Legislation at the University of Zagreb; State Law vs University Statute Aleksa Bjeli

1
Legislation at the University of
ZagrebState Law vs University Statute
Aleksa Bjeliš
Zagreb, 28 May 2004

2
Historical background

• present Statute basis for the university policy
  in last ten years
• Governance through the Senate model of the
  University as a federation of faculties each
  faculty has one representative (dean)
• State control through Governing Council
  annulated by changes in 2000
• Restructuring of university (through formation of
  clusters, university departments, etc) enabled by
  statute, but not activated until now

3
Needs and strategic approaches

• Strategy of university development initiated
  1997 1998,
• formulated in the period 2000 2002
  (Breakthrough 2001)
• Simultaneously work on the new law (2000
  2003), which was accepted by Parliament in July
  2003, and put into reconsideration at the
  beginning of 2004
• Main needs
• Improvement of quality of studies and research
• More efficient university management
• More systematic planning of development
• Opening towards national and intenational
  environment

4
Implementation of new legislation

• New law given opportunity to universities to
  regulate autonomously their internal strucutre
  and functioning
• State partnership with universities (lump-sum
  system of financing national system of quality
  assurance and coherent planning and delopment of
  the RD and HE at the national level through
  Council for Science and Council for HE)
• Interaction with national and societal
  environment through the University Board

5
Foreseen trends

• New Statute under construction
• Most important new issues
• Distribution of academic (quality assessment)
  competencies and decision making at three levels
  (Senate middle level councils scientific
  areas, arts units faculty and departmental
  councils)
• Also system of quality assessment, including
  central office
• Vertical university governance (Rector,
  Collegium, leaders of units)
• System of financial management (including central
  office for budget planning and fiscal affairs)
• New organization of studies university
  programmes along Bologna scheme, more intense and
  more efficient process of studying