KPI Basics:

A “KPI” is a Key Performance Indicator, or in other words something that we can track or measure. An example of a KPI in higher education is Student-to-Faculty Ratio. This is a number, that varies from year to year, that represents the number of faculty that work at the University compared to the number of students enrolled at the University. Many say that this key ratio represents the quality of teaching in a University. The idea is that students are better off if there are more faculty members working there. Students will get more attention, there will be more choices in terms of classes, and there will be more opportunities for collaboration or advising with faculty. Most, if not all, universities track this ratio, and therefore it also provides an easy method to compare universities to each other. This type of KPI can be easily measured and tracked with data that the university already tracks within their administrative systems. Some KPI’s can be tracked with external data, such as surveys. In the US, we have the National Survey for Student Engagement, nsse.iub.edu, where this central organization distributes surveys to students, collects the information, and then provides assessments and feedback to the university. KPI’s can be used to determine changes within the university or to compare with a group of peer universities.

Who uses KPI’s?

I have seen KPI’s used in varying degrees by different universities. Of course, most universities are required to track some KPI’s for external compliance purposes as well as internal management. KPI tracking is often a part of a Performance Management initiative, where the university wants to standardize on a broad set of metrics across all areas of the organization. In other words, they want to go from sporadic pockets of KPI tracking (perhaps in spreadsheets/offline systems), to formally establishing KPI’s, setting targets for each KPI, and benchmarking against peers – across all colleges/departments and using data directly based on administrative system sources. Sometimes, the “drive to measurement” starts with a new Provost or President, who has effectively used KPI’s before.

Any discussion of KPI’s should be tempered with some reality. KPI’s cannot possibly encapsulate every different angle that is important to each constituent of a university. Even if we equip a car with the latest gadgetry and on-board computers, we will still need a driver to decide where we are going and to get us there safely. KPI’s and performance management systems can be effective tools, but they still require the right people to translate the results into the right course of actions.

KPI Examples in Higher Education:

Here is a pretty good list of KPI’s that I have gathered from speaking and meeting with various universities. Hopefully this will be useful for you, and I welcome your thoughts about KPI’s in Higher Education.

I have structured the KPI’s so they fall under a perspective and then an objective.

Academic Perspective

Student Success: Recruit, retain, graduate the best students	Student Recruitment Metrics:
	Freshman Inquiries
	Freshman Conversion
	Freshman Applications
	Freshman Selectivity
	Freshman Accepted
	Freshman Yield
	Freshman Enrolled
	SAT/ACT Score Quality
	Top 10% Rank in Class
	Discount Rate
	% of Financial Need Met
	Graduation Metrics:
	Degrees Conferred
	% of Students Gaining Employment within x months
	Retention Metrics:
	4-Year Graduation Rate
	5-Year Graduation Rate
	6-Year Graduation Rate
	1-year Retention Rate
	Graduate Student Metrics:
	# of Research Assistants
	GRE Quantitative Score

Provide Quality Academic Programs and Support Services	% of Course Sections with an enrollment of 20 or less
	% of Course Sections with an enrollment of 50 or more
	Passing Rate for National Licenses or Exams (e.g. Nursing, Pharmacy, Law, etc)
	Academic Support Spending per Student Headcount
	Instructional Spending per Student Headcount
	Student Participation in Study Abroad

Attract and retain outstanding faculty/staff	Faculty-to-Student Ratio
	Average Faculty Salary and Benefits
	Employee Satisfaction
	Faculty Tenure Rate
	Number of Endowed chairs and professorships
	Staff Turnover Rate
	Staff participation in central HR training

Financial Perspective

Optimize Expenditures	Administration Spending per Student
	Departments exceeding budget
	Number of Financial Shadow Systems
	Complete all capital projects on-time

Advancement and Endowment	Average Alumni Giving Rate
	% of Campaign Goal Pledged
	% of Campaign Goal Collected
	Endowment per Student Headcount

Remain Compliant	A-21 Audit Findings
	Cost of compliance as % of budget
	Laboratory Safety Violations
	OFAC Compliance Violations
	Time to close fiscal year (in weeks)
	Violations of OSHA, HFPA, BOCA, NRC, and FDA

Research Perspective

Increase Funded Research	Contracts and Grants Funding Awarded
	NIH Grants Funding Awarded
	Number of Patents Issued
	Proposal Success Rate

Provide Adequate Research Facilities	New Lab space available for research
	Laboratory Safety Violations
	Sq Ft of Incubator Space

Increase Faculty Scholarly Activities	Members of National Academies
	Number of publications or performances in national outlets
	# of Tenured Faculty

Campus and Community Perspective

Improve Campus Life	# of Public Safety Officers
	Campus Wireless Network Coverage
	NSSE Supportive Campus Environment
	Number of Students graduating late due to course availability
	Community Perception Survey Score

Support Integrity and Service to Community	Funding for Public Services Initiatives
	Student Awareness of Code of Ethics

Support superior athletics	Graduation Rate for Freshman Student athletes
	Placement in Directors Cup
	Student Participation Rate in Intramural Athletics or Sports Clubs
	Reduce CO2 Emissions to Target