Baldrige theory into practice: a working model

Malcolm Baldrige Awards has established a framework of operations in order to encourage accountability, transparent decision making, and optimal use of available resources. In 2001 the University of Wisconsin at Stout was the first higher educational institute to receive this award. Their operation has been prioritized into the factors of: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; information and analysis; human resource focus; process management; and, business results. This article traces the progress of UW‐Stout's implementation of the above factors in their day‐to‐day operations on their students' learning. The implications of this article are that this Wisconsin university has revamped their curriculum using Malcolm Baldrige framework, and that their successes can be used as a model of operations for colleges and universities.