University Autonomy in Europe III: Country Profiles

• organisational autonomy (covering academic and administrative structures leadership and governance);

• financial autonomy (covering the ability to raise funds own buildings borrow money and set tuition fees);

• staffing autonomy (including the ability to recruit independently promote and develop academic and non-academic staff);

• academic autonomy (including study fields student numbers student selection as well as the structure and content of degrees).

By generating information on the current state of university autonomy and governance reforms the Scorecard allows a more successful benchmarking of national policies with regard to university autonomy as well as the exchange of good practice. 

The country profiles contain information that allows on the one hand a comparison of the 29 higher education systems and on the other hand to provide more details on each of the systems. The main focus is nevertheless on providing a comparative view and the profiles are not meant to present a detailed in-depth country study. The clustering uses first a standardised summary to provide an at-a-glance overview. More details although still using the streamlined terminology (for example for the governing bodies) can be found in the description of the four dimensions of autonomy. This is followed by contextual information and views from the sector.

University Autonomy Online Tool

Related publication: University Autonomy in Europe III: The Scorecard 2017