Academic Freedom Across Liberal Arts Colleges in Europe

This paper develops a novel index to assess academic freedom within liberal arts colleges (LACs) in Europe, addressing a critical gap in current higher education assessments. Existing university rankings largely overlook academic freedom, an essential element for fostering intellectual inquiry and democratic values. Using a mixed-methods approach-combining legal analysis, surveys, events data, media reviews, and social media analysis-the study constructs a comprehensive tool that captures both overt and subtle forms of academic repression. Findings reveal significant disparities in academic freedom among European LACs, influenced by governance structures, institutional policies, and external pressures such as political interference. The index not only highlights these differences but also offers a framework for policy development and institutional reform. By emphasizing academic freedom as a foundational pillar of higher education, this research calls for stronger institutional commitments and policy frameworks to safeguard it. The index can serve as a model for broader applications beyond the European context, informing global debates on academic autonomy.