Accessibility Tools
This extensive study marking 10 years of EUA’s work on university autonomy and more than five years of mapping is a central reference in discussions and analyses of institutional autonomy – both in Europe and beyond.
The report addresses the question of university autonomy in organisational financial staffing and academic matters and compares data for all indicators that constitute EUA’s Autonomy Scorecard. It allows readers to have a full overview of the state of play and of recent developments in each of these fields – assessing the capacity of universities to decide on issues as diverse as tuition fees governance structures recruitments and salaries or language of instruction and student numbers. The report ranks systems for each autonomy dimension in a special Scorecard. It also uncovers trends for each area highlighting improvements and causes for concern.
While some countries have achieved a relatively high degree of university autonomy in all or most of the four dimensions considered the Scorecard helps to recognise that there is no unique model to foster autonomy. Countries scoring high in at least three dimensions include models as diverse as those in Finland Luxembourg Estonia or the UK (England). The report also reveals predominantly a persisting lack of a global view on university autonomy when designing and implementing reforms. In addition the challenging economic context impacts autonomy in different ways beyond financial matters. Finally public authorities are found to exert stronger steering through funding mechanisms while concentration processes such as mergers raise new questions for university autonomy.
University Autonomy Online Tool
Related publication: University Autonomy in Europe III: Country Profiles
With this text, the European University Association (EUA) presents a set of guiding considerations to support universities in using global rankings responsibly. ...
EUA's Autonomy Scorecard country profiles delve into in-depth system analyses, offering insights into recent developments and presenting the sector's perspective. ...
EUA has published a Roadmap on Research Assessment in the Transition to Open Science. The main objective is to raise awareness and support the EUA membership with the development of research asse ...
In parallel with the efforts to persuade researchers to practice Open Science, and the need to develop new research assessment methodologies that fairly assess the scientific quality of the ...
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 ...
This briefing is the first step towards EUA’s commitment to raise awareness and support universities by providing an overview of the key concepts, issues and actors involved in research assessment. ...
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 Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by t ...
The authors of “Plan S” have published revised implementation guidelines. The initiative aims to boost Open Access in scholarly publishing by 2021. EUA welcomes the guidelines, in particular the a ...
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 ...
During the upcoming presidencies of the Council of the European Union, there will be an opportunity to work towards long-term system transformation by jointly strengthening research, education and inn ...
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 ...
EUA and Science Europe have issued a joint statement on the need for research funders and research performing organisations as well as universities to combine their efforts to develop and implement mo ...
All universities are significantly dependent upon public funding as a major source of support for their research programmes. The difference between private and public universities is in the ...
The modernisation process of universities has historically highlighted the necessity of providing support structures to facilitate contacts and relationships between research groups and the outsi ...
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 ...
This EUA position outlines the preliminary findings of a major study on innovation at European universities. It captures the different levels of innovation capacity at universities, as well as how the ...
The EUA Open Science Agenda 2025 defines the Association’s priorities in this field and describes the current context, challenges and developments envisaged for the coming years. In addition, it out ...
The European University Association welcomes the adoption by the Council of the European Union of the Conclusions on research assessment and implementation of Open Science. ...
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 ...
Changing expectations of universities’ contributions to a knowledge-based economy and society over the last decade have transformed the relationship between the state and higher educa ...
The publication and dissemination of scientific outcomes is part of the backbone of scientific activities. In general, the conditions for publishing and publication usage in recent years hav ...
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 ...
Trends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education institutions evolves in the context of changing demands, technological and societal development, and European- and national- ...
In recent years, the enhancement of learning and teaching has become a priority, not only for higher education institutions, but also for national governments, the European Union and the Bologna Proce ...
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 ...
Attention to career paths in teaching and staff development, in order to enhance learning and teaching, has gained importance in the European policy arena in recent years. This paper is the result of ...
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 ...
This report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the current state of research assessment at European universities, and shows why and how institutions are reviewing their evaluation pra ...
This report and the accompanying online repository bring together and analyse case studies in responsible academic career assessment. Gathered by EUA, together with the San Francisco Declaration on Re ...
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 ...
This report analyses the place of Open Science in the academic assessment approaches of universities across Europe. ...
This report provides in-depth analysis of the results of the first-ever Europe-wide survey on universities and innovation. ...
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 ...
On 27 March, the European Commission published a new higher education package, including proposals for Council Recommendations on a European recognition and quality assurance (QA) system and attractiv ...
On 6-7 February 2024, an EUA-led project which aims to analyse, and strengthen related institutional capacity and strategies for staff development and academic assessment at European higher education ...
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 ...
In a joint statement, the European University Association (EUA), the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN), Aurora Universities, The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universiti ...
On 27 October 2023, the inaugural meeting of a new working group dedicated to reforming Academic Career Assessment (ACA) took place online. ...
On 16 March, the first meeting of the newly recomposed European University Association Expert Group on Open Science (EGOS) took place in Brussels. ...
The European University Association (EUA) is pleased to become a supporting organisation for the More Than Our Rank initiative, promoted by the International Network of Research Management Societies ( ...
The European University Association is pleased to announce that the Association will sign the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and join the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA ...
An extensive co-creation exercise throughout the first half of 2022 that gathered the interests and perspectives of 350+ organisations from over 40 countries led to the publication of an Agreement on ...
Launched in January 2022 as a co-creation exercise, the process of drafting an agreement for reforming research assessment has reached an important milestone. On 8 July, the final version of the agree ...
The EuroScience Open Forum 2022 (ESOF2022) will take place from 13 to 16 July 2022 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Several EUA colleagues will organise and contribute to various sessions during the confer ...
EUA, together with Science Europe, Dr. Karen Stroobants (in her individual capacity as researcher with expertise in research on research) and the European Commission, is leading the drafting of an agr ...
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 Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is opening a call for Working Groups and for National Chapters. ...
On 13 December, the DocEnhance project organised its final event entitled “Transferable skills in doctoral education”. One of its main outcomes was the launch of the DocEnhance Platform, which hos ...
The NEWLEAD project consortium published a new workbook focused on Leading change in diversity and cross-cutting challenges. ...
The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV) is conducting a survey for the EU-funded GraspOS project. The results of the survey will be published by the end of August 2023 in a landscape report, ...
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. ...
On 1 December 2022, the Constitutive Assembly of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) took place, marking the beginning of a new chapter in which a broad coalition of organisations ...
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 ...
EUA member Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is starting the process of rectorial election by announcing an international open competition for the position of the rector on 9 January. Applications ...
The Magna Charta Observatory has launched a new initiative to invite and promote academic research on “The Responsive and Responsible University”. ...
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 ...
Last week, the EUA Council for Doctoral Education has released a new publication entitled “Building the Foundations of Research - a Vision for the Future of Doctoral Education in Europe” that iden ...
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 ...
The transition to Open Science and Open Access is gaining momentum in Europe, making it a shared responsibility for universities and their main partners to review how they incentivise and reward resea ...
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 ...
Research assessment practices are becoming more accurate, transparent and responsible. This is partly due to the sharp increase in external evaluations of universities that lead to internal evaluation ...
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 ...
UNESCO’s Global Open Science Partnership is well-timed in promoting a much-needed global dialogue on Open Science. EUA expert Bregt Saenen discusses the initiative, its evolving backdrop and why it ...
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 ...
How can universities address digital and academic sovereignty through jointly coordinated actions in education, research and research assessment? VSNU’s Darco Jansen outlines the Dutch example, prov ...
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 ...
Reforming research assessment is a hot topic, as community-driven momentum now meets national and transnational political support. Here, EUA experts that have been closely involved in drafting a landm ...
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 ...
For Research Europe, EUA’s Vinciane Gaillard and Stephane Berghmans weigh in on recent efforts to rebalance research assessment and look at how it could bring about a much-needed transformation of p ...
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 ...
Open Science and gender equality are two movements with much in common, so why is a feminist perspective on Open Science yet to emerge? Pastora Martínez Samper tackles the question. "Feminism is the ...
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 European Research Area (ERA) reflects the European Commission and EU member states’ ambition to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU. It was f ...
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 ...
Open Science is a shared responsibility, and a successful transition will require a concerted effort from key stakeholders. EUA takes a comprehensive view of the transition to Open Science and works t ...