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Syllabus
WFED 451: Lean Sigma for Professionals
(3 credits) The course focuses on essential Lean and Six Sigma concepts to improve processes in any industry.
Overview | Objectives | Materials | Library Reserves | Library Resources | Technical Requirements | Software | Expectations | Course Grading Scheme | Requirements | Course Schedule | Academic Integrity | Policies
Overview
Lean Sigma for Professionals is a course designed for learners engaged in or preparing for leadership, training, or operational positions. The course applies essential Lean and Six Sigma concepts to any process, whether it is in business, manufacturing, service, education, or government. This course draws upon concepts from established continuous improvement methodologies to guide the participant through the steps of process improvement. It focuses on improving a participant’s ability to see their work from a process perspective, to work with others in “mapping” the process, to identify and eliminate unnecessary work and delays, and to improve the effectiveness, reliability, efficiency, and profitability of the process.
You are encouraged to bring in real projects from your organization and apply the tools and techniques from the program. The instructor will provide instruction, guidance, and mentoring to reinforce learning.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:
- Learn a systematic approach to process improvement.
- Demonstrate competencies in documenting work and evaluating processes.
- Demonstrate skills in problem analysis, creativity, problem-solving, and cost analysis.
- Improve product and service quality through defect prevention and reduction.
- Reduce cycle times by removing nonvalue steps.
- Eliminate waste and reduce rework.
- Reduce costs by improving processes.
- Increase return on investment (ROI) by lowering operating costs.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Library Reserves (E-Reserves)
This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in your course navigation, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and search for your instructor's last name.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Requirements
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
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| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Software
One of the benefits of being a registered Penn State student is that you are eligible to receive educational discounts on many software titles. If you are interested in learning more about purchasing software through our affiliate vendor, please visit the Buying Software section of the Course Materials page.
Expectations
Weekly Individual Activities
Mandatory individual weekly activities based on the required readings are designed to reinforce needs assessment concepts, to help you master and apply them, and to support your continuing development. There are individual activities for each lesson in the course. Individual activities include introductory activities at the beginning of the course (required and ungraded) and a variety of others, including an individual Lean Sigma improvement project due at the end of the course.
Self-Regulated Learning
You are expected to read the assigned readings, participate in discussions, finish activities, and build up competency throughout this course. You are expected to make submissions on time and to actively participate. Communication with your instructor and classmates is the key to success in this class.
Specific Learning Outcomes
Specific learning outcomes are incorporated into the design of each lesson. However, the educational benefit of this course is to be gained through completion of activities and reflection on how needs assessment concepts and techniques may be applied to your work environment and career goals.
Communication
There are two primary communication tools in this course. General announcements to the entire class will be made through the course announcements, and assignment feedback will be sent by the instructor through the Canvas assignment or the Canvas Inbox.
Course Grading Scheme
| Requirements | Points |
|---|---|
| Class Introduction Video | 10 |
| Weekly Discussions (15 @ 10 pts each) | 150 |
| Article Critique | 30 |
| Lean Sigma Improvement Project | 800 |
| Personal Journal Blog (12 @10 pts) | 120 |
| A3 Implementation Plan and Form Submission | 100 |
| Total | 1,210 |
| Grade | Minimum % | Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 | 1,126–1,210 |
| A- | 90 | 1,089–1,125 |
| B+ | 88 | 1,065–1,088 |
| B | 82 | 993–1,064 |
| B- | 80 | 968–992 |
| C+ | 78 | 944–967 |
| C | 70 | 850–943 |
| D | 60 | 726–849 |
| F | < 60 | below 725 |
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Requirements
Note: It's important to begin your lessons early in the week (Wednesday at the latest) in order to support dialogue in the discussion forums. Be sure to check back in on the discussion forums to add comments and read your classmates' posts throughout the week.
Citation of Sources
The required style guide for all papers and for formatting citations and references is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020, 7th ed.). APA guidelines are provided in the Resources module.
You should ask for help when you need it. If you have questions or concerns or need clarification about this syllabus, materials, activities, and so on, it is important that you communicate them to the instructor immediately.
Requirement 1: Class Introduction Video
You will share some information about yourself with the instructor and your fellow classmates via video.
Requirement 2: Weekly Discussions
In the discussions, you will post about your individual efforts to apply the Lean Sigma tools. You must make a post before you will be able to see other classmates' entries. You are encouraged to read the other entries and then add to the information you are sharing with classmates and the instructor. Your individual entry will be assessed based upon your efforts and critical thinking.
Requirement 3: Article Critique
You will select an article that discusses how an organization used Lean Sigma, continuous improvement, or process improvement principles in their organization, and write a 3-page paper that includes the following information:
Requirement 4: Lean Sigma Improvement Project
Activities and Reports
The Lean Sigma improvement project provides an opportunity for a more in-depth understanding of the Lean Sigma concepts, application of Lean Sigma processes and procedures, and evaluation of an implementation. You should pick a process from your work for this—or, if you need, reference one industry video (such as the PCN videos on YouTube)—and apply the Lean Sigma concepts presented each week. Selecting a project from your work is highly advisable, as you will be able to actually apply the tools from this class, potentially demonstrating real benefits to your organization.
During each lesson, you will use one or more different Lean Sigma tools to investigate and analyze a process condition or to create a solution using the Lean Sigma concepts from the week and prior weeks. The presentation you submit should summarize all this work, including the solution you developed, the results you obtained, and what the organization should look at in the future. The final project presentation will include the context of the tool's application, how you applied it, the results or outcomes you got, how you interpreted those results, and the plans you made based on what you learned.
Presentation
After creating a solution, you will present to the class via video as if you were presenting to management the outcomes of implementing the tools. This summary is a review of all that you learned in class, including the answers to questions posed each week (e.g., Where do we start? What is the current and future state of the organization?).
Requirement 5: Personal Journal Blog
The personal journal blog is used to reflect on and record your learning experience and to think deeply about the application of course topics to your own situations. Each week, you will be provided with prompts that focus on your learning of lesson topics. Please note that you are not limited to those questions; you are encouraged to go beyond and reflect on your own learning.
You are also encouraged to use Penn State Sites to set up your personal journal blog and share it with the instructor and the class. All Penn State students, faculty, and staff are able to log in to Sites with their access ID and create a blog or website. More details will be provided in the Personal Journal Blog Setup and Introduction pages in the Lesson 1 module. Grading for each journal entry ranges from 0 to 10 points.
You should review and provide at least two comments on others' posts, reflecting on how they are similar to or different from your experiences and interpretations, or on how you plan to use what you have learned from their posts in your own work.
Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
The schedule below outlines the topics we will be covering in this course, along with the associated time frames and activities.
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Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
University Policies
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Counseling and Psychological Services
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Additional Policies
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Military Students
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Privacy Notice
Please note that course access is limited to those individuals who have direct responsibility for the quality of your educational experience. The course instructor and any teaching assistant(s), of course, have access to the course throughout the semester. Each course offered via the World Campus has several instructional design staff members assigned to assist in managing course content and delivery. These instructional design staff members have access to the course throughout the semester for this purpose. Also, World Campus technical staff may be given access in order to resolve technical support issues. In addition, mentor, department head, or program chair may be provided with course access in order to ensure optimal faculty availability and access. Each of these individuals will keep confidential all student course and academic information.
Student Responsibilities and Conduct
- Students are responsible for online course content, taking notes, obtaining other materials provided by the instructor, taking tests (if applicable), and completing assignments as scheduled by the instructor. As a general rule, students should plan on logging into the course at least three times per week and spending at least three hours per course credit per week on the course, e.g., if the course is three credits, the student should plan on spending at least 9-12 hours per week on the course, just as they would in a residence course.
- Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester.
- Students are responsible for monitoring their grades.
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Students must contact their instructor (and teammates when working on any collaborative learning assignments) as soon as possible if they anticipate missing long periods of online time due to events such as chronic illnesses, death in the family, business travel, or other appropriate events. The instructor will determine the minimal log on time and participation required in order to meet course responsibilities. In the event of other unforeseen conflicts, the instructor and student will arrive at a solution together.
- Requests for taking exams or submitting assignments after the due dates require documentation of events such as illness, family emergency, or a business-sanctioned activity.
- Conflicts with dates on which examinations or assignments are scheduled must be discussed with the instructor or TA prior to the date of the examination or assignment.
- Students are responsible for following appropriate netiquette (network etiquette) when communicating with their instructor and classmates. For reference, see the Academic Success Kit.
- Behaviors that disrupt other students’ learning are not acceptable and will be addressed by the instructor.
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For severe and chronic problems with student disruptive behavior, the following will be applied for resolution:
- Senate Committee on Student Life policy on managing classroom disruptions: Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
- Penn State Principles
Report Bias
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.