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Perceptions and terminology related to institutional autonomy vary greatly in Europe however and to compare systems reliably more systematic mapping of universities’ autonomy and accountability is necessary. Debate needs to be underpinned by reliable data to enable valuable examination of the correlation of autonomy with institutional performance excellence quality and efficiency.
EUA has thus designed a multi-stage interactive process aimed at enabling university practitioners and regulatory authorities to compare systems across Europe in a fruitful fashion.
The aim of this study which began at the end of 2007 is to provide a foundation for a Europe-wide comparable database through analysis of certain crucial aspects of autonomy. It also aims to bring the institutional perspective (i.e. what autonomy really means in practice) into the debate on autonomy and governance reforms on policy level. In view of the wide range of definitions of autonomy this study used as a starting point the basic four dimensions set out in EUA’s Lisbon declaration (2007) which are academic financial organisational and staffing autonomy.
EUA's Autonomy Scorecard country profiles delve into in-depth system analyses, offering insights into recent developments and presenting the sector's perspective. ...
The 2023 edition of the European University Association’s Autonomy Scorecard, the most comprehensive yet, provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 35 highe ...
This report provides a summary of the input, discussions and findings from the first USTREAM peer learning seminar on policy frameworks for efficiency and effectiveness in the higher education co ...
University mergers are a widely spread phenomenon in Europe. This briefing analyses the features of close to 130 cases of university mergers and clusters (since 2000) recorded in the EUA University Me ...
The Scorecard 2017 provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 29 higher education systems in Europe. The report complements the presentation of the main outc ...
The EUA Autonomy Scorecard offers a methodology to collect, compare and weight data on university autonomy. A core set of autonomy indicators was developed to offer an institutional perspective on ins ...
This is the first briefing in a new EUA series focused on evolving university governance. The present publication explores the governance set-up of the European University Alliances formed under the E ...
Based on data collected in 2021 by the International Association of Universities (IAU), Michael Gaebel and Henriette Stoeber reflect on the impact of the pandemic on European higher education. ...
With the series “Leaders’ Perspectives”, EUA gives the floor to the executive heads of its member universities on the essential issues connected to governance and funding. Th ...
As the European Universities Initiative moves into a new phase, EUA has taken stock of its impact thus far, notably in how it may further policy reforms that benefit transnational university cooperati ...
“University mergers in Europe” is the second thematic report published by EUA as part of the DEFINE project. DEFINE explores strategies for efficient funding of universities in Europe, lookin ...
The process to renew the European Research Area (ERA) is gathering pace and is set to continue in the coming weeks, months and years. Building on previous policy positions, this policy input further e ...
Given their education, research and societal missions, universities are important actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality, sustainable societies and economies. They are well placed to play ...
EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, during the European Research and Innovation Days in September 2020, stated that excellence and inclusiveness are two sides of the same coin in the new European Research ...
The Autonomy Scorecard project provides a detailed and accurate picture of the status of institutional autonomy in 26 different European countries. The project focuses on the legislativ ...
Le projet de Tableau de bord sur l’autonomie dresse un bilan détaillé et précis du degré d’autonomie institutionnelle dans 26 pays européens. Ce projet se concentre sur les cadres législatif ...
Institutional diversity is becoming more central to higher education policy as higher education institutions are moving to the centre stage of political and public attention, with ...
Sound governance, competent and accountable management, transparent and coherent institutional quality processes are rising to the top of the work agenda of European university leaders today. The ...
Following the Management Seminar organised in Istanbul in 2000 for its members, EUA invited the two seminar facilitators to turn their presentations into articles. In addition to t ...
This report provides examples of government-led initiatives implemented in response to national policy objectives and university-led collaborative initiatives and partnerships pursued by the Irish hig ...
Many European universities are initiating strategic transformation programmes that either seek a step change in institutional efficiency, respond to drastic shifts in higher education policy and finan ...
This report is a milestone of the EU-supported project “Transition to University Autonomy in Kazakhstan” (2017-2020) and focuses on the state of play of university governance and recommend ...
Over the last decade, policy makers and universities in Europe have been paying greater attention to efficiency and effectiveness in a more demanding higher education context. This study has been publ ...
Given the rapid and intense change taking place in our societies and, invariably, at our universities, institutional leadership has become a game-changer in the capacity to adapt. This is even more so ...
Today, more than ever before, universities are expected to fulfil multiple and increasingly challenging roles. Invariably, university leaders are walking a tightrope, caught between long-term strategy ...
The Scorecard 2023 provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 35 higher education systems in Europe. With findings across four dimensions of university autono ...
This NEWLEAD guide offers recommendations and reflections for university leaders, university sector representatives and policy makers interested in setting up a leadership development programme (LDP). ...
This report presents the key findings and recommendations of the NEWLEAD project’s efforts to build the capacity of university leaders across Europe in steering change and addressing new prior ...
Following a recent court decision, the European University Association (EUA) calls on Turkish authorities to seize the opportunity to thoroughly reconsider how university rectors are appointed. On 4 ...
The European University Association and Civil Society Europe, a network of EU-level stakeholder organisations, have today published a joint letter addressing worrying and potentially counterproductive ...
Scholars at Risk – Ireland and ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, organise the online conference “Academic freedom and intellectual dissent” on 8 June, from ...
In Turkey, the practice of appointments of university rectors by the President of the Republic is generating a new wave of criticism. The recent nomination of a new rector at Bogaziçi University in I ...
The NEWLEAD project consortium published a new workbook focused on Leading change in diversity and cross-cutting challenges. ...
Following the recent news of further infringements on university autonomy and academic freedom reflected in two decrees (675 and 676) published in the Turkish Official Journal on 29 October 2016, the ...
The European University Association condemns the recent decision by the Swedish government to shorten the mandate of external members of university boards from three years to 17 months. ...
EUA members Coventry University and Aarhus University, and the Council of Europe are launching a fully funded cotutelle doctoral research programme focusing on the role of universities in creating a d ...
The European University Association (EUA), the European Students’ Union (ESU) and Scholars at Risk (SAR) join together to condemn the criminalisation of students and academics in Belarus. They call ...
On 14 February, Frédérique Vidal, French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, announced plans to order the French research agency (CNRS) to conduct an enquiry into French universi ...
EUA-CDE has published a new report on the findings of the 2020 Thematic Peer Group on “Co-tutelles and Joint Doctorates”. The report outlines the conclusions of this second EUA-CDE Thematic Peer ...
The implications of the political, economic and societal landscape in Europe are becoming ever more complex for Europe’s universities. The Old Continent faces prolonged financial and economic crises ...
Academic freedom is the latest of the many victims on Hungary’s path towards an illiberal state, argues Lesley Wilson. This editorial was first published on The Parliament Magazine on 7 September 20 ...
The Hungarian government’s clampdown on gender studies and research into migration sets a dangerous precedent. This editorial was first published on The Guardian on 6 September 2018. Universities i ...
Universities are changing. Strategy expert Claudia Nuss reflects on what it takes to successfully lead the transformation process.Change management in the university setting takes many forms. Universi ...
University autonomy and academic freedom should be more than topics of proclamation and celebration. Sijbolt Noorda, President of the Magna Charta Observatory, discusses why they should be lived in th ...
While Europe discusses its data strategy, the digital transformation must be on the radar of universities. Digital skills, the infrastructure and support for “FAIR” research data management, and t ...
EUA President Michael Murphy assesses the challenges and opportunities brought by the coronavirus pandemic to Europe’s universities, in particular in relation to funding, digital tools, Open Science ...
The important upsurge in statements of support for academic freedom at the intergovernmental level in Europe points to the urgent need for meaningful implementation. Civil society and higher education ...
In Europe, there is little provision of leadership development schemes in higher education. Given the pace and intensity of transformations in our societies and invariably in our universities, institu ...
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the European University Association, Andrée Sursock analyses two decades of transformation and renewal in Europe’s higher education landscape, and charts ...
While the fundamental principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy have not changed in the last 30 years, their context has. EUA’s Monika Steinel analyses the panorama and reflects on w ...
As the European University Initiative nears its mid-term review, it is time to think seriously about how the alliances are governed. Complex setups must retain their fitness for purpose and benefit th ...
As the mid-term evaluation of the first European University Alliances comes up, stakeholders must keep a balanced approach and look at the future of the initiative in a holistic way. As EUA expert Ann ...
On the occasion of EUA’s 20th anniversary, President Michael Murphy and long-time senior expert and Director Michael Gaebel look back at two decades of global university collaboration. Offering a br ...
The Academic Freedom Index provides a robust assessment of academic freedom levels worldwide that can inform and guide advocacy and policy efforts. Co-developers Janika Spannagel and Ilyas Saliba from ...
All universities need more autonomy to be innovative, not only those engaged in the European Universities Initiative. EUA expert Anna-Lena Claeys-Kulik writes that limiting flexible collaboration opti ...
Leaders must respond to the unprecedented challenges facing the higher education system. In these times of uncertainty, hope is the fundamental leadership driver that will help our institutions to rem ...
The growing participation of women in higher education is not yet reflected in university leadership. Here, Kerstin Mey examines barriers to reaching a critical mass of female leaders in higher educat ...
If we want universities to make a leap in transnational cooperation, policymakers must take their own leap in implementing reforms that work towards creating the necessary framework conditions. In Res ...
Despite a proliferation of initiatives to promote Open Science, many obstacles persist. Here, Jean-Pierre Finance examines the progress that this movement has made and looks to the next steps, includi ...
20 January 2016 The European University Association (EUA) would like to express its concern for the academics in Turkey being investigated for expressing their views, under the petition “We Will no ...
The STAND project aims to improve the processes and mechanisms of university autonomy by increasing the management capacities, accountability and transparency of universities in the Western Balkans in ...
Today, higher education institutions are tasked with multiple and challenging roles. They accommodate evolving student expectations, address changing labour market needs and sustainability pressures, ...
The TRUNAK project seeks to enhance university autonomy in Kazakhstan. It seeks to develop both the management and governance of Kazakh universities, as well as the capacities of national authorities ...
The ATHENA project contributed to the development, reform and modernisation of higher education systems in the Eastern Neighbouring partner countries Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine. As a structural meas ...
The regulatory, financial and societal environments in which universities operate are changing at an increasingly fast pace. EUA is dedicated to supporting universities in their efforts to make succes ...
