Academic capitalism: politics, policies, and the entrepreneurial university

TLDR

The globalization of the political economy at the end of the twentieth century destabilizes long‑standing university professional work patterns, positioning faculty squarely in the marketplace and reshaping academic careers. Academic Capitalism seeks to assess the extent of changes and the forces driving them by examining academic careers and institutions in major public research universities across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The authors conduct a comprehensive analysis covering undergraduate and graduate education, teaching, research, student aid, federal research policies, and faculty time allocation to reveal how these factors shape higher education.

Abstract

The globalization of the political economy at the end of the twentieth century is destabilizing the patterns of university professional work developed over the past hundred years. One of the major changes that has taken place as a result of globalization is that faculty, who were previously situated between capital and labor, are now positioned squarely in the marketplace. To grasp the extent of changes taking place and to understand the forces of change, Academic Capitalism examines the current state of academic careers and institutions, with a particular focus on public research universities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In this wide-ranging analysis, Slaughter and Leslie leave no aspect of academic work unexplored: undergraduate and graduate education, teaching and research, student aid policies, and federal research policies. All are part of the equation. The authors pay particular attention to how faculty spend their time, what forces drive their choices of activities, and what this means for higher education.