Green Belt Paychex

Yes.  Paychex employees interested in pursuing Lean Six Sigma certification will require two sets of management approvals before they enroll in a course or submit an application to Edcor.  Please complete the online "manager approval form" found on Paychex's internal Tuition Reimbursement Program site.

1. Discuss Lean Six Sigma certification with your manager: plan a process improvement project.
2. Complete the online "manager approval form" which will go to your manager for a first approval and then to Leadership Development for a second approval.
3. Once both approvals are in place, enroll in the RIT course (see Step 1).
4. Submit your application to Edcor.  Questions related to application submission or tuition reimbursement should be directed to Edcor at 844-248-0783.
5. When the course is completed, please submit the required documentation to Edcor for reimbursement.  (See the Paychex site Tuition FAQ's for more information).

Please do not submit an application to Edcor for Lean Six Sigma certification until you have obtained both management approvals.  Applications submitted without the proper approvals will be rejected.

Please note that a grade of C- or higher in the course (ISEE 582/682) is required for reimbursement of tuition, books and fees from Paychex.  Certification as a Green Belt is separate from tuition reimbursement and requires completion of a Paychex approved process improvement project. 

In addition to receiving 3 academic credits which can be leveraged toward a future certificate or degree program, the rigor inherent in an academic course (versus a non-credit training program) means that you will be exposed in more depth to more practical material that will have direct benefit to your job and your organization.  Since your work will be graded, you will be highly vested in your learning and the application of tools and methods to practical problems and processes within your organization.  Finally, the diversity of participants enrolled in these courses provides exposure to experienced professionals from a number of companies in different industries.

Academic courses require about 6-10 hours each week, and it is especially important to keep up with the material since there are deliverables each week and you will be graded on your participation as well as on quizzes, homework, and exams.

Our online format is designed to provide you with flexibility to meet your other commitments from wherever you are while insuring that you are actively engaged with the instructor and your classmates on a weekly basis.  (This is not a self-study course).  Materials are available on our course management website and you submit homework and participate in discussions each week at your convenience.  Homework, quizzes and exams, as well as a simulation exercise are also online.

Yes, but you must first secure a project sponsor and submit a draft charter to the instructor.  The project will likely continue beyond the end of the course, and Green Belt certification is not awarded until the final project report is signed off by your sponsor and the instructor.

Most students will wait until the course is over to work on their projects.  You have up to 1 year after course completion to begin a project and another year to complete it.  Extensions may be granted for extenuating circumstances but they must be approved by your instructor and your sponsor.

A suitable Green Belt process improvement project must utilize the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) structure and return significant benefits, usually at least $50,000, recognizing that other metrics may be more appropriate to your situation. As mentioned above, the project should be completed (with sign-off from sponsor and instructor) within two years of training.  

Every Green Belt project requires a sponsor whose role is: (1) to help identify in advance an opportunity suitable for a Green Belt project; (2) to help remove roadblocks and support project execution; and (3) to participate in tollgate reviews and sign-off on all tollgates. Your direct manager should also provide assurance that he/she understands the demands on your time for and is committed to your success in the program.

No, credit is not given for projects that are either in-process or were completed prior to the start of the course.

No.  Green Belt and Black Belt are two distinct certifications which must be completed separately. RIT currently does not have an academic pathway to Black Belt certification.

A textbook is required: "An Introduction to Six Sigma & Process Improvement,” Second Edition by James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay, published by Cengage Learning.  Textbooks can be purchased or rented at https://rit.textbookx.com/institutional/index.php. A simulation also is required at a cost of $50.

All presentation slides will be available in our online repository, from which you can print a copy for your own use.  Links to the videos are also provided. 

No special software is required. Excel is utilized for statistical tools and examples, which are also illustrated in Minitab if you prefer this statistical package.  Minitab is available to students free of charge.

As mentioned earlier, ISEE 582/682 is offered online during the fall (late-August until mid-December), spring (mid-January until early-May), or summer (mid-May until early-August) terms.  See https://www.rit.edu/calendar for specific course dates or contact us at cqas@rit.edu.

We suggest (see Step 1) that you submit the non-degree enrollment form to cqas@rit.edu no later than the following dates, although we urge you to submit even earlier since the courses fill quickly:

• For the fall semester, the form should be submitted to us by August 1.
• For the spring semester, the form should be submitted by December 15.
• For the summer semester, the form should be submitted by April 15.

As a Paychex employee, you must first receive approval for tuition reimbursement before submitting RIT’s enrollment form.

In order to cancel your enrollment without incurring tuition charges, you must drop the course within the first 7 days after the course begins.  You can either do this yourself by logging into your student account at http://sis.rit.edu or by sending an email to cqas@rit.edu before the drop period ends.  More information about RIT’s tuition refund policy can be found at https://www.rit.edu/sfs/tuition-refundadjustment.

Your RIT transcript will show the grade you received and the associated credits (3), which you can download/print as proof that you completed the course. 

You will also receive (via email) a Yellow Belt certificate provided that you achieved at least a “B” grade in the course.

Vincenzo Buonomo at (585) 475-7207 or vxbasp@rit.edu, or cqas@rit.edu.