We say this phrase all the time in higher education, usually with a lot of confidence — and very little agreement on what it actually means.

If you ask ten people what it means, you’ll hear things like assessment, accreditation, dashboards, reporting, or maybe an office somewhere on campus. And all of this is at least part of the story.

Here’s how I think about Institutional Effectiveness— and the one this podcast is built around:

Institutional effectiveness is the operating system that connects planning, budgeting, data, and decision-making — so leaders can anticipate challenges, allocate resources intentionally, and avoid governing by emergency.

Let me unpack that.

Hi — I’m KP Powers, and this is EdUp Institutional Effectiveness.

This podcast is for higher education leaders who want to understand what’s really shaping institutional performance — before it shows up in the numbers.

Each episode uses the Powers IndexTM as a guiding lens toexplore the early signals of institutional strength and strain across finance, data, governance, culture, and partnerships.

You’ll hear thoughtful conversations with practitioners, scholars, and select vendors from across the higher-ed ecosystem — focused on how decisions actually get made and where institutions get stuck.

This podcast offers clear thinking, shared language, and practical insight to support better decisions and more effective leadership.

If you’re looking for a calmer, more thoughtful way to understand institutional effectiveness, you’re in the right place.