Il concetto di autonomia universitaria tra sviluppi storici e prospettive

The article examines the concept of university autonomy, highlighting the wide variety of meanings it has taken on over time, from the Unification of Italy to the present time. The historical analysis shows that in Italy university autonomy has never been truly achieved or, at least, has never been implemented in the strong version that is solemnly enshrined in the Constitution. Nowadays, it must be noted, on the one hand, the obvious compression of university autonomy resulting from the strengthening of controls by the Ministry of the University and its Evaluation Agency, while on the other hand, the substantial misunderstanding that is hidden in the use — often advocated by a part of the non-legal literature — of the term autonomy as a tool of public policy. Finally, the survey allows some basic themes to emerge as a starting point to define the contents of a true autonomy for universities.