of action. This intentional plan brings the focus of quality by eliminating waste, and modifies the product.
The significance of Six Sigma, is rapidly gaining in educational field for the retention of the students. Use of this technique has a positive impact on the improvement of students and development of institutions. Many scholars have studied the scope of six sigma; they generally agree it as a great tool for the improvement of various fields, including education. Management and teachers of the institution must have confidence in Six Sigma methodology. Michael F. Simelto(2007) states that, retention among students is very significant matter particularly, in engineering study. D. H. Stamatis’work, Six Sigma and Beyond: Problem Solving and Basic Mathematics, provides a comprehensive motivation and an academic clarification of the problem solving method. According to Warren Brussee, “Define, measure, analyze, improve and control are five units to be used on all projects and process improvements, with the Six Sigma tools applied as needed.
Conclusion
Various features and establishments on the topic of student retention and Six Sigma application to the same has been discussed with the support of different literature available. A qualitative approach with Six Sigma is something which is independent of the size or quantity but it analyzes the available features and constraints, depending on the targeted matter. Since student retention is based on the superiority and mind set of candidates, definitely academics will succeed in linking student retention issue with Six Sigma. Chapter three will develop the methodology behind this study.
Methodology
3.1 Research Methodology
This paper presents the methodology used in research. The study is all about Six Sigma in student retention. The researcher has chosen students from the Industrial and Engineering Technology Department, a Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau.
3.2 Population
Cape Girardeau is the home of Southeast Missouri State University founded in 1873. The total enrollment in the school is 10,665. They offer more than 200 areas of study. The population for this Industrial and Engineering Technology Department is around 520 students.
3.3 Sampling unit
Sampling unit is calculated by using online sample size calculator which is available at http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html and http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm.The confidence level used is 95%( typical choices are 90%, 95% or 99%), margin of error used is 5% ( it is considered 5% because the researcher can tolerate 5% of error), the population is 520, and the response distribution is 50%. The resulted sample size is 222.
3.4 Effectiveness of the survey:
Expected sample size is 222
Number of responses researcher received is 229
The survey was effective as number of responses is greater than the sample size.
3.5 Data
Two types of data were used in this study, primary and secondary data sources.
3.5.1 Primary data: Primary data in this study is the qualitative data obtained from a short survey, which were used to identify number of factors that increase student retention.
3.5.2 Secondary data: The factors were then used to design a questionnaire which was completed by students. The results were further analyzed to examine the factors of student retention and then Six Sigma methodologies were applied. Researcher used questionnaire comprising of 10 questions based on academics, financial issues, residency and other factors. Questionnaire is as follows:
3.5.3 Survey on student retention:
How do you describe yourself?
Indian/Alaskan Native (b) Asian/Filipino (c) Black/African American (d) Hispanic/Chicano (e) White/Caucasian (f) Other( please specify)
Gender
Male (b) Female
How did you choose Southeast Missouri State University?
Reputation (b) Cost (c) Scholarship (d) Size of school (e) Major of study (f) Residence halls (g) all (h) Other ( please specify)
Who was most influential in your decision in attending the school?
Parents (b) Relatives (c) Spouse (d) Friends (e) High school counselor/Teacher (f) Own decision (g) Other( please specify)
If you plan to transfer/ leave prior to completing your degree, why do you plan to go?
Rate the following
I need well prepared presentations of lectures
(a) Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I need regular feedback from professors
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I need clear and informative course outline/ syllabi
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I need good tutoring services
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I expect professors to allocate time if I am experiencing troubles
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
Do you need effective academic advising?
Yes (b) No
What do you consider effective academic advising?
I want to be told what courses to take
I want to discuss academic and career goals
I expect to come prepared to my advising appointment with list of classes I plan to take
Just want advisor to give me my pin number
I feel I can contact my advisor any time with questions I may have
Other( please specify)
Rate the following
Cost of tuition should be low
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want to work on campus
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want to live on campus
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want good food available on campus
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want good transportation available on campus
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
Campus safety
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want to be involved in extracurricular activities
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
I want child care services to be available
Yes (b) No (c) Sometimes (d) I do not care
Please indicate your agreement with the following:
High quality academic programs are important
Strongly agree (b) Somewhat agree (c) Somewhat disagree (d) Strongly disagree
Faculty and staff on campus should be friendly and helpful
Strongly agree (b) Somewhat agree (c) Somewhat disagree (d) Strongly disagree
It should be difficult to earn good grades
Strongly agree (b) Somewhat agree (c) Somewhat disagree (d) Strongly disagree
I worry about financing my college education
Strongly agree (b) Somewhat agree (c) Somewhat disagree (d) Strongly disagree
Results and analysis of the questionnaire is discussed in the next chapter.
3.6 Matrix
In order to explain the relation between the research questions and the questionnaire, a matrix is used. The matrix is marked with the symbol XXX where the research questions and the questionnaire are getting intersected. The rows represent survey questions and the columns represent research questions.
Research question1
Research question 2
Research question 3
Question 1
XXX
XXX
XXX
Question 2
XXX
XXX
XXX
Question 3
XXX
XXX
Question 4
XXX
XXX
XXX
Question 5
XXX
XXX
XXX
Question 6
XXX
XXX
Question 7
XXX
XXX
Question 8
XXX
XXX
Question 9
XXX
XXX
Question 10
XXX
XXX
XXX
3.7 Summary:
This questionnaire helped the researcher clarify assumptions about Six Sigma and higher education’s efforts to retain students to graduation. Chapter Four analyzes the survey data collected from study participants.
Chapter 4 Analysis and resultsThis paper presents the results of a survey of students and academics, financial issues, residency and other factors that make students to remain in the same school, or transfer to a different school, or to get admitted in the school. The result showed some similarities in opinions and their differences. The results were further analyzed to examine the factors of student retention and then Six Sigma methodologies were applied.Data obtained from the students include faculty and student relations, financial aid, academic services, curriculum are the factors considered during the selection of school or to remain in the school. The initial survey helped in getting qualitative data to identify the most important factors that influence students in academic success and failure. The initial questionnaire asked “what are the factors that you think are the most likely to lead to student retention at school”? Most of the students replied it would be due to improper academic advising, ineffective presentations, and non availability of professors when needed and due to heavy course work. The results of the survey are:1) How do you describe yourself?9.17 % of the people are Indian/Alaskan Native. 17.03% of the people are Asian/Filipino. 6.99% of the people are Black/African American. 4.8% of the people are Hispanic/Chicano. 61.57% of the people are White/Caucasian.0.44% of the people are others. This indicates that there are different sets of people who expressed their opinion.2) Gender69% of the people are male. 31% of the people are female. This indicates that men are more willing to come out with facts than women.3) How did you choose Southeast Missouri State University?5.29% of the people choose this school because of its reputation. 30% of the people choose this because of the low cost. 19.12% of the people choose because of the scholarships. 9.71% of the people choose considering size of the school.20.88% of the people chooses because of residence halls. 0.88% of the people choose by residence halls. 6.76% of the people choose the school considering all the factors. 7.35% of the people choose the school considering some other factors.4) Who was most influential in your decision in attending the school?36.05% of the people are influenced by parents in attending the school. 5.04% are influenced by relatives. 1.55% is influenced by spouse. 17.05% of the people are influenced by friends. 3.49% of the people are influenced by a high school counselor/teacher. 35.66% of the people took their own decision in attending the school. 1.16% of the people are influenced by other factors.5) If you plan to transfer/ leave prior to completing your degree, why do you plan to go?Many of the students answered that academic and financial problems make them to leave the school. Academic constraints include good academic advising, well structured presentations, time allocated by professors during troubles and no heavy work load, good tutorial services, weekly feedback from the instructor, encouragement, and clear informative course outlines. Financial constraints include low fee, good scope of getting the jobs. Financial aids can also help students in reducing their fees, and offering scholarships for the merit students is also important.6) Rate the followingI need well-structured presentations of lectures58.95% of the people need well-structured presentations from lectures. 3.93% of the people do not need well-structured presentations. 32.31% of the people need well-structured presentations only sometimes. 4.8% of the people do not care about well-structured presentations.I need regular feedback from lectures66.38% of the people need regular feedback from professors. 5.24% of the people do not need feedback from the professors. 25.76% of the people need feedback only sometimes. 2.62% of the people voted for “I do not care”.I need clear and informative course syllabi65.94% of the people need clear and informative course syllabi. 5.68% of the people do not need clear and informative course syllabi. 24.45% of the people need clear and informative course syllabi only sometimes. 3.93% of the people do not care for course syllabi.I need good tutoring services32.75% of the people need good tutoring services. 20.52% of the people do not need good tutoring services. 38.43% of the people need tutoring services only sometimes. 8.3% of the people do not care for tutoring services.I expect professors to allocate time if I am experiencing troubles59.83% of the people expect professors to allocate time when they are experiencing troubles. 4.8 % of the people do not expect professors to allocate time when they are experiencing troubles. 33.19% of the people expect professors to allocate time when they are experiencing troubles sometimes. 2.18% of the people do not care.7) Do you need effective academic advising?82.53% of the people need effective academic advising. 17.47% of the people do not need effective academic advising.8) What do you consider effective academic advising? In the chart below, you need to list out the 6 options that students choose (like you did in the above charts)16.92% of the people want to be told what courses to take. 45.49% of the people want to discuss academic and career goals. 12.78% of the people expect to come prepared to advising appointment with list of classes they plan to take. 4.14% of the people want advisor to give pin number. 20.68% of the people expect to contact advisor anytime with the questions they have.9) Select the following questions represented in italics’:Cost of tuition should be low75.55% of the people need low cost of tuition. 7.86% do not need low cost of tuition. 11.35% of the people care for tuition sometimes. 5.24% of the people do not care.I want to work on campus54.59% of the people want to work on campus. 28.38% of the people do not want to work on campus. 10.92% of the people want to work on campus only some times. 6.11% of the people do not care.I want to live on campus24.89% of the people want to live on campus. 57.64% of the people do not want to live on campus. 10.48% of the people want to live on campus only some times. 6.99% of the people do not care.I want good food available on campus72.05% of the people want good food available on campus. 7.86% of the people do not want good food available on campus. 8.3% of the people want good food available on campus only some times. 11.79 % of the people do not care.I want good transportation available on campus68.56% of the people want good transportation available on campus. 7.42% of the people do not want good transportation available on campus. 8.73% of the people want good transportation available on campus only some times. 15.28% of the people do not care.Campus safety82.1% of the people want campus safety. 3.49% of the people do not want campus safety. 6.11% of the people want campus safety only some times. 8.3 % of the people do not care.I want to be involved in extracurricular activities51.97% of the people want to be involved in extracurricular activities. 12.23% of the people do not want to be involved in extracurricular activities. 29.69% of the people want to be involved in extracurricular activities only sometimes. 6.11 % of the people do not care.I want child care services to be available19.21% of the people want child care services to be available. 22.27% of the people do not want care services to be available. 8.3% of the people want child care services to be available only sometimes. 50.22 % of the people do not care.10) Please indicate your agreement with the followingHigh quality academic programs are important:86.46% of the people strongly agree that high quality academic programs are important. 13.1% of the people somewhat agree that high quality academic programs are important. 0.44% of the people somewhat disagree that high quality academic programs are important.Faculty and staff on campus should be friendly and helpful70.31% of the people strongly agree that faculty and staff on campus should be friendly and helpful. 27.07% of the people somewhat agree that faculty and staff on campus should be friendly and helpful. 2.62% of the people somewhat disagree that faculty and staff on campus should be friendly and helpful. There are no people who strongly disagree to the statement.It should be difficult to earn good grades12.23% of the people strongly agree that it should be difficult to earn good grades. 53.71% of the people somewhat agree that that it should be difficult to earn good grades. 23.58% of the people somewhat disagree that it should be difficult to earn good grades. 10.48% of the people strongly disagree that it should be difficult to earn good grades.I worry about financing my college education37.55% of the people strongly agree that they worry about financing college education. 39.74% of the people somewhat agree that they worry about financing college education. 16.16% of the people somewhat disagree that they worry about financing college education. 6.55% of the people strongly disagree that they worry about financing college educationAnalysis and discussions on the results of questionnaire:There have been ten closed ended, multiple answer choice questions provided to the respondents. The results of each of these queries are being detailed below1. Regarding the first question relating to nationality of the students and background, most of the respondents were Whites/Caucasians followed by Asian Filipinos and next, Indians or Alaskans. Blacks, African Americans and Hispanics constituted the minority in this study.2. The majority of the respondent population were males.3. The motivating factors for choosing Southeast Missouri State University in terms of respondent valuations has been in terms of cost, major of study and scholarship availability.4. The Parents’ and students’ own decision has played the influential role in attending school followed by guidance of friends.5. To the query regarding where they planned to go in event of planning transfer/ leave prior to completing degree course, most of respondents were undecided, or in other words, they had not thought about moving out, which speaks about the high degree of student retention in Southeast Missouri State University. Only a few students answered academic and financial constraints are responsible for leaving the school.6. Regarding help from teaching faculty, most respondents were in favor of regular feedback, clear and informative course outline/syllabi, and well-structured lecture presentations.7. To the question of whether they needed effective academic advising, the majority said that they did need it, and this aspect of good academic guidance is a major factor for student retention in Southeast Missouri State University.8. To the query of what constitutes effective academic advising, most respondents wished to consider career goals, come prepared to advising appointments with planned classes, and need career advice on which academics to pursue.9. In response to the major criteria for rating the institution, the following are the major aspects to be considered and they are campus safety: good food in campus, cost of tuitions, work facility in campus and good transportation. These above aspects would be major factors for student retention in the campus of Souteast Missouri State University.10. And finally, coming to the final query to respondents, the indication of agreement with different critical aspects of the tuition and ancillary factors, the respondents laid major emphasis on the importance of high quality academic program, and campus staff and faculty should be friendly and helpful, and it should be difficult to earn good grades. Concerns for financing college education is also a major factor.Difference in opinion:There are similarities in the opinion of male and female in all the questions. The only difference is majority of females need child care services to be available where men do not support this.Applying Six Sigma methodology in schools for student retention:The main factors that cause student retention are identified now that Six Sigma methodology is applied in order to improve the student’s rating in the school. Six Sigma is considered as an appropriate tool for the perfection in almost all fields, including academic institutions. Define, measure, analyze, improve and control are parts to be used for plan improvements, with the Six Sigma tools. Many academic researchers give their suggestion for the successful realization i.e. six sigma. ‘Define’ is important for response and identification of the impact and possible settlement of a problem. ‘Measure’ is a stage of the factors that are useful to identify the backwardness of students. Stage of ‘Analyze’ means collecting the causes related with the limitation and important process variables. ‘Improve’ measures figures and quantifies the important procedure variables. ‘Control’ ensures the developed process related Six Sigma. QFD matrix is also a helpful way to identifying the factors that are affecting student retention and performance.Define phase:In Define phase researcher defines the problem and goals.Problem statement:To reduce the problems faced by educational institutions in retaining students’ four goals must be considered.· To determine the factors that are causing retention· Develop solutions to retain the students· Prepare action plans and implement improvements for retention· Verify obtained resultsMeasure phase:Researcher identified key measures and collected the data from the results of the survey which points out faculty– student relations, financial aid, academic services and curriculum are major causes of retention.Analyze:Researcher analyzed the data obtained from the survey identified the root problems of student retention. The generated the list of the possible causes for the problem of retention and analysis is done. The reasons behind each problem are identified by the researcher. Factor AnalyzeProper academic advisingMajority of the respondents (82.53%) in the survey wish to have proper academic advisor.Well-structured presentationsMajority of the respondents (58.95%) expect well-structured presentations.Regular feedback from lecturesMajority of the respondents (66.38%) are interested in having feedback regularly. Clear and informative course syllabiMost of the respondents(65.94%) need clear and informative course syllabiFinancial aidsMost of the respondents worry about financing their education (37.55% of the people strongly agree and 39.74% of people some what agree).On-campus jobsMost of the respondents (54.59%) prefer working on-campus.Good food available on campusMost of respondents (72.05%) need good food.Proper security or safetyAlmost all the respondents (82.1%) need safety.Proper transportationMost of the respondents (68.56%) need good transportation.Faculty and staff should be friendly and helpfulMajority of the respondents (70.31%) need friendly environment.Extracurricular activitiesMost of the students (51.97%) prefer to be involved in extracurricular activities.High quality academic programs are importantMajority of the respondents (86.46%) need high quality academic programs.Good tutoring services(32.75%) of the people need good tutoring services and (38.43%) of the people need tutoring services some times.Cost of tuitionMajority of the respondents (75.55%) need low tuition. Most of the respondents choose the school based on tuition.Improve phase:Researcher developed the possible solutions and the best solution that improve the factor is considered Factor ImproveProper academic advisingSelecting the right advisor who mainly emphasis on advising the students basing on the course curriculum.Well structured presentationsWell designed power points and pictorial representations in order for better understanding of subject. Professors should prepare standard presentations.Regular feedback from lecturesFeedback should be given every week. Clear and informative course syllabiProviding clear course syllabi during the start of the course, and explaining them clearly to the students.Financial aidsFinancial aids should be provided to merit students.On-campus jobsOn-campus jobs should be made available.Good-food available on campusGood cafeterias should be available in every building.Proper security or safetyAppointment of campus police for the sake of security and safety.Proper transportationTransportation should be made available round the clock.Faculty and staff should be friendly and helpfulSpecial tours, special games, special events should be organized where faculty, staff and students can meet out of class environment.Extracurricular activitiesPlaygrounds, music halls, dance halls should be well maintained.High quality academic programs are importantAll the academic programs with high quality can be provided by appointing good professors.Good tutoring servicesSelecting the right tutor who mainly emphasis on teaching the students based on the course curriculum.Cost of tuitionThe cost of tuition should be minimal.Control phase:It ensures the developed process and continues it to be implemented. Researcher did not find whether any of the factors is getting failure, if it is so then the process restarts with analyze phase.Conclusion:This chapter is the core of the research as it provides the analysis of the survey. The results obtained from the survey helped the researcher to link to the research questions and are discussed in the next chapter. Chapter – 5The main aim and objectives of this research paper is to address the key research questions this could be seen as follows:1. Do teachers have anything to contribute to mitigate the issue?2. What are the factors that are involved in student retention?3. How is effectiveness of Six Sigma demonstrated through surveying students?Conclusions:1. To the first question of whether teachers have anything to contribute to mitigate the issue it could be said that main areas in which teacher support was needed and sought would be in terms of help from teaching faculty, regular feedbacks, clear and informative course outline/syllabi, well structured lecture presentations and also need for effective academic advising and good academic guidance is a major factor for student retention in Southeast Missouri State University. In regards, to what constitutes effective academic advising, most respondents wished to consider career goals, preparation to advising appointments with planned classes’ preparation and need career advice on which academics to pursue. If teachers are able to offer these kinds of specialized and individualized programs then it is possible that the attrition would be considerably reduced and retention would be indeed increased dramatically.2. What are the factors that are involved in student retention?According to the respondents’ choices the major criteria for rating the institution are campus safety, good food in campus, cost of tuitions, work facility in campus and good transportation, These above aspects would be major factors for student retention in the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.3. How is effectiveness of Six Sigma demonstrated through surveying students?Yes, most certainly, Six sigma tools and techniques are applied in order to maintain quality education management and total improvement viability and enforcement strategies, providing a safe and harmonious environment for study and work, for the administration to offer the best in terms of campus safety, good food in campus, moderate cost of tuitions, work facility in campus and good transportation.All these not only go to increase student dedication and loyalty to campus and their studies but also enthuse and encourage the implementation and deployment of Six sigma on a continual and consistent basis throughout the campus and the institutionSix Sigma is not only critical to maintaining quality education it is also a way of life in most educational institutions. Six Sigma needs to be enforced and deployed with students, faculty and administration on a one-to-one basis.
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We employ a number of measures to ensure top quality essays. The papers go through a system of quality control prior to delivery. We run plagiarism checks on each paper to ensure that they will be 100% plagiarism-free. So, only clean copies hit customers’ emails. We also never resell the papers completed by our writers. So, once it is checked using a plagiarism checker, the paper will be unique. Speaking of the academic writing standards, we will stick to the assignment brief given by the customer and assign the perfect writer. By saying “the perfect writer” we mean the one having an academic degree in the customer’s study field and positive feedback from other customers. -
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We keep the quality bar of all papers high. But in case you need some extra brilliance to the paper, here’s what to do. First of all, you can choose a top writer. It means that we will assign an expert with a degree in your subject. And secondly, you can rely on our editing services. Our editors will revise your papers, checking whether or not they comply with high standards of academic writing. In addition, editing entails adjusting content if it’s off the topic, adding more sources, refining the language style, and making sure the referencing style is followed. -
Confidentiality / 100% No Disclosure
We make sure that clients’ personal data remains confidential and is not exploited for any purposes beyond those related to our services. We only ask you to provide us with the information that is required to produce the paper according to your writing needs. Please note that the payment info is protected as well. Feel free to refer to the support team for more information about our payment methods. The fact that you used our service is kept secret due to the advanced security standards. So, you can be sure that no one will find out that you got a paper from our writing service. -
Money Back Guarantee
If the writer doesn’t address all the questions on your assignment brief or the delivered paper appears to be off the topic, you can ask for a refund. Or, if it is applicable, you can opt in for free revision within 14-30 days, depending on your paper’s length. The revision or refund request should be sent within 14 days after delivery. The customer gets 100% money-back in case they haven't downloaded the paper. All approved refunds will be returned to the customer’s credit card or Bonus Balance in a form of store credit. Take a note that we will send an extra compensation if the customers goes with a store credit. -
24/7 Customer Support
We have a support team working 24/7 ready to give your issue concerning the order their immediate attention. If you have any questions about the ordering process, communication with the writer, payment options, feel free to join live chat. Be sure to get a fast response. They can also give you the exact price quote, taking into account the timing, desired academic level of the paper, and the number of pages.