The university had always valued academic excellence.
Unfortunately, excellence was difficult to demonstrate.
Some academics produced excellent research without generating sufficient evidence of excellence. Others generated excellent evidence without producing research.
The university recognised that this represented an inconsistency in its performance-management framework.
A committee was therefore established to investigate the relationship between academic excellence and the documentation of academic excellence.
The committee met regularly.
At its first meeting, members agreed that excellence should be measurable.
At its second meeting, they agreed that the existing measures did not adequately capture excellence.
At its third meeting, they agreed that a more comprehensive framework was required.
The committee's recommendations were unanimously approved.
The university introduced a new system for measuring academic excellence.
Teaching was measured.
Research was measured.
Engagement was measured.
Collegiality was measured.
The time spent measuring these activities was measured in turn.
Academics were required to demonstrate their contribution to institutional excellence through a series of performance indicators.
The indicators were carefully designed to ensure that excellence could be identified, quantified, compared, and reported.
The university was pleased with the results.
Academic excellence had increased substantially.
The evidence was conclusive.
Every academic had now been assessed.
There remained, however, a minor difficulty.
Some academics continued to produce excellent research without adequately satisfying the requirements of the assessment system.
The committee reconvened.
It concluded that the problem was not with the research but with the visibility of the research.
A new initiative was introduced to improve the visibility of academic excellence.
Academics were encouraged to document their achievements more comprehensively.
Workshops were organised.
Guidelines were distributed.
A dedicated administrative office was established to support the process.
The university's reporting requirements were revised.
The results were impressive.
The number of documented research outputs increased.
The number of completed performance assessments increased.
The number of academics demonstrating compliance increased.
The university announced that it had achieved its target for academic excellence.
One academic asked whether the quality of the research had improved.
The committee considered the question.
It agreed that research quality was important.
However, research quality was not currently included in the relevant performance indicator.
The committee therefore recommended that research quality should be considered in the next review of the framework.
The recommendation was approved.
The university was delighted.
It had successfully established a system in which every academic activity could be measured, every measurement could be reported, and every report could demonstrate institutional progress.
The committee was congratulated on its achievement.
Its members were invited to participate in a new initiative examining the relationship between performance measurement and institutional excellence.
The initiative was expected to generate significant opportunities for further development.
Meanwhile, the academics continued their work.
Some taught students.
Some conducted research.
Some wrote papers.
Some supervised doctoral candidates.
Occasionally, one of them produced something that changed the way people understood the world.
Unfortunately, these activities did not always generate the required documentation.
The university recognised that this represented a continuing challenge.
A new committee was established.
Its terms of reference included the development of appropriate measures for identifying activities that mattered but had not yet been measured.
The committee's first meeting was scheduled for the following month.
The university was confident that the matter would be resolved.
After all, everything that mattered was now being measured.
And everything that was measured mattered.
The university had only to determine which was which.
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