Assessment of engineering colleges through application of the Six Sigma metrics in a State of India

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to measure the current or baseline institutional performance level of the Government and private engineering colleges in the state of West Bengal. Design/methodology/approach – The study has been conducted on the basis of a survey. The feedback for this survey questionnaire has been considered independently for service providers such as administrators, faculties, other supporting staff as well as students who receive these services and are direct customers. A total of 2,168 persons have been surveyed from the 30 randomly selected colleges out of 70 colleges. The baseline or current performance level of the engineering colleges has been assessed based on the sigma level through quantification of the survey questionnaire consisting of eight enablers. Each enabler contains several questions or drivers. A total of 75 drivers have been arrived at for eight enablers. A seven‐point scale has been designed for each driver ranging from “Unsatisfactory” to “Outstanding”. To identify the weak areas for a college, the vital few drivers that correspond to “Unsatisfactory” performance have been made to take necessary remedial measures for attaining the new benchmark sigma level under the present techno‐economic set‐up. Findings – The overall ratings (sigma levels) of engineering colleges in West Bengal range from 0.11 to 2.7, which is far away from the sigma level (4 σ ) of an average organization in the USA. Originality/value – The paper is a purely original work. Instead of going by the popular perception of the Selection, Engineering and Technology, West Bengal, it is much better to categorize the colleges based on the class intervals of baseline sigma levels as demonstrated.