The Meanings of University's Autonomy in Western History as a Clue to Understand the Consequences of Universities' Differentiated Adoption of Enterprise Features

CECILIA RIKAP

Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies

The Institute for Education Policy Studies (IEPS)

Año: 2017 vol. 15 p. 266 - 304

We analyze the meanings of university´s autonomy throughout western history and capitalism´s recent transformations in order to suggest a taxonomy of present universities according to the type of capital enterprise they are imitating. As a first step, we distinguish three dimensions of university´s autonomy in the Medieval University and the Enlightenment University models: corporative, reason and financial autonomy. We use them to suggest that current universities are adopting capital enterprises´ features in a differentiated way, impacting differently on their autonomy. Thus, we propose a differentiated model called the Differentiated Market-University, integrated by the Single Purpose, the Technological and the Enhanced University. The Single Purpose University acts like a capital enterprise concerning mainly its teaching activity. In the Technological and the Enhanced Universities teaching is also guided by market needs. Nevertheless, they additionally face, differently, the consequences of knowledge´s direct contribution to capital´s accumulation. The Enhanced University dominates innovation circuits keeping a significant part of its innovation´s economic benefit. On the other hand, the Technological University loses those profits. We conclude our article by highlighting the continuities and ruptures between former university models and our taxonomy.