The development and use of performance measures in New Zealand tertiary education institutions

Abstract

This article provides a 30-year history of the development, use and impact of performance measures on tertiary education institutions in New Zealand. The study reveals that performance measurement emerged from the new public management initiatives and the multiple logics of government reforms to help address efficiency and accountability concerns of the tertiary education sector. The performance measurement culture became central to shaping and reshaping the character of educational politics, government policies and the management of educational outcomes. Performance measurement also created a web of unintended consequences with its own tensions, cynicism and complications. Enacted by the market logic and complemented by the business logic to maximise profits, performance measures compromised academic quality and caused rivalry with the norms of the academic profession. The study recommends that the distorting effects of performance measurement requires profound rethinking and careful management to ensure that it accomplishes what it is intended to accomplish.