The theory of organizations as "open systems" is used to develop hypotheses on the relationship between academic institutions and faculty teaching goals. The effects of three measures of academic organization--type of control, institutional functions, and institutional affluence--on faculty support for four types of teaching goals are tested with data from a nationally representative sample of 301 academic institutions. Through the use of a path analytic model, it was found that these organizational characteristics directly affect the types of teaching goals faculty members endorse and the level of support for teaching goals in general. (Author)