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This article sheds light on and discusses academic developers' (ADs') professional responsibility at a time when their responsibilities are expanding. Increasingly ADs are expected to contribute to enhancing quality in higher education not only by providing courses and supervision for teachers, but also by supporting institutional leaders in the implementation of politically initiated strategies. As our starting point, we use a theoretical framework based on the normative basis for professions, and draw the analogy to academic developers' responsibilities. Thereafter, we describe the two different logics underlying professional responsibility and accountability, where the latter has gained dominance in the New Public Management of higher education. We show how the presence of these two logics creates tensions, as well as new obligations for ADs, and argue that acting professionally responsible today requires negotiating legitimate compromises in the tension between «responsibility» and «accountability», as well as the ability to act in coherence with such compromises. Central tensions are illustrated by university academic developers' descriptions of their work. In conclusion, we argue that reaching legitimate compromises must be seen not as an individual but as a collective responsibility negotiated in a community of ADs.Keywords responsibility, accountability, web of commitments, legitimate compromises, the purpose of higher education INNLEDNING Jag är också ordförande i bedömargruppen, det är väldigt aktuellt nu då vi har ett meriteringssystem på Örebro universitet, där jag bara svarar för egentligen processledning, jag går inte in och bedömer någonting utan sam-, ja, sammanställer och håller i intervjuplanering.