The Challenge of University Autonomy

The authors introduce the reader to the book, providing a historical perspective and a current understanding of university autonomy. While appreciating the central role of the four dimensions of university autonomy – organisational, financial, human resource, and academic – the authors conjecture that a fuller understanding of university autonomy can only be obtained through a holistic view of the complex inter-relationships between stakeholders and policies which can reinforce and, equally, pull in opposite directions. This holistic view is represented in a model of institutional university autonomy, which is discussed at length in the chapter. The authors conclude by presenting international case studies that give new insights and reinforce our understanding that the issues relating to institutional university autonomy are genuinely global.