A Balanced Scorecard for India’s Future-Ready Universities

India’s universities have made substantial progress in putting the institutional foundations of the National Education Policy 2020 in place. Student-support systems have expanded, academic structures are becoming more flexible and multidisciplinary, and governance and inclusion have received considerable attention.

The next phase, however, will require universities to move beyond adopting policies and establishing institutional mechanisms. They must ensure that these reforms are used effectively and produce measurable outcomes for students, faculty and the wider higher education system.

The Balanced Scorecard framework, developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, offers a way of examining this progress across several connected dimensions rather than through a single measure. Adapted to higher education, it can assess whether universities are serving students effectively, changing their internal academic processes, building their capacity for learning and innovation, and strengthening governance and inclusion.

This analysis applies the framework to data from the University Grants Commission’s May 2026 report on the implementation of NEP 2020. It assesses institutional performance across four perspectives: Student and Stakeholder Impact; Academic and Internal Processes; Learning, Innovation and Internationalisation; and Governance, Inclusion and Compliance.

The analysis produces an overall Balanced Scorecard result of 66/100. This indicates good institutional performance and suggests that universities have established a strong foundation for the next phase of reform. The results are nevertheless uneven. Governance, Inclusion and Compliance scores 86/100, Student and Stakeholder Impact 76/100, Academic and Internal Processes 71/100, and Learning, Innovation and Internationalisation 31/100.

Student Impact

The Student and Stakeholder Impact score of 76/100 reflects substantial progress in student welfare, accessibility, inclusion and employability.

Student Grievance Redressal Cells have been established by 757 universities, while 740 report accessible infrastructure for students and faculty with disabilities. Internship opportunities are available at 726 universities, and 695 have established Equal Opportunity Cells.

These initiatives show that student support and inclusion have become established institutional priorities. Grievance mechanisms provide students with formal channels for redress, accessible infrastructure broadens participation, and internships strengthen the connection between academic learning and employment opportunities.

The weaker areas are international student participation and flexibility in admissions. Only 311 universities have adopted the provision allowing additional seats of up to 25% for international students, while 205 offer admissions twice a year.

Universities therefore appear better prepared to implement internal student-support reforms than initiatives requiring greater flexibility, additional institutional capacity and international engagement. Expanding twice-yearly admissions, where feasible, could reduce waiting periods and improve access, while better use of the additional-seat provision could help attract more international students.

Academic reform

The Academic and Internal Processes score of 71/100 points to significant progress in restructuring curricula and creating a more flexible higher education system.

The National Credit Framework has been adopted by 688 universities, while 668 offer multidisciplinary programmes. Indian Knowledge Systems have been incorporated by 656 universities, and Four-Year Undergraduate Programmes have been introduced by 633.

Taken together, these initiatives represent a movement towards multidisciplinary, student-centric and credit-based education. The National Credit Framework can enable greater flexibility in learning pathways, while multidisciplinary programmes allow students to explore and learn across conventional subject boundaries. Four-year undergraduate programmes further create opportunities for deeper learning, research, skill development. multiple academic and career pathways.

Universities have also made encouraging progress in promoting linguistic inclusion.  Courses in Indian languages are offered by 494 universities, while 466 universities allow students to take examinations in Indian languages. These measures can widen access and enable students to learn and participate in higher education in languages with which they are more familiar.

The principal implementation gap is in SWAYAM, the government’s online learning platform. Although 532 universities have adopted the relevant regulations, only 171 have conducted examinations for SWAYAM courses.

The contrast shows that regulatory adoption has moved faster than actual academic utilisation. Closing this gap will require universities to integrate SWAYAM courses into their curricula, recognise credits, orient faculty, provide examination support and make students more aware of the opportunities available through the platform.

The next phase of academic reform should therefore deepen multidisciplinary education, strengthen Indian-language learning, make the National Credit Framework operational and bring technology-enabled learning more fully into institutional academic processes.

Global engagement

Learning, Innovation and Internationalisation is the weakest of the four perspectives, with a score of 31/100.

Universities have begun to create the administrative infrastructure for international engagement. As many as 494 have established International Affairs Offices. However, advanced international academic programmes remain limited. Only 41 universities offer twinning programmes, 59 offer dual-degree programmes and 46 offer joint-degree programmes with foreign institutions.

Similarly, only 311 universities have adopted the provision allowing additional seats for international students.

The data suggest that internationalisation remains largely at the infrastructure stage. Establishing an International Affairs Office is an important first step, but the purpose of such an office must be to generate substantive academic engagement. This includes joint programmes, student and faculty mobility, collaborative research and deeper institutional partnerships.

The adoption of Professors of Practice by 441 universities is a notable strength within this perspective. Bringing experienced professionals into universities can strengthen industry-academia linkages, enrich classroom learning and support employability, entrepreneurship and innovation.

The next task is to connect these initiatives. International Affairs Offices need clear mandates and measurable targets, while Professors of Practice should be integrated into teaching, research, mentoring and institutional engagement rather than treated as isolated appointments.

Internationalisation will become meaningful only when institutional preparedness is converted into programmes, partnerships and measurable academic outcomes.

Governance strength

Governance, Inclusion and Compliance is the strongest perspective, with a score of 86/100.

The widespread adoption of grievance redressal mechanisms, accessible infrastructure, Equal Opportunity Cells and the National Credit Framework demonstrates considerable institutional capacity to respond to policy and regulatory requirements.

This governance foundation is important because reforms cannot be sustained without appropriate institutional structures, accountability and monitoring. Strong governance also enables universities to coordinate complex reforms across academic departments, administrative units and student-support systems.

There are, however, areas in which implementation and monitoring need to be strengthened. While 740 universities report accessible infrastructure, 473 have conducted accessibility audits. The remaining gap underlines the importance of verifying whether infrastructure is accessible in practice and whether it continues to meet the needs of students and faculty.

Governance and compliance are therefore major strengths, but the next phase must focus on implementation quality, monitoring and measurable institutional outcomes.

Category heat map

The category-wise heat map shows that different types of universities bring different strengths to NEP 2020 implementation.

Private universities emerge as strong performers in internationalisation and institutional agility. Their relatively flexible administrative structures allow them to respond quickly to emerging student, academic and market requirements. Their adoption of Professors of Practice also reflects close engagement with industry and professional practice.

State universities are central to the system-wide implementation of NEP 2020 because of their extensive institutional base and large student reach. Their participation in the National Credit Framework, multidisciplinary programmes, Four-Year Undergraduate Programmes and Indian Knowledge Systems makes them essential to taking reform to scale.

Central universities demonstrate strong governance, quality orientation, accessibility and inclusion. Their academic and research capabilities also give them the potential to play a larger role in internationalisation, although advanced international programmes remain an important area for improvement.

Deemed-to-be universities show a relatively balanced performance. Their specialised academic and professional strengths can be used to develop focused international partnerships and niche areas of global excellence.

The findings support a differentiated approach rather than a single implementation model for all universities. Private universities can deepen international and industry partnerships. State universities require the capacity and resources to implement reforms at scale. Central universities can build on their academic and research strengths to increase global engagement. Deemed-to-be universities can pursue specialised areas of excellence.

Peer learning will also be important. Successful institutional practices should be identified, adapted and replicated across university categories.

Strategic risks

The strategic heat map shows that NEP 2020 implementation is strongest in governance, inclusion, student support, employability, the National Credit Framework, multidisciplinary education, Four-Year Undergraduate Programmes and Indian Knowledge Systems.

Advanced international academic programmes remain the weakest area. Internationalisation infrastructure is developing faster than substantive academic collaboration. Universities have established offices and adopted policies, but joint programmes, mobility and collaborative research remain limited.

The strategic risk analysis consequently identifies two principal concerns. The first is internationalisation, particularly the limited scale of twinning, dual-degree and joint-degree programmes. The second is the policy-to-practice gap, reflected most clearly in the limited conversion of SWAYAM regulations into examinations and academic use.

Governance and compliance represent the lowest area of strategic risk and provide a strong institutional foundation. The priority is therefore not to replace the existing framework, but to use it to accelerate implementation in areas where adoption has not yet produced sufficient activity or outcomes.

Roadmap ahead

The roadmap for the next phase is built around four actions: Consolidate, Operationalise, Internationalise and Measure Outcomes.

Over the next one to two years, universities should consolidate the gains already made in governance, inclusion, student support and academic reform. They should also operationalise reforms that have been adopted but are not yet being used fully.

The immediate priorities include expanding participation in SWAYAM examinations through curriculum integration, faculty orientation, credit recognition, examination support and student awareness. Universities should promote twice-yearly admissions where institutional capacity permits, complete accessibility audits and strengthen International Affairs Offices through clear mandates and measurable performance indicators.

Over the medium term of three to five years, universities should expand joint and dual-degree programmes, increase international student enrolment and mobility, and make fuller use of the additional seats available for international students.

They should also deepen the Professors of Practice initiative by connecting professional expertise with teaching, research, mentoring, innovation and entrepreneurship. The National Credit Framework and Four-Year Undergraduate Programmes should move from formal adoption to effective implementation through credit transfer, multidisciplinary choices and flexible academic pathways.

Over the longer term, Indian universities should position themselves as globally connected centres of higher education. This will require sustained international partnerships, greater movement of students and faculty, collaborative research and stronger participation in global academic networks.

Digital learning should become part of the mainstream academic system, supporting lifelong learning, credit accumulation, credit transfer and flexible entry and exit. Universities must also develop globally benchmarked multidisciplinary programmes that combine academic depth with flexibility, technology and international exposure.

The central strategic challenge is now to build on this progress by strengthening the transition from policy adoption to effective implementation, from implementation to measurable outcomes, and from a predominantly national orientation to greater global competitiveness. Internationalisation and policy-to-practice conversion should therefore be the principal priorities for the next phase of NEP 2020.

The overall Balanced Scorecard result of 66/100 should be viewed as a strong foundation for this next phase. Universities have made substantial progress in governance, inclusion, student support and academic reform, creating a strong platform for further advancement.

Source: UGC Report on the Implementation Status of National Education Policy 2020 in Higher Educational Institutions, May 2026.