Faculty autonomy: Perspectives from Taiwan

Recent legislative initiatives indicate that long-standing traditions of centralized state control of higher education in Taiwan are being displaced by new arrangements emphasizing institutional autonomy. Autonomous institutions are assumed to be flexible and responsive, given their relative freedom from government control. Institutional autonomy is assumed to "trickle down'' to organizational members, who are then empowered to devise unique solutions to solve particular problems. Asserted benefits of institutional autonomy may not accrue, however, where organizational members are unable to determine the structures and processes of their work. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between institutional autonomy and dimensions of faculty autonomy. Findings lend conditional support to the claim that faculty members work within the constraints of "regulated autonomy,'' where their individual behaviors are delimited by government and management.