In student affairs, we don’t often talk about benchmarking and how it can be used for improvement. I know I spend more time thinking about student learning or satisfaction as my focus, but I wanted to plant the seed that benchmarking should be in the mix of options, depending on what you need to know. (Assessment projects should always start with what you need to know.
Benchmarking can be used in a couple of ways. One, you can benchmark against a standard or baseline that you want to meet. For example, the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education has created a lot of functional-specific self-assessment guides that provide guidance on how well a functional area performs based on a set of criteria that a unit should meet. This evaluation tells you where your strengths and areas of improvement are in relation to an external standard or requirement. It can provide a comprehensive view of unit performance, leading to decisions about where to take action. This can be done fairly informally as a staff discussion or part of a more formal review process, such as accreditation application.
Benchmarking can also be used to compare one functional unit to other, similar functional units. The comparison groups could be similar units at similar institution types, similar functions outside of higher education, or units that might be considered to have best practices. For example, a health center at a large, public institution might compare themselves to other large, public institutions in the country or region. But, they also might look at similar institutions who have the same accreditation they do. Even further, they could look at local health care facilities, especially if they are looking at a specific part of their operation. Maybe the health center sees a need to improve their scheduling process to be sure they can see as many student patients as possible, as quickly as possible. They could ask local facilities about the scheduling software they use, how they schedule their providers, and what the average/acceptable wait time is between making an appointment and seeing a health care professional. Based on the information collected, the health center could implement changes that they think would work in their environment.
The process of benchmarking does not have to be overly complex. Sometimes, it’s as easy as looking at other units’ websites to find the information you need. Alternatively, it might be reaching out through your networks (listservs, professional associations, informal peer groups, etc.) with several focused questions. Obviously, it could me more complex and time-intensive if you are looking at a comprehensive program review or accreditation process.
I hope that gives you a glimpse of benchmarking as an assessment tool. If you need assistance, Student Life Studies is always here to help.