Downey College

Tuition is the life blood of any four$-$year college and Downey College is no exception. Each year the Student Affairs Office initiates a campaign to get students to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid $($FAFSA$)$ application. As with any tuition aid program, there is a timeframe when you must apply. If you miss the application deadline, then you must wait until the following period.

Downey College has lost several students during the enrollment process because the students did not complete their FAFSA application on time. Without the help of federal aid, the students were unable to take the courses they registered for. Hannah Hunt, vice president of Student Affairs, was eager to improve this process. Competing for student enrollment was a significant challenge and losing students because of FAFSA application errors was frustrating. Hunt decided to review the data from last year to determine how she could tackle the issue this year.

Last year Hannah had her staff develop a check sheet on common errors concerning FAFSA applications. There were five major areas and an "Other" area. She had them collect data by student status, that is$,$ freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. The information is listed below.

Discussion Questions

$1.$Hannah Hunt's staff is very small; thus, she has limited resources available to tackle these issues. She can focus on either a specific error or on a specific class, for example, freshman. What do you recommend she do and why? Explain the benefit of your recommendation.

$2.$What is the sigma level of their FAFSA application program? Does the sigma level per class, for example, senior, change your recommendation on whether to focus on a specific error or a specific class? Is there any advantage in this perspective of the data? Explain your opinion to Hannah Hunt.

$3.$Hannah Hunt believes that filling out and submitting the FAFSA application is a no brainer. She believes that a Six Sigma level should be easy to obtain. Do you agree? Is this a realistic expectation? Explain your viewpoint.