European universities still lack autonomy

The report by the European University Association (EUA) highlights that in practice public authorities still play a central a role in the regulation of the higher education system. Indeed, in a large number of countries, they continue to exert direct control.

Public authorities in a number of European countries have shown willing, moving away from direct state control towards more indirect steering mechanisms. But in general, universities lack independence in many crucial areas, notably in controlling their own finances.

The EUA says that at a time when the overall levels of public funding in education are stagnating and universities are increasingly being asked to look for alternative funding sources, this lack of autonomy poses a threat to the sustainability of Europe’s universities.

The study looks at more than 30 different indicators in four areas: organisational autonomy, such as academic and administrative structures, leadership and governance; academic autonomy, such as defining fields of study, student numbers, student selection, and the structure and content of degrees; financial autonomy, that is, the ability to raise funds, own buildings, borrow money; and staffing autonomy, with the right to independently recruit, promote and develop academic and non-academic staff.

Key findings:

• Flexibility to use public funding: in 26 countries, public funding is allocated as block grants, increasingly based on performance criteria. In a few countries however, including Bulgaria, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, and some German Länder (states), universities are still faced with line-item budgets preventing them from moving funding between different activities. Even block-grant funding does not mean, however, that universities can necessarily use funding as they wish. For example, restrictions can prevent shifting moneys between broad categories.

• In only half the countries surveyed do universities have the right to own their buildings and even universities that own their real estate are not always free to sell without supervision of the relevant ministry. Twenty-two systems allow universities to borrow money, but many, particularly in northern Europe, have restrictions on the overall amount that can be borrowed and universities may need prior authorisation from the relevant ministry. Only eleven countries allow universities to invest in stocks and shares.

• In some countries, universities are gaining a greater flexibility in terms of human resources management. Staff are increasingly directly paid and/or employed by the university rather than the government. However, universities clearly have less freedom to manage individual salary costs. A number of countries reported restrictions which include prescribed salary bands, or the ability to set salaries only for certain types of staff. In almost half of the countries, all, or the majority of staff, have civil servant status, which is a less-flexible form of employment.

• Governance: in 29 cases, the framework for university decision-making bodies is stipulated in the law, with varying levels of autonomy for the university over the selection and number of board members.

• University leadership: regulations about the university leadership are generally strongly shaped by national legislation. For example, the university leader’s (rectors and vice chancellor) term of office is determined by law in 24 countries. In the same number of countries the rector’s qualifications are defined by law and not by the university.

The author of the study, Thomas Estermann, said, “This report underlines that while there is broad agreement between stakeholders on the importance of university autonomy, there has been much less success in transforming this from rhetoric into reality.

“Particularly where financial issues are concerned, if universities are not free to act in the interest of their students and staff, then the other dimensions of autonomy may as well only exist in theory.”

This report by EUA will form the basis of a two-year project to develop a scorecard to benchmark university autonomy on the national level across Europe. The Autonomy Scorecard will be a major tool both at the national level and at the individual institutional level, serving as a reference for national governments wishing to benchmark their progress on governance reforms vis-à-vis other systems, while also helping to raise awareness among universities of the differences that exist in Europe. The launch of the Scorecard is due to take place at the end of the project in the winter of 2011.