Scorecard Best Practices

Shaps Study Overview

Many of the conclusions in this book are based upon the results from two studies conducted by a research team consisting of Dr. Raef Lawson, Dr. William Stratton, and Ms. Toby Hatch. The North American On‐Line Scorecard Study presented results from an English language survey conducted between 2002 and 2004, and the International On‐Line Scorecard Study summarized results from a similar survey conducted in eight languages from 2004 to 2006. Both studies revealed practical insights about the adoption and use of scorecards at the various phases of their implementation. The International Study provides a foundation for comparative analysis in the global arena as well as trend analysis for North America. Throughout the remainder of this book, these two studies are referred to as the SHAPs (i.e., SUNY, Hyperion, and Pepperdine scorecard) study.

These studies were conducted primarily on a voluntary basis and supported by nonmonetary sponsors.¹ The responsibility of the sponsors was to solicit their members and customers to participate in the study. In return, all respondents and sponsors received access to articles and presentations based on the studies’ results.

The International Study received 382 usable responses from 44 countries. Of these, 193 respondents (50 percent) indicated that they use some kind of scorecard system. The North American study received 150 usable responses. Of these, approximately the same percentage indicated that they use a scorecard system. ...