The document discusses university autonomy from the state and market. It notes that while autonomy from the state allows for academic freedom, public funding is decreasing, forcing universities to rely more on the market. Too much reliance on the market risks losing autonomy and prioritizing market demands over academic excellence. Universities desire autonomy from both the state and market to maintain academic freedom, but achieving both is difficult without sufficient public funding to ensure financial independence from market forces.

1. Autonomy from the State vs
Autonomy from the Market
Professor Khunying Suchada Kiranandana
President, Chulalongkorn University
president@chula.ac.th

2. Magna Charta Universitatum
“The university is an autonomous
institution at the heart of societies.”
“To meet the needs of the world
around it, its research and teaching
must be morally and intellectually
independent of all political authority
and economic power.”

3. Autonomy from the State vs
Autonomy from the Market
Role of state in higher education
Concept of autonomy
Universities in the 21st century
Autonomy from the state
University autonomy in Thailand
Trend of public funding
Autonomy from the market
Autonomy from the state vs autonomy from
the market
Chulalongkorn University

4. Role of state in public higher
education
Ownership and support
Guidance and goal setting
Regulation and Governance
Funding
Chulalongkorn University

5. Concept of autonomy
Autonomy
• Self-governance or independence in running and decision
making of an organization
• For university, particularly in
• Academic affairs- academic freedom
• Personnel affairs- independent personnel
management system
• Financial affairs- independence in financial
management
Chulalongkorn University

6. University in the 21st century
Globalization and free trade agreement
Increase in demand for University education
Advancement in knowledge and new ICT
technology
Change in government policy in University
funding
Chulalongkorn University

7. Globalization and free trade
agreement on education
Borderless education- Mobility of
• Workers (graduates)
• Educational programs/ services
• Cross border academic institutions and
campuses
• Students
Chulalongkorn University

8. Demand for University education
Increase in Demand for University education
in most countries
Mass higher education increase in
proportion of university educated population
New target group of university education
Life long learners/workers
Cross border demand
Chulalongkorn University

9. Advancement in knowledge and
ICT
Speed and volume of new knowledge
New technology: ICT new opportunity
in teaching and learning
Virtual campuses
Chulalongkorn University

10. Change in University funding
Trend of decreasing public funding of
University
University has to be more financially self
sustained
Entrepreneurial university– pros and cons??
Chulalongkorn University

11. Autonomy from the state
Freedom from state governance
Self-governance for
• Academic freedom
• Autonomy from government rules and
regulations in the use of funds and personnel
management
Good governance- compulsory
• Transparency and accountability
• Public participation
Public funding
Chulalongkorn University

12. University autonomy in Thailand
Thai universities in general
Autonomous universities in Thailand
• Existing autonomous universities: lessons
to be learned
• Trend for future autonomous universities
Chulalongkorn University

13. Thai Universities in general
78 public universities and around 50 private
universities
6 autonomous universities: 5 new and one from
public university
Increasing domestic demand for HE
• Undergraduate level: still increasing high schools
graduates for the next 4-5 years
• Graduate level: both from new graduates and workforce
National standard on operation requirements of
degree programs
Chulalongkorn University

14. Thai Universities in general (cont.)
Quality assurance enforced
Diversity in characteristics and status of HE
institutions:
• research, teaching or both
• quality of faculty and students
• closed and open universities
• face to face and e-learning
• etc
Limited research funds
Chulalongkorn University

15. Thai Universities in general (cont.)
Diversified revenue
Change in budget allocation system for
public u.
More collaboration with national research
institutes and private sectors
Different level of internationalization
Chulalongkorn University

16. Autonomous universities in
Thailand
6 universities (2 are for Buddhist monks)
Still belong to state but not state agencies
Lump sum budget provided by government
Self-governance in terms of personnel
management and using of fund
Academic freedom --normally no problem in
general
Chulalongkorn University

17. Impact of decrease in funding
Government in many countries around the world
tends to decrease overall funding for public
higher education
New regulations and allocation schemes –
performance based
Demand on quality of education– world class
universities
Chulalongkorn University

18. Funding: higher education dilemma
Demand for higher quality–world class
universities– needs more funding
Basic research needs large funding
Decreasing public funding means university will
have to be more self sustained in finance
How to be financially self-sustained ?
Chulalongkorn University

19. How to be more financially self
sustained?
Sources of university revenue
• Tuition and fees
• Academic services and training
• Continuing education services
• Grants
• Donation
• commercialized Intellectual property from
research
• etc
Chulalongkorn University

20. Academic services
Trend of Academic services: aims to cater to
market demand
• Training in public and private organizations
• Many degree programs offered to fulfill the needs of
customers more than academic excellence
Market demand vs academic excellence
For faculty members: research or service?
How far should one go?
Chulalongkorn University

21. Autonomy from the market
Independence from market force on both demand and
supply for
• graduates
• Research
• Academic services
Independence from market interference in decision
making and operation of university in
• Academic
• Financial
• Administrative affairs
University has to consider market demand but not to be
governed by market demand
Chulalongkorn University

22. Autonomy from the state vs
autonomy from the market
University desires autonomy from the state in order to
have
• academic freedom-- to be able to decide what is best
academically for the public: what programs to offer, how to offer,
what teaching and learning methods to be used, what are the
standards of teaching and learning and research, etc
• Personnel management– to be able to have one’s own
personnel management system that assures the recruitment,
retention, development and performance of personnel able to
deliver the desired academic outcome
• Financial management– to be able to administer the use of
fund in order to efficiently and effectively attain the desired
academic outcome
Chulalongkorn University

23. Autonomy from the state vs
autonomy from the market
University desires autonomy from the market in order to
have as main objective
• academic freedom-- to be able to decide what is best
academically for the public: what programs to offer, how to offer,
what teaching and learning methods to be used, what are the
standards of teaching and learning and research, etc
With academic freedom, university can aim towards
• creating knowledge
• disseminating knowledge
• educating the next generation of graduates
in a way deemed suitable to serve its own vision and mission
Chulalongkorn University

24. Autonomy from the state vs
autonomy from the market
With insufficient funding, university now face a
very difficult situation–
• Market demand may not go in line with academic
excellence or the mission of the university
• Increasing revenue is necessary for the sustainability
of the university
• How to balance between quality and serving market
demand?
• How far should one travel the path of entrepreneurial
university?
Chulalongkorn University

25. Final remarks
Autonomy from the state is the trend in many
countries, including Thailand, aiming for academic
freedom and self governance in personnel and
financial affairs
Trend in public funding is decreasing
Public funding is a key factor to determine autonomy
from the market
If university depends too much on the market for
revenue, it is losing autonomy from the market
Without autonomy from the market, academic freedom
is affected
Chulalongkorn University

26. Final remarks
Therefore, autonomy from the state and
autonomy from the market are both desired by
university
However, autonomy from the state should not
come with less public funding
Financial independence is necessary for
obtaining autonomy from the market
Chulalongkorn University

27. Chulalongkorn University