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909D12

METROPOLITAN COLLEGE

Professors P. Fraser Johnson and Robert D. Klassen wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do
not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain
names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.

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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.

THE REGISTRATION PROCESS

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, reregistered), 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 enrol 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.

This document is authorized for use only in Professor Ricardo A. Lim's SITE - MSDS 2020-Design Thinking at Asian Institute of Management from Mar 2019 to Sep 2019.
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Payment of fees and tuition was performed in the fourth step. Students had the option to use a cheque 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 enrolments 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.

Exhibit 1

METROPOLITAN COLLEGE REGISTRATION PROCESS

Step Average Time to Perform

(minutes)

1. Review registration information 2

2. Out-of-province medical coverage (25% of students) 3
3. Sign up for college services 2
4. Fee payment 1
5. Photograph student 1.5
6. Produce and code card 5
7. Issue card 1

This document is authorized for use only in Professor Ricardo A. Lim's SITE - MSDS 2020-Design Thinking at Asian Institute of Management from Mar 2019 to Sep 2019.