The use of metrics in evaluation of the higher education efficiency: feasibility and limitations

The efficiency of educational system is one of the key areas of research due to its significant impact on the development of an individual and the society, on the one hand, and the amount of resources allocated to this sector, on the other. The research is aimed at the theoretical understanding and analyzing of the practical implementation of the metrics used to evaluate higher education efficiency, and identifying possible risks associated with this assessment. The importance of the research is explained by the theoretical need to define the essence, components, and parameters of the effectiveness of education. Its practical significance is characterized by the need to form methodology and evaluating techniques that can adequately assess the direct and indirect effects of education, its impact on the development of the society. The paper gives a brief overview and comparative analysis of methodological approaches to the analysis of the higher education efficiency, identifies evaluation criteria depending on the context, object, and the research area. The authors define the methods to evaluate efficiency, among which the use of metrics is gaining popularity; however, they currently have a few limitations that form the risk of distorting the behavior of actors in the field of higher education. The analysis of a wide range of ratings, monitoring tests and other studies that use metrics allowed identifying their features that evoke systemic problems. Among such problems, the most likely and dangerous are the formation of deviant behavior of actors in the system of the higher education, combined with disregard for the goals and means of achieving them, and the likelihood of falling into the institutional trap of metrics.