Kebijakan kampus merdeka merupakan kebijakan aktual pada bidang pendidikan tinggi, karena menghendaki terjadinya modernisasi dan demokratisasi pendidikan tinggi, sehingga adaptif terhadap realitas kemajuan zaman, juga pada aspek pembelajarannya berdampak nyata bagi mahasiswa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis tantangan kebijakan kampus merdeka dalam memenuhi hak-hak mahasiswa, serta memberikan rasionalisasi pentingnya orientasi pembelajaran Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan pada kampus merdeka yang mengarah pada penguatan kompetensi kewarganegaraan mahasiswa, agar menjadi warga negara yang beradab, penelitian ini dilakukan melalui pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode studi literatur, proses analisis data dalam penelitian ini meliputi: reduksi data, display data, verifikasi dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian yang diperoleh adalah 1) tantangan yang dihadapi oleh kebijakan kampus merdeka, dalam memenuhi hak-hak mahasiswa, umumnya karena belum meratanya kualitas pendidikan, realitas daya saing bangsa dan inovasi nasional, serta kualitas pelayanan dan perlidungan hukum bagi mahasiswa, 2) penguatan kompetensi kewarganegaraan mahasiswa, perlu menjadi orientasi umum dari Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan pada kebijakan kampus merdeka, karena komprehensif, guna mewujudkan mahasiswa yang beradab dan mampu diandalkan oleh negara. Upaya mengatasi tantangan yang berpotensi menghambat berjalan optimalnya kebijakan kampus merdeka, bisa melalui komitmen dan konsistensi berbagai pihak terlebih pemerintah dan pimpinan perguruan tinggi untuk memajukan pendidikan bangsa dan menjamin perlindungan hukum yang adil dan bantuan pendidikan yang tidak diskriminatif. Challenges of Fulfilling Student Rights and Strengthening Citizenship Competence through the Independent Campus Policy. The independent campus policy is an actual policy in the field of higher education, because it requires the modernization and democratization of higher education, so that it is adaptive to the realities of the progress of the times, as well as the aspects of learning which have a real impact on students. This study aims to analyze the challenges of independent campus policies in fulfilling student rights, as well as provide rationalization of the importance of Citizenship Education learning orientation on independent campuses which leads to strengthening student citizenship competencies, in order to become civilized citizens. This research was conducted through a qualitative approach with methods literature study, the data analysis process in this study includes: data reduction, data display, verification and conclusion. The results obtained are 1) the challenges faced by the independent campus policy, in fulfilling the rights of students, generally due to the unequal quality of education, the reality of national competitiveness and national innovation, as well as the quality of services and legal protection for students, 2) strengthening competence Student citizenship needs to become a general orientation of Citizenship Education on an independent campus policy, because it is comprehensive, in order to create civilized students and can be relied on by the state. Efforts to overcome challenges that have the potential to hinder the optimal running of the independent campus policy, can be through the commitment and consistency of various parties, especially the government and university leaders, to advance national education and guarantee fair legal protection and non-discriminatory educational assistance