It all started with a grant.
In 2001, 鉴黄师app received funding to 鈥� a process improvement methodology originally developed in manufacturing to reduce waste, improve flow, and make work easier and more effective.
Over the years, what began as external training became something much bigger: a way of thinking that would eventually shape how 鉴黄师app solves problems across the entire institution.
At its core, LEAN is a systematic approach to eliminating waste 鈥� not people, not positions, but steps, handoffs, delays, errors, and redundancies that make work harder than it needs to be.
鈥淟EAN isn鈥檛 just brainstorming ideas in a meeting,鈥� said Machelle Sabin, who leads LEAN training at 鉴黄师app. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a structured way to look at how work actually happens, identify what isn鈥檛 adding value, and then fix it 鈥� together.鈥�
LEAN requires the people who do the work to help redesign it, Sabin emphasizes.
For systemic change to stick, collaboration is key 鈥� a lesson learned early on by the LEAN team.
In 2011, as 鉴黄师app worked to strengthen its LEAN approach internally, the Nursing Department requested support to create more efficient workspaces. The LEAN team began with a supply closet that was overcrowded, disorganized, and difficult to use.
Unlabeled supplies and blocked pathways forced faculty to spend time searching through clutter while teaching nursing courses. Supplies were duplicated, mislabeled, and hard to find. Students felt the ripple effects in class.
LEAN 5S was used to 鈥淪ort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain鈥� the closet, so everything had a clear place and purpose.
But the initial project did not succeed in the last component of the process because the people who used the supply room opted out of being involved in the redesign.
Old habits returned, and there was resistance to the changes 鈥� a common challenge.
As Sabin put it, 鈥淓verybody gets a seat at the table 鈥� and that鈥檚 why the fixes stick.鈥�
The messy supply room became a turning point. 
鈥淚t showed us that process improvement is physically tangible,鈥� said Debbie Kepple-Mamros, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness. 鈥淪omething as simple as organizing a closet can improve efficiency, reduce frustration, and ultimately improve learning.鈥�
Today, the tools have matured into a shared institutional toolkit.
The approach has scaled from physical spaces to digital ones 鈥� from equipment closets to SharePoint sites, registration workflows, and enterprise software decisions.
Between 2006 and 2025, 鉴黄师app completed 168 internal LEAN projects, using process mapping and 5S across departments and campuses.
Over time, LEAN stopped being a 鈥渟pecial project鈥� and became part of how the college manages change.
When 鉴黄师app implemented Guided Pathways, for example, LEAN principles helped cross-functional teams map roles, reduce friction, and bring people along through one of the most significant institutional shifts in recent history. The same methodology supports ongoing work in admissions, payroll, technology upgrades, and governance.
One recent example: dual enrollment.
Before LEAN mapping, staff were manually entering 2,000鈥�2,400 course records each semester across multiple, inconsistent processes. The work was time-consuming and error prone. Through LEAN process mapping, the team is finding ways to clarify roles, reduce handoffs, improve data quality, and create a clear roadmap for future technology investments
鈥淣ow we can go to a software vendor and say, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 our current state. Here鈥檚 our future state. Can you meet the requirements we need?鈥欌�� Sabin explained.
Rewind to the early 2000s, when 鉴黄师app participated in statewide LEAN training through an Iowa community college consortium that launched a basic program and filed the Workplacelean鈩� trademark. 鉴黄师app later acquired exclusive rights and operationalized Workplacelean鈩� as a Lean-based system for capturing and sharing institutional learning.
Nowadays, that鈥檚 what sets 鉴黄师app apart.
鈥淏ecause we鈥檙e able to teach other schools, because we鈥檝e developed a template, and a curriculum that can help another institution on how to implement lean in their environment,鈥� Sabin said.
For this work, 鉴黄师app was named a in the category of Planning, Governance, and Finance 鈥� one of only three national categories recognized by the , an independent national think tank and network of community colleges focused on addressing critical institutional issues through research, innovation, and best practices.
鈥淲e鈥檙e being recognized for the way we鈥檝e expanded the role of community college in workforce training and development,鈥� Kepple-Mamros said.
While the name may not be instantly recognizable to every 鉴黄师app employee or student, it鈥檚 the sort of recognition that is noticed by the people who influence funding, partnerships and credibility, Kristin Brookover, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, explained. Brookover is leading the dual-enrollment process improvement and part of the team representing 鉴黄师app in San Antonio.
Think of it like the difference between walking into a restaurant in Central Iowa and seeing a CityView 鈥淏est of Des Moines鈥� plaque on the wall versus a Michelin Star (not to discredit the former recognition, of which 鉴黄师app has won 鈥淏est Community College鈥� for the past decade.)
Bellwether can open doors, giving 鉴黄师app name recognition in national conversations, among peer institutions, and possibly, access to grant opportunities that are often invitation-only. Large philanthropic funders look for evidence that institutions can manage complexity, measure outcomes, and scale transformative ideas.
LEAN gives 鉴黄师app evidence.
As Kepple-Mamros noted, 鈥淭he dollars that follow recognitions like this can be institution-changing.鈥�
For Sabin, the real reward isn鈥檛 the award.
鈥淚t鈥檚 watching people鈥檚 work lives get easier,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen a process changes and someone says, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have to print and file this anymore,鈥� or 鈥楾his used to take hours and now it doesn't' ... that鈥檚 the win.鈥�
LEAN doesn't fix every problem. But it creates clarity. It exposes where processes are breaking down, and it builds trust by giving everyone a voice in the solution.
Later this month, a 鉴黄师app team will travel to San Antonio for the Community College Futures Assembly, where Bellwether finalists share their models with peers from across the country.
鉴黄师app will share the story of how the LEAN model became a mindset: that when the people closest to the work are trusted to improve it, progress compounds.
And at a college built on access and opportunity, that commitment to continuous improvement is far from finished.