Indicators of Performance: Reactions and Issues

In response to the Jarratt Report, this paper analyses the results from a series of structured interviews with academic staff at the University of Birmingham to proposals for appraising individual and departmental performance in teaching, research and administration; and highlights current attitudes, concerns and practices which tend to inhibit discussion of the career development of individual academics and institutional planning. Three key issues are also explored: the purposes of the appraisal; precisely what should be appraised; and who should be responsible. It is concluded that the most likely development is the implementation of a system of Indicators of Performance to monitor ‘institutional health’ and serve as a guide to long‐term planning.