Tyranny of Metrics at Universities

Fleming says sarcastically that a variety of symptoms, including Muller’s metrication theory, indicate that universities are dead today.

The term “metric tyranny” was first coined by Jerry Z. Muller in The Tyranny of Metrics, published in 2018. In it, Muller uncovers the practice of metric hegemony in various fields, such as schools, universities, medicine, military/police, social philanthropy, and foreign aid.

Muller’s work was important in two ways. First, he explains why the use of metrics is so popular in various educational and social issues. He reveals how metrics is used in various domains under various derivative policies, such as the work burden-performance rate, student performance and educational stakeholder satisfaction, and institutional rankings.