Lean approach in higher education

Abstract

The implementation of the Lean approach in production and service companies of Ukraine gives really positive results in the form of increased productivity, turnover, profitability, etc. The application of this concept in the field of education is not a sufficiently common practice. Background: A student of higher education is a consumer of services provided by the university. Therefore, according to the concept of Lean, it is advisable to consider all the processes that form an educational service from the angle of actions that create value for the student. Such an analysis can be applied both to auxiliary administrative processes and directly to academic ones. Methods: To optimize the educational process, the methodology of building a map of the current state is used. The search for 8 types of losses in the educational process allows you to eliminate the main unproductive losses and increase the value of the process of acquiring knowledge for the student. Results: Since the lecture is one of the main educational processes, an attempt was made during the research to identify unproductive losses, namely: overproduction; excessive stocks; excessive (extra) processing; expectation; excessive transportation; excessive movements; defects; unused human potential that reduce the quality of the educational process. Losses from overproduction are associated with providing students with outdated information, a significant amount of it. That increases the time for information processing and memorization. Losses from excess inventory represent the impossibility of using theory in practice. The knowledge that is not applied quickly loses its relevance. Excessive processing is an attempt to give students a maximum of information in a ready-made form that impairs the formation of critical thinking, the development of analytical abilities, and the ability to systematize facts. Losses from waiting in the educational process are associated with the disorganization of the teacher's workplace. Losses from excessive transportation are related to the physical movement in the space of the teacher himself, as well as everything necessary for teaching. With online learning, this type of loss can be significantly reduced. Redundant movements are associated with duplicating documents in paper form, searching for information that is not systematized, checking attendees, etc. Losses from defects as a result of insufficient amount of information, use of inefficient teaching methods, failure to take into account the initial level of knowledge of students before the start of the course, non-automated control of knowledge that requires manual processing of results, etc. Which entails an increase in the time for retaking exams and assessments. Losses from not using human potential are associated with teaching without taking into account the characteristics of the target audience, the lack of an individual approach, uneven distribution of the importance and volume of information. Conclusions: The study of the world experience of Lean education and the implementation of the methodology in practice in Ukraine, along with the processes of granting greater autonomy to universities, can ensure higher competitiveness of higher educational institutions and truly ensure customer-oriented education.