Until the end of the 19th century there were basically two traditions in American universities, all of which, for practical purposes, were private, nonprofit institutions. The first and unquestionably more important of these traditions was that of the church-related college. The second great tradition was the notion of elitist, liberal education. The big change in American higher education patterns came with the expansion of state university systems, particularly after the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Presently, there are three conceivable organizational schemes for the operation of universities. These are the free market organization, dictatorship, and a cooperative system. The university world is presently in the process of passing from the second to the third of these without the first ever having been seriously tried. The third model, the co-op model, is meant to imply joint ownership by a large group of people. But multiple ownership with delegated, centralized management and transferable interests guarantees results quite different from those found in the typical business corporation. The net result of this form of administration and decisionmaking is inevitably a negotiated compromise of the various conflicting interests within the faculty. One of the less publicized effects of this developing organizational system is the extreme difficulty in implementing any innovation or change. This entire arrangement is bolstered by arguments about academic freedom, which most often is a claim for power without responsibility. (Author/PG)