Rakhmat Hidayat, Muhammad Ilman Naafi'A
This paper critically examines the tension between academic autonomy and the growing bureaucratic control in Indonesian higher education. Using Herbert Marcuse's theory of one-dimensionality, the study investigates how expanding administrative and digital governance affect academic work, professional identities, and intellectual freedom. The research follows a qualitative approach, analyzing higher education policies, ministerial regulations, and institutional guidelines, and is enriched by interviews and observations of lecturers from both public and private universities. The findings indicate that, despite being recognized as autonomous professionals, lecturers’ academic practices are increasingly shaped by administrative duties, performance measures, and standardized reporting. These bureaucratic pressures prioritize efficiency and accountability over critical thinking, creativity, and academic involvement, turning lecturers into administrative agents. This results in the erosion of academic autonomy, a shift in professional identity towards compliance, and a disruption of core academic missions. The paper concludes that bureaucratic control undermines academic freedom and intellectual vitality, calling for participatory governance and reforms that truly value intellectual labor. © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Department of Education Sociology, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, East Jakarta, Indonesia
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