Higher education system in India is one of the largest sector in the world. It is the shared responsibility of both the Central and the State Governments. The state of Tamilnadu in India is one of the most developed states in the field of higher education. It considers knowledge as the prime mover of development and aims for quality and excellence. This revolution has caused much interest in the application of culture to the management of institutions of higher education. The study aimed to realise the culture and style of management practiced by arts and science colleges in Vellore District, Tamilnadu. The instrument on Organisational Culture Profile by Udai Pareek dealing with eight cultural variables was used in this study. Data from 150 respondents from various colleges were analysed to measure the four cultural profiles: autocratic, bureaucratic, technocratic and entrepreneurial cultures. The study revealed that most colleges practiced technocratic culture (ranked 1) followed by autocratic (ranked 2), entrepreneurial (ranked 3) and bureaucratic (ranked 4) cultures. The technocratic culture prevalent is most colleges are expressions of the following variables: values are shared throughout, people believe that too many external constrains ,chief executive  is given the highest importance,communicate to solve problems, leaders set standards of performance, meetings  are held with top managers, top management celebrates good performance, 

large working tables provided for all, and a lot of attention is given to updating technology.

KEYWORDS: Institutions of higher education, autocratic culture, bureaucratic culture, technocratic culture and entrepreneurial culture.