Abstract
This chapter provides an analysis of the evolution of institutional autonomy and academic freedom in Europe since the launch of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). It points to evidence suggesting diverging paths within and between these two areas of university governance. The emergence of a European notion and model of institutional autonomy is one of the most remarkable developments of the period. Although young, this model is already consequential in Europe and it has acquired prominence beyond its borders as well. University autonomy has attracted a lot of attention in the higher education scholarship, policy thinking and regulatory reforms on the continent. Academic freedom, on the other hand, is a largely disregarded and underdeveloped area. At present, the very understanding of the concept of academic freedom and, to some extent, university autonomy is a confused one. A case can be made that they both require attention and that we may need to rethink them afresh in Europe. What is the stake is not primarily a theoretical or conceptual matter, but a practical and moral one.
Highlights
It is possible to analyse in a systematic manner the evolution of university autonomy and academic freedom in Europe after 1999–2000, a distinct and remarkable period in the history of European higher education
We argue that there is a difference of direction, speed and content, or different paths of development, in the evolution of institutional autonomy compared to academic freedom: this period shows much faster and mainly progressive changes in autonomy, as opposed to slower and rather regressive changes in academic freedom in Europe, both at the conceptual level and in practice
If we look at autonomy alone, we notice a particular path of development: an accelerating tendency to define, measure and practice it in relation to efficiency, rather than intellectual, moral and legal references, including human rights
Summary
It is possible to analyse in a systematic manner the evolution of university autonomy and academic freedom in Europe after 1999–2000, a distinct and remarkable period in the history of European higher education. We attempt to identify the most important paths of development in academic freedom and university autonomy in the EHEA, analyse their interaction and explore their significance for the broader discussion about the present and future of higher education in Europe. That is because the very emergence of the EHEA as a continental, sui generis and larger-than-life space for higher education generated new, continent-wide models, practices and challenges in the area of governance, some unprecedented, which had to be dealt with Because they are new and large, developments and challenges at the European level might be easier to recognise and more interesting to study. Cf. https:// www.ehea.info/pid34247/how-does-the-bologna-process-work.html, accessed on 10 January 2018. 3Throughout this chapter, we refer to autonomy as an area of governance of all higher education institutions, not just universities, and use the two terms, university autonomy and institutional autonomy, interchangeably
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