Educause in Australasia 2001

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Educause in Australasia 2001 The Balanced
Scorecard approach maximising return on
investment in flexible delivery Dr Eveline
Fallshaw Learning Technology Services RMIT
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RMITs Teaching and Learning Strategy
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The Teaching and Learning Strategy sets out
RMITs vision for how RMIT will provide
vocational and professional education to support
the career aspirations of individuals, to
contribute towards the intellectual development
of Australia, to meet the needs of enterprises,
. (DVCs Introduction to the TL Strategy
2000-2002. p.5).  The Universitys Framework for
Learning describes the systems needed to deliver
on this vision and the characteristics of the
various programs and courses which will be needed
to deliver quality learning experiences. RMIT
University (2001) Teaching and Learning Strategy,
http//www.teaching.rmit.edu.au/
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RMITs Framework for Learning
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• The Balanced Scorecard Approach
• The approach to planning, measuring and
  monitoring progress on the Teaching and Learning
  Strategy assumes
• Staff capability must be built around the skills
  appropriate to their role
• The innovations in products, processes and
  services are to be delivered by staff across the
  University
• If we achieve in all aspects of the Framework we
  will delight our customers students and
  enterprise clients
• If we delight our customers, our business will
  flourish and grow
• Balanced Scorecard measures will provide the
  University with a means of planning, measuring
  and monitoring progress on building the
  Framework.

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• The Balanced Scorecard will assist the
  University to monitor the achievement of its
  goals if we include four perspectives
• Staff
• Educational products and services
•         Student service and satisfaction
•      Financial effectiveness, efficiency and
  cash flow
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• By setting out the story about the flexible
  learning project in a manner which links the
  various perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard we
  can set out our assumptions and then ensure our
  evaluation tests their validity as the business
  development goes ahead.
•  

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  Every story about flexible learning will have
a common underlying logic   If we increase the
capability of our staff Then they will be able to
make improvements to the learning
experiences Then satisfaction and success rates
of students will improve Then we will have a
positive impact on our finances
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  Targets should be established for each
activity. This is how we will demonstrate our
performance to date (lagging indicators) and by
appropriate measures envision future success
(leading indicators). We must provide evidence
(data) on which to measure our progress and these
indicators must allow us to measure both success
and sustainability. The targets can be integrated
into a Balanced Scorecard to assist departments
to check progress in achieving their goals.
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The Elements of the Balanced Scorecard Targets
should be established for each activity. This is
how we will demonstrate our performance to date
and envision future success We must provide
evidence (data) on which to measure our progress
and these indicators must allow us to measure
both success and sustainability The targets can
be integrated into a Balanced Scorecard to assist
us to check progress in achieving our goals
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Return on Investment from Flexible Delivery of a
Program - Overview
Step 1 Identify the need or problem and define
the objectives
Step 2 Consider relationship to the Universitys
strategic priorities
Step 3 Identify the options
Step 4 Assess outline costs and benefits
Step 5 Present the conclusions
Step 6 Monitoring progress Using the Balanced
Scorecard
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Step 1 Identify the need or problem and define
the objectives   State in broad terms who needs
to learn what and why they need to learn
it   Define targets   Check you can say YES to
the following Does this describe the target
intake to the program, the students learning
needs and the purpose of the program?
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•  Example
• RMIT seeks to increase business in South East
  Asia.
• Regional development is high on the national and
  the local agenda.
• RMIT has a thriving department of Regional
  Development
• The Chinese government has recently identified a
  severe shortage of regional development experts.
• Develop a Masters program in Regional Development
  for off-shore delivery to China and other
  countries in the region.
•  Target
• 50 applications for admission from qualified
  applicants in SEA in the first year of offering

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Step 2 Consider the strategic context and
relationship to the Universitys strategic
priorities   State how this proposal aligns with
current university priorities eg courses with
high student numbers, opportunities for
re-purposing materials, good potential for
commercialisation off shore, significant fee for
service, significant market share, strong global
competitive positioning, clear alignment to
RMITs mission, and a strong community service
element.   Define targets Check you can say
YES to the following Does this appraisal relate
to the strategic aims of the department/faculty/
RMIT?
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• Example
• External strategic context is clear and
  consistent with many aspects of RMIT strategy and
  current priorities
• Strong demand for the course from students
  already in related employment
• Planned to place significant emphasis on
  work-integrated learning as a component in the
  internationalisation and contextualisation of the
  course materials
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• Target
• At least 10 repeat employers assist students to
  enrol on the course by second year of offering
  at least 100 enrolments from China in 2002

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Step 3 Identify the options   State what is
the content, what learning activities the course
will be expected to provide, and, in broad terms,
the facilities or services needed to carry out
these activities. Consider a range of options.
Be open-minded in rethinking teaching and
changing organisational aspects.   Define targets
Check you can say YES to the following Has a
sufficiently wide range of options been
considered? Is the teaching and learning
requirement clearly defined? Have realistic
procurement options been appraised such as buy in
of content, use of consultant writers etc?
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• Example
• Intensive workshops in Shanghai region too
  dispersed, too far for students to travel
• Attending RMIT once semester plus online delivery
  problems in funds available to support staff
  travel in typical regional development units in
  China.
• Fully Online courses not popular with staff
  until the department agreed that teaching hours
  online at home be recorded and recognised
• Work based learning course is to be experience
  and evidence based concentrating on the kind of
  books and reports such staff have to master
  anyway
• Final choice Combination of a single annual
  intensive workshop in Shanghai and online
  work-based delivery selected (This will also
  develop staff skills in online delivery which
  will enable us to develop more new programs for
  work based delivery)
• Targets
• At least 50 of staff trained in online tools by
  end of semester 1 8 quality assured online
  courses in use by the end of the year 4 courses
  renewed for online delivery by the end of
  Semester 1

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• Step 4 Assess outline costs of delivery
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• State costs of delivery to students
• Make assumptions about staff time and equipment
  explicit
• Include direct costs and benefits accruing to the
  department, income streams, running costs, and
  benefits over the life of the course
• Take account of assets already owned.
• Check costs of delivery
• Can department can cope with best and worst case
  scenarios?
• Estimate development costs
• Define targets
• Check you can say YES to the following
• Has the Cost of Delivery model been used?
• Can the department accept the best and worst case
  scenarios?
•  

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• Example
• Most students have a PC and access to the
  Internet at work
• Students incur few regular travel costs or travel
  time other than a single annual event
• Costs of Delivery Model indicates cash flow will
  cover staff making single trip to Shanghai once a
  year
• Teaching Staff loaned a laptop to use at
  home/while travelling
• All dial up costs borne by RMIT
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• Targets
• Development costs fully recovered within 2 years
• Estimated cost of delivery supported by ABC data
  within 5
• Repeat business, target is 10 repeat employers
  assisting students to enrol on the course by the
  second year of offering

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Step 5 Present the conclusions   State preferred
solution show it is viable Appraise benefits
Make initial assessment of affordability Define
targets   Check you can say YES to the
following Are the results of the appraisal
report set out clearly in a logical order and
with all relevant assumptions made clear? Are
costs and benefits clearly established? Does the
analysis show the effects of risks and the
influence of sensitivities? Is the overall
financial impact clear?
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• Example
• Multimedia development large fraction of budget
• Level of staff expertise still low
• Too risky to use funds this way for a new course-
  might delay the completion date
• External experts to be used for web design and to
  train staff to teach online
• Provided course enrolments are as predicted start
  up cost can be absorbed
• Experience shows 25 of the course material will
  be rewritten each year
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• Non-financial benefits
• Contributing to RMITs involvement with SEA
• Pushing forward the Universitys lifelong
  learning agenda
• Increasing fee for service revenues
• Supporting real word research
• Developing staff capability in online learning
•  
• Targets
• 4 staff with online courses cited as University
  exemplars by year end
• 60 Students very satisfied with online learning
• 85 Graduates very satisfied with the program

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Balanced Scorecard Measures
Staff Learning Growth

• staff trained in use of online tools Target
  50 by end of semester
• staff with online courses cited as University
  exemplars Target 4 by yr/end
• courses being renewed for online delivery
  Target 4 by end semester 1
• QAd online courses with enrolled students
  Target 8 by yr/end
• Student satisfaction with online learning Target
  60 very satisfied
• qualified applicants Target 50 in first year
  of offering
• Graduates satisfaction with the program Target
  85 very satisfied
• Growth in offshore student numbers Target at
  least 100 admissions from China by 2001
• Development costs recovered within 2 years
  Target 40 by end yr/1
• Number of repeat employers of students on course
  Target 10 by 2nd yr
• Department ABC data must validate financial
  projections to within 5 Target ABC data
  corresponds to estimates within 5

Innovations
Students/ employers
Financial return on investment
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Further Reading Bacsich, P. Ash, C. Boniwell, K.
Kaplan, L. Mardell, J. and Caven-Atack, A. (1999)
The Costs of Networked Learning - Final Report,
Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University Kaplan,
R.S and Norton, D.P (1996) The Balanced
Scorecard, Harvard Business School Press,
Boston Kaplan, R.S and Norton, D.P (2000)
Having trouble with your strategy? Then map it
Harvard Business Review, September-October,
pp167-176 Kaplan, R.S and Norton, D.P (2001) The
Strategy Focused Organization, Harvard Business
School Press, Boston RMIT University (2001)
Teaching and Learning Strategy,
http//www.teaching.rmit.edu.au/