i

From Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. 2021. 2021–2022 Baldrige Excellence Framework (Education): Leadership

and Management Practices for High Performance. Gaithersburg, MD: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of

Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/baldrige.

Contents

ii About the Baldrige Excellence Framework

The Baldrige framework empowers your organization to reach its goals, improve results, and become more 

competitive. The framework consists of the Criteria, the core values and concepts, and the scoring guidelines.

v How to Use the Baldrige Excellence Framework

You can use this booklet as a reference, for self-assessment, or as the basis of an external assessment. 

1 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Overview and Structure 

The Education Criteria include the Organizational Profile and seven interconnected categories. 

3 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Items and Point Values

4 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence

4 Organizational Profile

7 1 Leadership

10 2 Strategy

13 3 Customers

16 4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

19 5 Workforce 

22 6 Operations

25 7 Results 

29 Scoring System 

Performance against Education Criteria items is scored on two evaluation dimensions: process and results.

32 Process Scoring Guidelines 

33 Results Scoring Guidelines 

35 How to Respond to the Education Criteria

This section explains how to respond most effectively to the Education Criteria item questions. 

38 Core Values and Concepts

These embedded beliefs and behaviors form the foundation of the Education Criteria. 

44 Changes from the 2019–2020 Baldrige Excellence Framework

46 Glossary of Key Terms 

The glossary includes definitions of terms in small caps in the Education Criteria and scoring guidelines. 

55 Index of Key Terms

58 List of Contributors

On the Web

Education Criteria Commentary (https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-criteria-commentary-education)

This commentary provides the ”why” behind the Criteria, as well as additional examples and guidance.
14 2021–2022 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence 

PROCESS

3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you build relationships with students and other 

customers and determine satisfaction and engagement? (45 pts.)

a. Student and Other Customer Experien

(1) Relationship Management How do you build and manage student and other customer relationshi

How do you

• acquire students and other customers and build market share;

• manage and enhance your image;

• retain students and other customers, meet their requirements, and exceed their expectations in each stage of 

their relationship with you? 

(2) Student and Other Customer Access and Support How do you enable students and other custo

seek information and support? How do you enable them to access your programs and services? What are your

key means of student and other customer support and communication? How do they vary for different student

and other customer groups or market segments, as appropriate? How do you

• determine your students’ and other customers’ key support requirements, and

• deploy these requirements to all people and processes involved in student and other customer support?

(3) Complaint Management How do you manage student and other customer complaints? How do you res

complaints promptly and effectively? How does your management of complaints enable you to recover your students’ and other customers’ confidence, enhance their satisfaction and engagement, and avoid similar complaints

in the future? 

(4) Fair Treatment How do your student and other customer experience processes ensure fair trea

different students, student groups, other customer groups, and market seg

b. Determination of Student and Other Customer Satisfaction and Engag

(1) Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Engagement How do you determine student and other customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and engagement? How do your determination methods differ among your st

other customer groups and market segments, as appropriate? How do your measurements capture actionable

information? 

(2) Satisfaction Relative to Other Organizations How do you obtain information on students’ and othe

customers’ satisfaction with your organization relative to other organizations? How do you obtain information on your students’ and other customers’ satisfact

• relative to their satisfaction with your competitors; and

• relative to the satisfaction of students and other customers of other organizations that provide similar programs and services, or to education sector benchmarks, as appropriate?

c. Use of Voice-of-the-Customer and Marke

How do you use voice-of-the-customer and market data and information? How do you use voice-of-the-c

and market data and information to build a more student-focused culture and support operational decision making? 

Terms in small caps are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms (pages 46–54).

Notes

3.2. Results for student and other customer perceptions and 

actions (outcomes) should be reported in item 7.2.

3.2a(4). You should ensure that your approaches for managing student and other customer relationships, enabling 

students and other customers to seek information and 

support, and managing complaints promote equity and 

inclusion, and that they do not inadvertently discriminate 

unfairly or inappropriately against specific customers or 

customer groups.

3.2b(1). Determining student and other customer dissatisfaction should be seen as more than reviewing low 

satisfaction scores. It should be independently determined 

to identify root causes and enable a systematic remedy to 

avoid future dissatisfaction. 
3.2b(2). Information on relative satisfaction may include 

comparisons with competitors, comparisons with other 

organizations that deliver similar educational programs 

or services in a noncompetitive market, or comparisons 

obtained through education sector or other organizations. 

Such information may also include information on why 

students and other customers choose your competitors 

over you.

3.2c. Student and other customer data and information 

should be used to support the overall performance reviews 

addressed in 4.1b. Voice-of-the-customer and market data 

and information to use might include aggregated data on 

complaints and, as appropriate, data and information from 

social media and other web-based or digital sources. 

For additional guidance on this item, see the Education Criteria 

Commentary (https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-criteria

-commentary-education).

3 Customers 15