Jamal Ismail Kakrasul
The institutional Autonomy and Academic Freedom

Karmand Abdulla Hamad
The institutional Autonomy and Academic Freedom

Sherwan Sharif Qurtas
The institutional Autonomy and Academic Freedom

Abstract

In the middle of 2018, the ministry of higher education of the Kurdistan Regional Government guided all the region’s higher education
institutions to implement the Bologna process, which was a historic turning point towards the reformation of higher education in the Region.
The implementation, continuation and promotion of this process depend on several factors. Institutional autonomy and academic freedom are two
of these factors, and are known as instrumental principles. This paper reviews the impact of institutional autonomy and academic freedom on
the effective implementation of the Bologna Process. Research in this area has shown that insitutional autonomy and academic freedom are
crucial constituents in determining the capacity of universities to exercise their role in society, which includes knowledge production, transmission,
dissemination, and use. Thus institutional autonomy and academic freedom place significant impact on the overall performance and
effectiveness of the Bologna process. On the other hand, National guidelines have led to bureaucracy, constraints on university autonomy,
and academic freedom. Therefore, the national strategy must balance to ensure top-down agenda-setting and guidance synergise with and
support bottom-up initiatives. In addition, many national governments have also promoted reforms in the area of university autonomy, and until
recently, most of these reforms have been meant to support increased autonomy.