Assessing university autonomy and academic freedom in centralised higher education: Insights from Turkey

This study introduces the University Autonomy and Academic Freedom Scale (UAAFS), a 32-item instrument for measuring academics’ perceptions within the centralised Turkish higher education system. Developed through an extensive literature review, expert consultation, and a pilot study, the scale was validated with 534 academics from four public universities in Ankara. The UAAFS demonstrates high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha.93) and a clear three-factor structure: 'Autonomy in Decisions and Practices', 'Autonomy in Electing Administrators', and 'Academic Freedom'. Findings indicate a strong endorsement of autonomy and freedom in principle, but perceptions of the current reality vary significantly. Differences were observed based on university, academic title, and seniority. Notably, senior professors reported more positive views on decisional autonomy than junior staff, and Gazi University academics perceived lower levels of autonomy compared to peers at other institutions. The UAAFS proves to be a valuable diagnostic tool for policymakers to identify and address deficits in academic freedom and university autonomy, with potential applicability for other centralised higher education systems. • A new scale (UAAFS) has been developed to measure university autonomy and academic freedom. • Turkish academics strongly endorse the principles of autonomy and academic freedom. • Perceptions of autonomy and freedom vary significantly across different universities. • Senior academics perceive greater decisional autonomy than their junior colleagues. • The UAAFS serves as a diagnostic tool for higher education policy and governance; it can also be a model for research in other centralised higher education systems.