FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 18, 2009
Contact: Robert Preston, Jr.,
912.260.4276
robert.preston@sgc.edu
SGC Wins Gold Medal in Customer Service Awards
Thanks to an attentive administrative assistant in the
Student Affairs division at South Georgia College, the institution won a
gold medal in the University System of Georgia’s 2009 Customer Service
Awards.
Diane Blum, an administrative assistant in Student Affairs at the time, was
one of six SGC staff members who earlier this year was charged with
identifying an area of campus operations and/or life that would be a good
candidate for a Lean Six Sigma project. Lean Six Sigma is an
efficiency-improvement strategy often used in the private sector (it began
with Motorola) that identifies problems or issues within an organization and
seeks to “fix” the issue through a systematic approach.
In her role within Student Affairs, Diane came in contact with students on a
regular basis. She saw the college lose many of the residential students who
were also in Learning Support classes because they failed to complete the
requirements. Since Learning Support probation results in the loss of
financial aid, most students put on probation do not return the following
semester, resulting in loss of tuition, loss of residence hall revenues, and
lowering of both retention and graduation rates. At the completion of the
Fall semester 2008, a total of 13 percent of residential students with
Learning Support requirements did not return the following semester due to
probation or suspension. In addition to the lost educational opportunities,
this represented a large potential revenue loss to SGC.
It’s a big problem, one that needed to be addressed. “It’s sad to meet with
students and tell them that they couldn’t stay because they didn’t meet the
requirements,” says Diane. “It’s also tough on the college. They don’t need
to be leaving school early when we can help them remain enrolled in
college.” During Spring semester 2009, a team of South Georgia College
faculty and staff members began working to provide additional academic
support to students residing on campus who were enrolled in one or more
Learning Support classes. The goal of the project is simple: SGC faculty and
staff would like to reduce the number of residential students lost due to
probation or suspension.
Six team members became coaches and were assigned to work with selected
residential students. Initial results were promising, declining from 13
percent to 8.57 percent, a difference of 4.4 percent. The team plans to
continue the effort this semester and beyond, and hopes to expand the best
elements of the initiative beyond the residence halls to the entire campus.
“This has been an exciting project. We’ve had tremendous support from the
administration, staff and faculty. Our team has been the best. I may be
listed as project coordinator, but there is no way I could have done this
without their incredible support. They deserve all the credit in the world,
and we hope to continue with this project and see more and more students
stay at South Georgia College,” says Diane.
Other original team members include Admissions staff, Duane Benson, Interim
Chair, Humanities and Learning Support; Learning Support faculty members;
Randy Braswell, Registrar, Director of Admissions; Josey Cameron, Student
Activities Coordinator; Jim Cottingham, Vice President for Student Affairs;
Missie Crawford, Residence Life Coordinator, Resident Manager - Tiger
Village; Aleta Gass, Student Support Services, Counselor; Sue Miller,
Director of Student Life.
“This is the kind of project that can really make a difference for South
Georgia College, both in the short-term and long-term. The fact that Diane
recognized this problem shows her concern for the students of our
institution. As we continue to identify ways to improve service and
efficiency levels at SGC, initiatives like this one will be very important,”
says Wes Brown, SGC’s Lean Six Sigma coordinator and Executive Director of
Enrollment and Information.
Photos:
Diane Blum,
Housing Enrollment and Retention Coordinator at SGC, and Wes Brown,
Executive Director of Enrollment and Retention, stand with University System
Chancellor Erroll B. Davis this week as they accept a gold medal award in
the USG’s Customer Service Award on behalf of South Georgia College. Earlier
this year, Diane, who was an administrative assistant in the Student Affairs
division at the time, initiated a Lean Six Sigma project to improve
retention rates among residential students.
Diane Blum shakes hands with Gov. Sonny Perdue during
the award ceremony.
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About South Georgia College
South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu)
was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System
of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives
students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close
collaboration with faculty.
