We are proud to offer this opportunity for professional development on campus, at no cost to the individual or to the department. Lean Six Sigma training provides tangible outcomes that benefit our campus community. We firmly believe that this training represents an investment in our staff. We greatly appreciate your interest, support, and commitment to continuous improvement at UC Santa Barbara.

The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course includes hands-on, instructor-led training via UC San Diego Extension. We arrange a dedicated session for UCSB staff only. In addition to their training, Green Belt candidates will complete a process improvement project that results in a minimum of $40K hard or soft savings for campus, and they will present their final project work for evaluation approximately 6-8 weeks after the last day of instruction. Depending on the cohort/schedule, training may be provided online via Zoom or in-person

Application Information

The application window is currently closed.  Updates for the next scheduled cohort will be posted here once available.

Please note that completing the Yellow Belt training is not a requirement for Green Belt training, but it can provide a solid start to your Lean Six Sigma journey and assist you in preparing for your Green Belt project.

Guidelines for Selecting Your Green Belt Project

The following attributes should be considered when identifying possible Lean Six Sigma Green Belt projects:

  • Your project should focus on an existing problem or opportunity that has great potential to improve customer satisfaction ("make it better for the customer") or enhance performance ("make it easier for the process participant")
  • Your project should fall within your job scope, and be both quantifiable and measurable
  • You should be able to obtain sufficient data about the process within a reasonable amount of time
  • Your project should result in an expected impact of at least $40K in hard or soft savings for UCSB
  • Your project objectives should be reviewed and endorsed by your supervisor and other critical stakeholders prior to applying for this program
  • Your project is able to be completed within 12 weeks (3 months), including any time needed to verify the results of the improvement
  • The improved process can be managed by the process owner after completion of the project using the control systems you implement

The following scenarios will make process improvement difficult and should be avoided:

  • Insufficient data to evaluate process performance or data is not easily attainable
  • Implementation of already established solutions such as software systems, or automation without first improving the process
  • Designing a new process, product, or service from scratch
  • Projects that will not make a significant difference to your organization
  • Projects that do not have measurable goals
  • Projects that require more than 12 weeks (3 months) to complete
  • Projects based on a process that is performed infrequently, or does not run within the time period of the training program

 

You may also contact Katie Mankins directly at kmankins@ucsb.edu if you would like to discuss potential ideas for your project, or learn more about prior Green Belt projects.

Selection Criteria

The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program is best suited to staff members who are highly involved in business process activities.  Applicants should have knowledge of basic statistics, project management, and team leadership skills.  Familiarity with tools such as Google Sheets/Excel and Google Slides/PowerPoint is strongly recommended.

Applicants must have at least one year of service at UC and be career status.  Supervisor support is essential to the success of Green Belt candidates since time will be needed for project work in addition to the training itself.

The highest priority will be granted to applicants with:

  • Demonstrated experience and/or education on process improvement methodologies (as indicated in your personal statement).  For example, previous formal training, being part of one or more project improvement teams, implementing process improvements at work, reading books on the subject, etc.
  • A viable process improvement project (see "Guidelines for Selecting Your Green Belt Project" section above)
  • Demonstrated supervisor support

If you are selected for this training, be advised that you may be asked to partner with a classmate on a project.  We ask that all applicants have a proposed project as part of their application, but we realize that circumstances may change between the submission of your application and the start of the training.

By accepting this professional development opportunity, you authorize the instructor to release your final project presentation to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for reporting purposes.  Green Belt candidates will have the opportunity to request confidentiality for sensitive information.  Additionally, we will require that you attend a cohort orientation session in advance of your couse.  This session is intended to build your support network and to provide any additional resources you may need to be successful in your project.

Prior Green Belt Applications and Nominations

To date, 124 people have previously been selected to participate in Green Belt training based on applications and/or nominations from senior leadership beginning in 2018. 

Click on the links below to view previous graduates and their project descriptions:

 

Additional Resources

We are here to support you.  Please email Katie Mankins (kmankins@ucsb.edu) for questions regarding the application, submission, or for questions regarding the program curriculum and schedule.

You may also review the resources below for more information: