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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 autonomy - organisational, financial, staffing, academic - the Scorecard supports an evidence-based dialogue on this crucial topic. This allows concrete benchmarking of national regulatory frameworks as well as the exchange of good practices. For the first time, this update also includes a chapter on provisions for academic freedom in national legislation.
Building on this analysis, the report identifies several notable trends across the 35 systems considered. These include aspects related to changing governance models, consolidation of the higher education landscape, transnational university collaboration, underfunding challenges, tensions around campus real estate, evolving academic careers, and issues related to internationalisation, to name but a few.
Three higher education systems (Georgia, Romania, Scotland) feature in this edition for the first time, alongside four returning systems (Cyprus, Czechia, Greece, Türkiye). This extended coverage enables better comparability as well as the possibility of drawing more comprehensive Europe-wide conclusions. The Hungarian higher education system is not included in the scoring, rather it is the subject of a complementary analysis.
The report is complemented by a series of country profiles released throughout 2023-2024.
Related publications:
The evolution of university autonomy in Hungary: a complementary analysis to University Autonomy in Europe IV: The Scorecard 2023
University Autonomy in Europe IV: The Scorecard 2023 Addendum
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Doctoral education has a major role to play in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. EUA-CDE Head Alexander Hasgall explores this, as well as how the goals, in turn, can benefit doctor ...
As the results of the EU elections become clearer, EUA’s Thomas Jorgensen discusses the major changes in store and how universities could be impacted.The dust is still settling after the European Pa ...
Universities are changing. Strategy expert Claudia Nuss reflects on what it takes to successfully lead the transformation process. ...
To remain world leaders in research and innovation, Europe’s universities need more supportive policies and funding frameworks, write EUA President Rolf Tarrach and President-elect Michael Murphy fo ...
Innovation is increasingly important for universities – as it is for society. Universities are one of the strands of the so-called “triple helix”, providing impactful research to sustain competi ...
The shift to a student-centered education system has implied disruptive change in learning and teaching. Roberta Moscon from the University of Trento discusses how more higher education institutions a ...
An interview with Michael Gaebel.In 2013, a European Commission high-level expert group report pointed to the fact that in all areas of education becoming a teacher usually requires formalised pedagog ...
Quality assurance and the enhancement of learning and teaching are no longer exclusively the responsibility of those with the explicit responsibilities attached to their job titles. As EUA’s Tia Lou ...
Addressing the lack of recognition for the value of effective teaching requires more than making participation in teaching enhancement yet another requirement for academics, writes EUA Director, Highe ...
The University of Jyväskylä in Finland is redefining the role of language and communication skills in curriculum development and aiming to educate multilingual academic professionals. A university-w ...
Research-based education is happening in Europe, but there are clear challenges with how it is defined and understood. Bjørn Stensaker from the University of Oslo breaks down the topic and makes some ...
As discussions are underway at the European Learning & Teaching Forum, EUA’s Tia Loukkola gives an overview of the extensive work taking place in the field, including reports, lessons learnt by ...
Student-centered and active learning are a necessity for European universities to remain relevant to young people and society. Cecilia Christersson and Patricia Staaf of Malmö University discuss the ...
A higher education institution’s graduates reflect the achievement of intended learning outcomes as well as successful learning and teaching practices. Jurgita Vizgirdaite from the Kaunas University ...
The relationship between higher education institutions and society, as well as between learning and teaching, is evolving. This is driven by the changing ways in which students learn, different types ...
Higher education institutions have been and are investing in finding a better balance between the valorisation of teaching and research. The example of KU Leuven, in Belgium, shows that even though an ...
The need to better professionalise academic teaching careers is now on the agenda of more and more universities in Europe. Iwona Maciejowska from Jagiellonian University explains why these universitie ...
More than ever before, universities in Europe are becoming interested in fundraising. Christian Vranek discusses the different kinds of income-generating partnerships for universities and why they mat ...
The continuous development of teaching competences needs commitment at all levels. It is a systematic process that requires a framework for teaching performance, a professionalisation body, preferably ...
The EUA Thematic Peer Group on the evaluation of learning and teaching has enhanced a student partnership project at Queen’s University, Belfast. Claire Dewhirst, chair of the Thematic Peer Group, e ...
In uncertain times with anti-EU movements and Brexit negotiations, the EU institutions must make an effort to reach an agreement on Horizon Europe. EUA’s Lidia Borrell-Damian talks about the key ame ...
Thomas Estermann from the European University Association examines the university efficiency debate, explaining that behind the push to save money there is actually much more, including a silver linin ...
Lidia Borrell-Damián from the European University Association argues the European Commission’s Horizon Europe initiative holds great promise for the future of research and innovation in Europe. Thi ...
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 ...
The European Commission’s proposal for the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon Europe) shares broad similarities with Horizon 2020, but there are some significant differenc ...
The proposal for the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, also known as Horizon Europe, has been published by the European Commission. Universities and research centres across Europe ...
As the Rector of the University of Groningen, and an economist, I am often asked why universities receive so much public funding for academic research. What is the use for society? A simple first resp ...
It is at the apex of higher education, research and innovation, but issues around integrity and employability must be addressed for doctoral education to continue to thrive, says Luke Georghiou. Ambi ...
As Europe decides how to best invest in the future of research and innovation, it is clear that Horizon 2020’s successor will need more funding. It is also quite certain that its design must be more ...
Director of Research and Innovation, European University Association, Lidia Borrell-Damián shares her thoughts on what lies ahead after Horizon 2020, in which she envisions a new kind of impact by li ...
Investment in research and education not only brings the highest European added value, it is also the most effective long-term, future-oriented commitment that the EU can make towards its citizens, wr ...
The lack of funding needed to achieve Europe’s widely advertised ambitions for global excellence in research and innovation should be addressed in discussing Horizon 2020’s successor. Understandin ...
Since the beginning of time scientific research has been based on exchanges between peers: personal letters, books, articles in specialised journals. But the last 70 years have seen a burst in this se ...
With nearly 40 per cent of Europeans aged 30-34 now holding tertiary qualifications, universities have their work cut out delivering good learner-paced education to increasingly large and diverse popu ...
In the run up to the European University Association’s first pan-European Learning and Teaching Forum in Paris 28-29 September, we speak to Professor Jean Chambaz, a European University Association ...
Europe needs more ambitious research funding, or risks losing precious knowledge, writes Rolf TarrachThe European Union is currently defining its priorities for the next decade. The scientific communi ...
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 ...
Michael Gaebel, Director of Higher Education Policy at the European University Association, highlights the upcoming European Commission Erasmus+ review. This article was first published on Open Access ...
In the top 50 performing participants in Horizon 2020, 4.2 billion euros went to 37 universities, 11 research agencies and two research institutes. These are all from 12 countries in Europe: the UK, G ...
The current state of the European Union demands new political thinking and action – not just “business as usual”. Europe faces a series of interlinked economic, political, societal and cultural ...
Horizon 2020 plays a significant part in developing the research and innovation capacity of the European community, as well as of the individual member states. We have already witnessed the 7th Framew ...
For the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), participation in Horizon 2020 is a number one priority. The framework programme gives us the opportunity to collaborate with excellent re ...
Erasmus+ as the successor of the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) brings a major contribution to universities like the Deggendorf Institute of Technology and has improved the implementation of activi ...
There is no doubt that Erasmus+ offers an excellent range of opportunities for students and staff to broaden their international experience. Key Action 1, in particular, provides a fantastic variety o ...
The University of Granada was very active in many of the Erasmus+ predecessor programmes and in bilateral mobility with partners all around the world. When the current Erasmus+ Programme took off in 2 ...
For Ghent University, Erasmus+ is a vital instrument in the attainment of its strategic ambition to see 25% of its students study abroad by 2020. Erasmus+ Key Action 1a on student mobility accounts fo ...
As EUA launches the call for participation for its pilot Leadership Development Programme, President Josep M. Garrell presents the initiative and encourages leaders from EUA member universities to app ...
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 EUA Autonomy Scorecard is a comprehensive tool that gathers, monitors, and compares system-level data regarding university autonomy across Europe since 2011. ...
EUA is currently piloting a Leadership Development Programme for senior leaders in European higher education institutions. ...
The Staff development for learning and teaching at European universities (STAFF-DEV) project aims to analyse how staff development and academic assessment are conducted at European higher education in ...
Europe has a unique multilateral and multilevel framework for cooperation in higher education and research. For more than two decades, governments across Europe have built a common framework for highe ...
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. ...
The LOTUS project aims to contribute to capacity building and strategic change management for learning and teaching at higher education institutions across Europe. ...
EUA has developed its vision for Europe’s universities in 2030. After intensive consultations with more than 100 experts and visionaries from the EUA membership and a wide range of external partners ...
The DIGI-HE project explored different ways higher education institutions can boost their strategic approaches to digitally enhanced learning and teaching and enhance their capacity. ...
The EUniQ project aimed to develop in close cooperation with European Universities, a quality assurance approach for European Universities. ...
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 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups gather a selected group of EUA member universities each year to discuss and explore practices and lessons learnt in organising and implementing lea ...
The EFFECT project aimed to facilitate the exchange of experience and effective methods in terms of university teachers’ development at the European level. ...
USTREAM sought to examine the measures that are in place in universities across Europe to enhance efficiency at operational level, and also analyse policies at system level that support universities i ...
Higher education institutions across Europe face today a demanding and complex financial context in which traditional modes of funding have been transformed and continue to evolve. ...
The ATHENA project contributed to the development, reform and modernisation of higher education systems in the Eastern Neighbouring partner countries Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine. ...
Leading a university has never been more demanding. University leaders must juggle multiple roles, balancing the needs and expectations of a diverse array of stakeholders. They are accountable for a w ...
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 ...
In parallel to well-established European collaboration in higher education within the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area, the European Union is working towards creating a Euro ...
To shape the future that universities want, we must proactively engage with possible futures. The world is changing rapidly. And with it, universities and their contexts are changing. Among the major ...
The missions and work of universities in Europe and elsewhere are underpinned by a number of fundamental values. EUA as an Association strongly believes in and works towards upholding these. The Asso ...
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 ...
The call for participation in the European University Association’s pilot Leadership Development Programme is now closed. Applicants will be informed about the results by December 2024 at the latest ...
