The Effect of Autonomy on University Rankings in Germany, France and China

As previous research has not addressed the relationship between university autonomy and university rankings within countries where the state control model is used, this study explores universities’ strategies to achieve top university rankings in accordance with their autonomous rights and financial as well as political support. Specifically, this article examines the similarities and differences in university autonomy across Germany, France, and China. The results provide a clarified picture for university leaders in other countries to comprehensively understand these elite universities' effective strategies. The findings also reveal that the strategies to obtain a high position in the university league tables differ across the three countries, due to differences in cultural and national characteristics. Despite these differences, the selected countries broadened their procedural and substantive autonomy, used financial incentives to attract outstanding scholars and researchers to improve research capacities, and obtained political and financial support from their governments.

Research on the model of university autonomy in the direction of corporate governance

Recently, the trend of university autonomy is seen as a solution to promote the development of universities, improve the quality of education and contribute to the training of high–quality human resources for the country. So how should university autonomy be recognized, evaluated, and development-oriented? Is university autonomy aimed at promoting corporate governance towards corporate governance as a solution to today’s problems? This article aims to assess the current state of university governance in Vietnam and the world. Studies related to the university governance model, which is in the direction of corporate governance – are also analyzed and discussed. This article proposes a model to help standardize modern governance activities according to corporate governance, limit unnecessary overlap between unrelated departments in university activities, thereby promoting the development of universities in the future.

Balancing between accountability and autonomy: the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms within higher education

PurposeThis article studies the tensions between universities' accountability and autonomy in response to the demands of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachDemonstrating the tension between accountability and autonomy, the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education are studied via a survey with selected representative Finnish universities. The response rate was an exceptionally high 94%. In addition to the statistical analysis of the survey, open-ended questions were also analyzed to give a more in-depth understanding of the findings. The study uses paradox theory and institutional complexity as its theoretical lenses.FindingsThe empirical analysis of this study shows a considerable gap between the experienced impact and the experienced relevance of the steering mechanisms in higher education. The authors’ further analysis of the open-ended data shows that indicator-based funding allocation has undermined the perceived university autonomy. The authors highlight the paradoxical tensions of university autonomy and higher education institutions' steering mechanisms' requirement for accountability. Finding an acceptable balance between accountability and institutional autonomy plays an important role in designing higher education policies.Originality/valueThe authors found that even if a steering mechanism is experienced as impactful, it is not necessarily considered relevant. One of the key aspects in understanding the reasons behind this mismatch is related to university autonomy. Most impactful steering mechanisms become considered less relevant because they also endanger institutional autonomy. In this sense, it could be expected that steering mechanisms should better balance accountability and autonomy.

SOLUTIONS FOR PROMOTING UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY IN VIETNAM

Currently, university autonomy is an inevitable trend. Many countries worldwide exercise university autonomy because they consider it the most effective method to meet the demands of modern education and training. However, choosing the autonomy model and formulating policies on university autonomy must be based on scientific and practical foundations to be appropriate for each nation. The article studies the process of implementing university autonomy in some countries around the world. From there, the author draws on the expertise and solutions to implement autonomy in universities in Vietnam.

University autonomy and internal control

Desk research is conducted to discuss the inevitability of implementing the global trend of university autonomy in Vietnam and the need to strengthen internal controls to minimize university management risks. Comparative analysis is applied to analyze and evaluate the results of piloting university autonomy in different Vietnamese universities to identify the shortcomings and challenges. This study highlights the necessity of applying internal controls in Vietnamese universities to minimize management risks and strengthen accountability, as well as the necessity of completing the legal framework on university autonomy and internal controls to meet the requirements of comprehensive higher education reform in Vietnam. Research on internal control issues in Vietnam are mainly focused on commercial banks and state-owned corporations with only a few such studies in higher education given that the legal requirements for such controls in higher education has only been advanced since 2014. Our research is thus novel currently and offers solutions to the problems of implementation.

Academic council activity as the basis for university autonomy: historical aspect

The article describes functions and authorities of academic councils of Ukrainian universities as the basis of their autonomy in historical aspect. The purpose of the paper is to study academic council activity evolution in Ukrainian Universities of the XIX-th century through singling out and characterization its stages from the modern standpoint to strengthen university autonomy, develop the quality of university management and prevent mistakes and shortcomings of the previous period. The applied methods were: general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison, systematization, and generalization) and methods of historical research (chronological, logical-historical, historical-typological, and retrospective). The most important findings have become distinguishing and characterizing four stages of activity of academic councils in Ukrainian universities within the studied period: I stage (1804 - 1835), II stage (1835 - 1863), III stage (1863 - 1884), IV stage (1884 - 1906). Characterization of the stages of academic council functions and authority development from the modern position has demonstrated that in order to develop the quality of university management as well as educational service quality universities need real university autonomy, which should be strong enough to prevent mistakes and shortcomings of the previous periods.

USING STUDENT SELF-GOVERNANCE FOR CREATING LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

The article examines the stages of implementation of the main aspects of university autonomy, in particular the organization of student governance in domestic higher education institutions. It is necessary to realize that the creation of effective student government is a key condition for building a domestic system of higher education in accordance with the best practices of the European educational space. It is determined that in the process of restructuring higher education through the formation of university autonomy, students should be considered as a full partner in the process of modernization of the domestic higher education system. It is established that the work of student government should significantly expand its scope and be more active in developing key issues of organization and content of university education. The main points of formation of student self-governance in Ukrainian HEIs are determined and a comparative analysis of the key principles under which European universities operate is carried out. The authors analyzed the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», in particular in terms of organizing the work of student government. The main issues of student self-governance, which are reflected in the statutes of higher education institutions, are summarized. The article shows the results of the study conducted during the research «Implementation of university autonomy in the context of decentralization of HEIs, the democratization of the educational process, increasing responsibility for the quality of education». The stance of the students to the process of the autonomy of educational institutions in general is studied. The information on the respondents’ awareness of the regulatory framework is summarized. The degree of activity of student self-government bodies in solving issues of improving the educational process is analyzed. The proposals of the participants of the online survey on the next stages of activity for the successful implementation of university autonomy have been studied.