Abstract:

Background. Institutes of higher education face many profound challenges and problems, which create a strong pressure for change in higher education. In higher education administration, planning, implementing and evaluating change or dealing with unplanned changes in an effective way, has been accepted as a crucial responsibility. Regardless of whether they are planned or unplanned, current changes have some negative side effects on core university values. Academic freedom is one of these values and it can be easily compromised. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to assess current changes in higher education institutions in an effort to determine their effects to academic freedom. Method. A literature review of the problem is presented along with several arguments which examine the changes as they relate to change theories. Findings. Commercialization, which may be seen as the most important trend in higher education, has huge potential to undermine academic freedom. Religious or political intolerance, diversity, multiculturalism and national security issues may also create threats to academic freedom. Integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into education are some other changes that may lead to problems with academic freedom. Each organizational change theory has some power to enlighten various facets of the academic freedom issue and we can benefit from multiple theories to understand, protect and develop academic freedom. Practical Implications. This article brings this issue to the forefront in an effort to engage university administrators and educators. Social Implications. In addition to the environmental pressure for change, the loosely coupled structure of universities is also a problem when protecting some core values such as academic freedom. These basic values of university culture may be lost, department by department, college by college, or institution by institution without people in these institutions noticing it. Academicians should always be aware and have an understanding of this issue. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to the development and/or the persistence of this awareness and understanding.

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