Measuring Productivity in Education and Not-for-Profits | With Tools and Examples in R
This book takes the reader through real-world examples for how to characterize and measure the productivity and performance of NFPs and education institutions—that is, organisations that produce value for society, which cannot be measured accurately in financial KPIs. It focuses on how best to frame non-profit performance and productivity, and provides a suite of tools for measurement and benchmarking. It further challenges the reader to consider alternative and appropriate uses of quantitative measures, which are fit-for-purpose in individual contexts.
It is true that the risk of misusing quantitative measures is ever-present. But does that risk outweigh the benefits of forming a more precise and shared understanding of what could generate better outcomes? There will always be concerns about policy and performance management. Goodheart’s Law states that once a measure becomes a target, it is no longer a good measure. This book helps to strike a meaningful balance between what can be measured, what cannot, and how best to use quantitative information in sectors that are often averse to being held up to the light and put on a scale by outsiders.
Higher education student finance between China and Australia: towards an international political economy analysis
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, my colleagues and I published this paper, quantifying interdependencies between the Australian and Chinese international student market. We demonstrate the financial benefit and exposure of Australian universities’ reliance on overseas student fee revenue from Chinese students. We examine hypothetical scenarios no one imagined would play out in full only months later.
This paper analyses the international financing of higher education, an important yet understudied facet of contemporary policy and practice. The paper takes the globally significant China–Australia relationship as a case study. This paper argues that analysing the international political economy of the China–Australia case better illuminates the dynamics of financials flow through situating them in their socio-political context. Through such analysis, the paper makes empirical contributions of relevance to policy and practice. It also contributes more broadly to reframing the design of work in this field by asserting the methodological need for analysing international finance and the conceptual need to take such matters into account.
Investigating higher education productivity and its measurement in Australia
This PhD dissertation focuses on higher education institutional productivity. Universities in Australia and across the globe struggle with pressure to demonstrate performance and value for money. Yet common institutional performance indicators reflect controversial choices about what data sources to consider and how data should be treated. This study revolves around developing contextually fit-for-purpose productivity measures that are iteratively tested to inform performance assessment in Australian higher education. Findings have implications for both policy makers and institutional leaders. They provide insight on relationships between teaching and research, specialisation of the academic workforce, and the role of performance measures in decision-making.
Research Handbook on Quality, Performance and Accountability in Higher Education. Chapter 13 : Understanding and improving higher education productivity
Higher education has grown to play a major role in many countries, spurring much greater interest in the costs and returns of education and research. This amplifies interest in productivity, a matter which stimulates substantial interest and debate in many areas of higher education. Yet surprisingly little scholarly research has been conducted to develop methods and insights for understanding and improving higher education productivity in its various outputs, including teaching and research. Most existing work has been funded for political, advocacy or commercial purposes, and it is common for research to misapply general productivity models to higher education, thereby hindering effective analysis and development of methods relevant to the particular role of universities. Building better scientific foundations for the study of higher education productivity carries potential to improve policy and practice.