The necessary reform of the Spanish University

Abstract

Summary

1. Objectives and actors of the Spanish University System. 2. General diagnosis. 3. University autonomy. 4. The basis of the SUS model and its apparent uniformity. 5. The governing bodies. 6. University staff. 7. Conclusions and proposals. 7.1 University autonomy. 7.2 University governance. 7.3 Academic positions and staff. 7.4 Endogamy, remuneration, degree courses and students. 7.5 Evaluations, rankings and funding.

Abstract

In the last two decades there have been several proposals to reform the Spanish university system (SUE). These have been proposed through reports, white papers and all kinds of documents drawn up by official state, regional and university bodies and by various foundations. They have addressed all the institutional aspects of universities; and even a number of committees of experts have been set up at the request of the ministerial authorities.
The recent measures taken in the SUE have not improved teaching, research, innovation or knowledge transfer performance from a comparative perspective. Nor have they sufficiently improved, for example, the levels of equity or the employability of graduates from our universities. Finally, the situation of teaching staff at early stages of their careers is worrying. This article discusses a possible reform the reform of the SUE from the perspective of its governance. To this end, SUE’s goals will be identified and the preformance of the universities will be evaluated. Finally, the various existing actors and their relationships will be addressed. The main conclusions and proposals of the research refer to the convenience of seizing every possibility offered by the current doctrine of the Constitutional Court to give greater prominence to social councils; develop institutional capacities, governance and human resources under a strong executive leadership and an orientation towards efficiency and effectiveness; transform in depth university planning and Administration and Services Staff (PAS) management; modify and simplify the accreditation model in order to improve efficiency, internationalisation and mobility; and finally, link the performance of teaching and research staff (PDI) with efficiency in the achievement of SUE objectives.