Reputation is a performance metric. Manage it like one.

Most universities I work with can tell you their application numbers to the nearest unit, their research income to the nearest pound and their student satisfaction scores to one decimal place. Ask how their reputation has moved in the last twelve months, and with whom, and the answer is usually a story rather than a number.

That gap matters, because reputation sits upstream of almost everything else. It shapes who applies, who partners with you, who funds you and who wants to work for you. Treating it as a soft, unmeasurable asset leaves leadership teams making some of their biggest decisions on instinct.

What measuring it properly looks like

In my experience, the institutions that manage reputation well do three things consistently.

They define the audiences that count. Academics in your disciplines, employers in your region, prospective students in priority markets, policymakers. Each holds a different view of you, for different reasons, and a single “brand health” score hides more than it reveals.

They connect perception to performance. Rankings, survey data, media share of voice and recruitment funnels tell you far more together than apart. When we brought these views together at Newcastle University, it changed the conversations we had with academic leaders, because we could show where perception lagged reality and where it was ahead of it.

They act on the gaps. Measurement is only worth the decisions it prompts. Sometimes the right move is a campaign. More often it’s a sustained, unglamorous effort: better academic engagement, more visible research partnerships, a sharper story told consistently by everyone who represents the institution.

Measurement is only worth the decisions it prompts.

Where to start

If your institution doesn’t yet have a clear view of its reputation by audience, I’d start small. Pick two or three audiences that matter most to your strategy, agree how you’ll track them, and review the picture with senior leadership every quarter. It’s remarkable how quickly reputation stops being a matter of opinion once it’s on the same agenda as everything else.

I’m always happy to compare notes with colleagues working on this, so do get in touch if it’s on your list.

Jonathan Sabarre FCIM MBA is Principal Consultant at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a keynote speaker and host of Marketing Greats in Higher Education. Get the weekly email or invite him to speak.