The Influence of Commercialization on Academic Work: A Case Analysis of University T in Taiwan

Abstract

The increasing influence of neoliberalism on higher education institutions has become a major trend. One of the primary outcomes of the influence of neoliberalism is greater commercialization. This paper presents the results of a case study with the purpose of understanding how commercialization affects the academic work of teaching, research and service in higher education. In this study, 26 professors from various science, social science and humanities fields were interviewed. The findings reveal that various effects of globalization and internationalization, the economic crisis and the national higher education policies in Taiwan increased commercialization at the case study university. The context of commercialization has facilitated more business-like activities at the case university, such as more shops stationed on campus and more courses taught in English. In terms of the impact of commercialization on academic work, the researchers have also found some issues, including a strong inclination toward research, a focus on indexed journal publication, and greater emphasis on quantitative research methodology. This has also resulted in teaching and issues related to needs of local society being overlooked. It is hoped that Taiwan's higher education authorities and the leaders of the university will consider the issues found in this case study when drawing up future policies in higher education so as to reduce the negative impacts of commercialization on higher education.