Outlining the BSC for Education
Developing the BSC for education is a very important endeavor. Doing so makes measuring the performance of the academic institution all the more achievable.
The early portion of the 1990s saw the importance of incorporating a BSC for education. As early as that time, it has been noticed how the accountability in higher education, especially in college education, has become an important concern in the industry. The student population is increasing in number, yes, and even to this day. With more and more students all over the world, there then comes a need to provide members of the board as well as administrators empirical values and performance indicators that show just how the colleges are doing in terms of quality of education being offered. These empirical values are then given to alumni, target students, the state itself, as well as outside stakeholders.
Information scorecards have since been developed by state commissioners of colleges offering graduate education. These cards rate colleges and universities in terms of rank of performance. The popularity of schools would be based on retention rates, graduation rates, resources, and academic reputation. Some or all of these would be included in the BSC or balanced scorecard for education.
For the most part, the scorecard has been viewed as a managerial tool that is used only in the commercial sector. Little did people know back then that the same managerial tool could be used in the academic sector as well. But as soon as this was discovered, it did not take too long for the academic industry to incorporate the use of the BSC as a standard tool in measuring the quality and the performance of the academic institutions that have established themselves in the arena. However, you have to understand that there is a certain degree of difference that sets the education BSC apart from BSCs used in other industries. The performance indicators here are more specific than the ones used in other industries. Because to its particular nature, the indicators themselves can already be used to produce substantial reports that aid the process of tactical decision-making.
There are two sides to keep in mind when you want to measure the performance of universities and colleges – externally-driven and internally-driven. For the audience category, the external ones can include consumers, like parents and students; governing bodies, like accrediting companies and agencies; and revenue generators, like donors, foundations, and members of the alumni. The internal ones, on the other hand, can include members of the faculty, the academic administrators, and even the non-academic ones. The BSC must be made to measure image management and undergrad education through its external indicators. With the internal ones, the BSC should then measure the agenda of the body as well as the allocation of resources.
The pioneers of the BSC hold that there are four perspectives to look into with this tool – financial, learning and innovation, internal and commercial processes, and the customer as well. Apart from these four perspectives, it is also important for the school to incorporate the following areas into the BSC: student learning experience, academic excellence, engagement and outreach, resource management, and diversity. The BSC for education should then give an integrated perspective of the targets and goals that are aligned with these areas. Doing this makes the tool all the more effective.
Tags: bsc education, education metrics
