The Education Advisory Board defines a best demonstrated practice as an innovative idea that only one or a handful of universities nationwide have implemented, that has demonstrated (preferably quantitative) evidence of success, and that can be exported reasonably well to other universities.

Best demonstrated practices are also the basic building blocks of Education Advisory Board studies—each study typically contains a dozen to two dozen of the best ideas we uncovered through our interviews, each profiled in depth and accompanied by tools and collateral materials to support member implementation.

Setting the Bar High for the University Practices We Profile

• Does the idea address a problem of concern to most other universities?
• Would the idea be new to most other universities, at least as to its inner workings?
• Can the university describe the practice mechanics in concrete detail?
• Can we isolate the “active ingredient” that explains its success?
• Does the university have hard evidence that the practice really works?
• Does its success depend on anything unique to the university?
• Could the practice be implemented successfully at another university?