The Changing Role of Stakeholders in Higher Education

Abstract Higher-education institutions have long relied on a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including academic staff, administrators, governmental representatives, donors and industry. In recent decades, this stakeholder landscape has diversified, driven by higher-education reforms that have intensified competition, strengthened accountability and heightened expectations that universities respond to societal needs. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and growing societal distrust in academic institutions have underscored the need to reassess how stakeholders shape governance and strategic directions of universities. Against this backdrop, this article examines the changing role of stakeholders in higher-education governance through the lens of the stakeholder theory, focusing on their power, legitimacy and urgency. While traditional actors remain central, emerging and previously overlooked stakeholders – including students, early career academics, organized academic labour and EdTech platforms – are increasingly playing a role in higher-education decision making. The article explores the changing influence of these actors and what these shifts imply for institutional autonomy and academic freedom.