Mary Clark, manager of Student Services at Metropolitan College, was preparing for the start of the new school year. It was August 10th, and in another four weeks, Mary?s department of eight people would be responsible for registering approximately 1,000 students as they arrived for the fall term. Clark was not satisfied with the registration process of the previous year, which had resulted in long lines, frustrated staff and unhappy students. She wanted to identify opportunities for improvements for this year. Each year, students arrived on Metropolitan?s campus in the first week of September, termed Orientation Week, with classes beginning the following week. During Orientation Week, all students registered (or, the case of returning students, re-registered), confirmed their initial course selection, paid their tuition fees and participated in a variety of orientation activities. Mary identified several steps and the associated times required to perform the registration process, as shown in Exhibit 1. She found that each step was assigned to a different person. To process the large volume of registrations in a short period of time, a temporary office was set up on the third floor of the college administration building during the first week of September. The first four steps were performed at this location. The office was open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and was closed between 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch. All students were required to have their registration data reviewed and confirmed, including their address, program-based tuition and course selection. Students living in one of the college?s residences took the longest time to process. Approximately 10 per cent of students did not complete their registration forms correctly and had to have them reviewed again. Students from outside the province, roughly one-quarter of the total, were required to enroll in the college?s out-of-province health coverage plan (Step 2). In the third step, students could sign up for a variety of services such as meal plans, bus passes and parking; these fees were then added to the student?s invoice. Payment of fees and tuition was performed in the fourth step. Students had the option to use a check or debit card when making their payments. After students had finished paying, they would proceed to the Student Services Office on the first floor of the administration building to have their photograph taken (Step 5) and their student card coded and issued (Steps 6 and 7, respectively). Students would enter the office, where they would take a number and wait to be called for their photograph. Each student would then hand his or her receipt to a staff member who would prepare the student card, including coding it for various services (e.g. meal plans). Students would sit in a waiting area while their cards were prepared. Mary found that Steps 1, 2, 3 and 7 were handled by temporary staff members who were each paid $15 per hour. Payment of fees (Step 4), as dictated by college policy, had to be handled by an approved member of the Registrar?s Office at a cost of $25 per hour. Steps 5 and 6 were performed by members of the college staff association, who received $20 per hour. Each step had one staff person assigned, with the exception of Step 6, where two staff members produced the student cards. Mary wanted to avoid the problems that occurred the previous year. The college had recently announced plans for expansion, and Mary knew that enrollments would be rising in the coming years. As a starting point, she wanted to explore opportunities to make changes that would improve the student registration process.

1. Identify the critical issue of Mary's process 2. Conduct a systematic analysis using case facts that address the critical issue 3. Recommend a decision based on your analysis

METROPOLITAN COLLEGE REGISTRATION PROCESS Exhibit 1 Step Photograph student Produce and code card Issue card 1. Review registration information 2. Out-of-province medical coverage (25% of students) Sign up for college services 3. 4. Fee payment 5. 6. 7. Average Time to Perform (minutes) 225555N 1.5