In this study, the conceptual use of the strategy map approach and the strategy map which it produces have been adapted from the business sector and introduced as tools for achieving more effective strategic planning and management in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study discusses the development of strategy maps as transformational management tools in universities. It analyses 15 universities' strategy maps to establish a comparative perspective in terms of content, expression and form. Based on this analysis, the study synthesises a model for the effective employment of the strategy map approach and strategy maps in universities. The study then uses Tsinghua University as the subject of a case study to illustrate how a university's strategic plan could be converted into a strategy map. This study gives suggestions for implications of the strategy map approach in transforming the internal governance model in universities and achieving effective and responsive university strategic planning and management.