The decline of institutional commitment is of great significance as universities struggle to change in order to meet new demands and shoulder the burdens imposed by fiscal problems and government-imposed legislation. Traditionally, colleges and universities have depended on the faculty to implement policy, and for decades the faculty has also played a central role in formulating policies as well. The hallowed concept of institutional autonomy, perhaps honored in most countries more in ideology than in reality, has come under increasing attack as governments have moved to reduce expenditure on higher education and to centralize decision making. Many faculty believe that the calls for accountability are politically motivated, and that they are simply being scapegoated. Large numbers are feeling that the harder they try, the less they are appreciated.
Universities worldwide face a dilemma.
There is a near universal trend toward more emphasis on teaching, demands that faculty members account for their activities, with assessment as a means of measuring the effectiveness of academic effort, and a growing societal unease with traditional ideas of university autonomy. These trends have gone furthest, perhaps, in England, where our survey makes it more transparent that faculty morale has plummeted, and alienation is widespread. But there is extensive evidence of this pressure everywhere. Academic institutions are increasingly seen by policymakers and opinion leaders as large enterprises that should be managed by the same criteria applied to other sectors of the economy. Our analysis shows that the core of the university, the faculty, do not feel comfortable with this view.