ABSTRACT
The chapter considers the ‘fetishisation’ of metrics in a competitive Higher Education (HE) sector, referring to the power of league tables and empowerment of students through self-reported ratings of their HE experiences. I will touch on the HE consumer/learner debate and the aphorism that ‘what gets measured gets done’. The UK’s National Student Survey is used as an example, but the messages are applicable to other HE systems, metrics and survey instruments. The mechanics of survey instruments and the theoretical underpinnings will be briefly considered as a means to contextualise the positive and negative impacts of national-level surveys and what they mean for programme directors.
