Quo Vadis Academia? Student Attitudes Regarding Croatia University Missions

Ružica Jurčević

Summary:  This paper presents the results of a study conducted with the aim of examining student attitudes regarding the missions of university in Croatia. The assumption of the research was that student views of university missions are closer to the neoliberal perspective rather than the humanistic one, which would be reflected in the pragmatic ranking of university missions and uncritical acceptance of academic capitalism in four determinants: commodification, performativity, commercialisation and managerialism. The study included a sample of 2136 undergraduate and graduate students at seven public universities in Croatia. The results show students are closer to the neoliberal perspective in thinking about university missions and roles. The results also show there is a statistically significant difference in student attitudes in relation to university affiliation and the field of science.