An exploratory study of best lean sustainability practices in higher education
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880510607963 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Pages | 227-240 |
| Author | Clare L. Comm,Dennis F.X. Mathaisel |
| Subject Matter | Education |
An exploratory study of best
lean sustainability practices in
higher education
Clare L. Comm
University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA, and
Dennis F.X. Mathaisel
Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose – Because of the ever-expanding commercialization and marketing of higher education, a
need now exists to apply the concepts of business process improvement to colleges and universities.
Aims to explore this issue.
Design/methodology/app roach – An open-ended qualitative questionnai re was developed,
administered to 18 public and private university representatives and analyzed.
Findings – The participants at these surveyed universities shared with the interviewers the
institutional lean “best practices” that they feel will contribute to the sustainability of their
universities.
Research limitations/implications – This is a preliminary study with a sample size of 18
universities in the Northeastern USA. Future research should include more universities in the USA, as
well as in other countries.
Practical implications – Other institutions of higher education may learn from the successful
implementation of the lean sustainability efforts at the institutions in this study.
Originality/value – Very little past research, except in the area of green marketing, has focused on
lean sustainability concepts in higher education. In a recent article by the same authors, a quantitative
approach was taken in assessing lean sustainability practices in higher education. This current study
explores the application of lean sustainability practices using a more in-depth qualitative approach.
Keywords Higher education,Process management, Control, Economicsustainability
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
According to Patrick Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy &
Higher Education, “College costs are rising faster than any other major sector of the
economy except health care” (Symonds, 2003). He also stated, “because (school)
administrators can be more concerned about raising a college’s profile than
streamlining operations, they don’t always act the way a private business might”
(Campo-Flores, 2003). Comm and Mathaisel (2003) point out that changes in higher
education are due to five primary factors:
(1) higher public expectations over what universities should be delivering;
(2) increasing parental concern about the quality of education;
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
The authors would like to thank The Boston Consortium for Higher Education for sponsoring
this study and the Babson College MBA students, (Stephen Geppert, Kristi Hummel, Ramon
Llamas and Sean McDonald) for collecting the data.
Best lean
sustainability
practices
227
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 13 No. 3, 2005
pp. 227-240
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684880510607963
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