Purpose: The paper aims to look at the balanced scorecard (BSC) concept and discuss in what way it should be applied to higher education programs/institutions in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on extant literature on the balanced scorecard concept per se, as well as applications of BSC in higher education as reported by other researchers. Findings: The BSC approach offers an institution the opportunity to formulate a cascade of measures to translate the mission of knowledge creation, sharing and utilization into a comprehensive, coherent, communicable and mobilizing framework--for external stakeholders and for one another. Research limitations/implications: In the absence of any specific Indian case study, the possible impact could only be conjectured or deduced. Practical implications: A useful model is proposed that can be adapted with appropriate modifications to the management of tertiary institutions of education in India, whether it be a university, affiliate college, autonomous institution or private educational institution. Originality/value: In the absence of evidence of the application of BSC to the educational institutional domain in India, the current paper may be a starting-point for a debate and possible strategies to implement BSC methodology in this area. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)