University KPIs will logically center on measuring the efficiency of services offered to students. These are needed to ensure the overall performance of the university.
There is one rule in establishing relevant university KPIs and that is that they should be reflective of university mission,
vision, goals, and objectives. They must also consider the four key perspectives of educational institutions – internal and external stakeholders, growth and innovation, and business and finance.
Internal and external stakeholders will consist of the students, employees, and the external community that the institution serves. Growth and innovation will involve all programs that are related to institutional development while business and finance will mainly deal with financial management and resource generation.
All formulated KPIs will fall under three general classifications: revenue, access, or success. Universities with high population will have more than three indicators since there are more staff, courses, and programs to begin with.
Generally, enrollment will be one of the major KPIs. Educational institutions exist because of students. The level of student population can mean a lot of things. When student population is increasing, it could only mean one thing – the community is finding something good in the quality the services of the university. When population is decreasing, one of the reasons may be the fact that services do not meet the standards expected by the community. There might be other reasons, but a decreasing student population should prompt university officials to rethink strategies.
Universities, naturally, would like their graduates to find jobs after graduation. A good employment rate of graduates is a telltale sign that the quality of education being provided by the university is quite good. However, there should be qualifications made to employment rates. When graduates find jobs that are not at all related to the courses they graduated from or work at jobs that require less training than they got from the university, then there is obviously something wrong. This is a good indication that perhaps the curriculum needs some adjusting and revising.
A lot of times, the problem with the poor quality of education in universities is not solely because of inappropriate curriculum. Teaching methodologies, teacher qualifications, facilities, teacher to student ratios, and the like also have an influence on the kind of education students get. All these must be considered by university officials when making plans and policies.
Student access to the university is another indicator of the kind of services it offers the community. A specific indicator of this would be enrolment levels, including those enrolled in adult and online courses. These two signify the university’s ability to accommodate people who cannot afford or do not have time to become fulltime students. The percentage of students getting scholarships as well as those getting financial assistance packages also fall under access indicators.
The number of students completing their course programs is an indicator of how well the university nurtures their students. A large number dropping out or transferring to other courses can mean a problem in admission criteria or curriculum issues.
University KPIs are not limited to measuring the efficiency of services offered to students. Like other organizations, there should be KPIs to measure management efficiency, establishing effective communications, and accountabilities. The growth and innovation perspective must be addressed as well.
