Higher Education Governance and Institutional Autonomy: An Analysis of State-University Relations in Indonesia

Muhammad Rafi Fadilah; Rizki Maulidina Dewi

doi:10.24843/jnp.v4i2.3849

Authors

Muhammad Rafi Fadilah Universitas Gadjah Mada Author
Rizki Maulidina Dewi Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24843/jnp.v4i2.3849

Keywords:

Political Institutions, Higher Education Governance, Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom

Abstract

This study analyzes higher education governance and institutional autonomy in Indonesia through the lens of political institutions and public policy. It examines how the state politically constructs, constrains, and negotiates university autonomy within the state-university relationship. Using a new institutionalist framework and a qualitative document-analysis design, this study examines legislation, policy instruments, institutional reports, and academic literature on higher education governance in Indonesia. The findings show that institutional autonomy operates not as full independence but as negotiated authority embedded in state regulation and accountability regimes. Tensions between autonomy and performative accountability risk narrowing academic freedom and the university’s democratic function. Specifically, performance-based accountability mechanisms reshape the university’s role in democratic deliberation and political communication. The study concludes that democratic and accountable higher education governance requires balancing university autonomy, public accountability, and academic freedom as a pillar of democratic life and knowledge development.

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References

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