Saw that we will be getting more dlc soon, here's my 2 cents in the hopes that they update the previous dlc

The academy is just an absolute PoS rn that nobody likes with the dlc. It adds a possibly crippling element based on rng early game that can practically halt progress when its most important. having the academy fleet sit on your planet starting turn 3 is absolutely abhorrent and I don't see how this was ever okay. Additionally getting the academy's favor is a win-more button that's less of a nifty bonus but more of a "I get to destroy whoever I want for several turns" that heavily favors most factions but is comparatively painful for some to use (vodyani and unfallen). That's assuming you get the spear and the rest of the possible bonuses are not even remotely good compared to the spear.

I get that there are mods that fix this but they usually come in a package full of stuff I don't want, and you shouldn't rely on the community to fix your game like Bethesda does.