Homework 5a from Chapter 8

Read the Downey College Case in the text.

Tuition is the life blood of any four year college and Downey College is no exception. Each year the Student Affairs Office initiates a campaign to get students to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. As with any tuition aid program, there is a timeframe when you must apply. If you miss the application deadline then you must wait until the following period.

Last year Hannah had her staff develop a check sheet on common errors concerning FAFSA applications. There were five major areas and an other area. She had them collect data by student status, i.e. freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. The information is listed below.

Error	Freshman 520 applications	Sophomore 500 applications	Junior 580 applications	Senior 530 applications	Total Errors	% of Total
Not filing by deadline	/////	////	//////	///	18	19.1%
Wrong FSA ID	//	/	//	////	9	9.6%
Wrong SSN	////	///	/		8	8.5%
Did not sign FAFSA	/////	/////	//	///	15	16.0%
Under stating income	//////	////	//	/////	17	18.0%
Filing wrong years FAFSA	//	//	/////	///	12	12.8%
Other	/////	////	//	////	15	16%
Totals	29	23	20	22	94
%	30.8%	24.5%	21.3%	23.4%		100%

Questions

1. Hannah Hunts staff is very small; thus, she has limited resources available to tackle these issues. She can focus on either a specific error or on a specific class, e.g. freshman. What do you recommend she do and why? Explain the benefit of your recommendation.
2. What is the sigma level of their FAFSA application program? Does the sigma level per class, e.g. senior, change your recommendation on whether to focus on a specific error or a specific class? Is there any advantage in this perspective of the data? Explain your opinion to Hannah Hunt.
3. Hannah Hunt believes that filling out and submitting the FAFSA application is a no brainer. She believes that a six sigma level should be easy to obtain. Do you agree? Is this a realistic expectation? Explain your viewpoint.