Purpose – Because of the ever‐expanding commercialization and marketing of higher education, a need now exists to apply the concepts of business process improvement to colleges and universities. Aims to explore this issue.Design/methodology/approach – An open‐ended qualitative questionnaire was developed, administered to 18 public and private university representatives and analyzed.Findings – The participants at these surveyed universities shared with the interviewers the institutional lean “best practices” that they feel will contribute to the sustainability of their universities.Research limitations/implications – This is a preliminary study with a sample size of 18 universities in the Northeastern USA. Future research should include more universities in the USA, as well as in other countries.Practical implications – Other institutions of higher education may learn from the successful implementation of the lean sustainability efforts at the institutions in this study.Originality/value – Very little past...
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