Regulatory frameworks in higher education governance. Policies, rights and responsibilities. Belgium: Flemish Community

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1 Regulatory frameworks in higher education governance Policies, rights and responsibilities Belgium: Flemish Community AUTHOR: Kurt De Wit DATE: November 11th, 2006 Higher education institutions covered Category of higher education institution No. 1 Universiteit (university) No. 2 Hogeschool (university college) Public sector Government-dependent private sector Independent private sector The independent private higher education sector, which is marginal in the Flemish Community of Belgium, is not included in this report. Therefore, where we speak of 'private sector' in this report, only the government-dependent private sector is referred to. Section 1: General framework of higher education governance 1. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION POLICIES In Belgium the authority over education, including higher education, is in the hands of the Communities: the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community. Each Community organises and funds its education system autonomously. Hence, the education systems in Belgium differ considerably. In this report we describe the regulatory framework in higher education governance in the Flemish Community of Belgium. Higher education policies in the Flemish Community are enacted by the parliament and the government. The Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Parlement) is the legislative power. It appoints and controls the government. It passes bills regarding education, in Dutch called 'decreten' and translated as 'decrees' or 'acts', which have the same force of law as national laws. The Flemish Government (Vlaamse Regering) is the executive power. In the current Flemish Government, the Minister for Education and Training is responsible for higher education. The Minister, together with the Flemish Government, pursues the education policy, can make proposals for decrees, and implements the decrees. The Flemish Ministry for Education and Training (Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming) consists of a Department for Education and Training, responsible for policy making, and agencies for implementing the policies. One of these agencies is the Agency for Higher Education and Adult Education. 1

2 In addition to these political bodies and players, a number of advisory bodies are also involved in the policy process. The Flemish Education Council (Vlaamse Onderwijsraad) is the main advisory and consultative body for education matters in general. It consists of representatives of educational organising authorities, educational advisory services and training centres, trade unions, employers organisations, parents, students, school heads and experts. This broad composition reflects the policy intention to give all who are concerned with education a formal way of participation in the policy process. The Flemish Education Council legally has to be consulted about all drafts of decrees and policy documents regarding education. Apart from the legally prescribed consultation, the Flemish Education Council also acts as a forum of debate and it can advise the government on its own initiative. The Council has a subcommittee for higher education, the Council for Higher Education. The universities and the university colleges have their own umbrella organisations. The Flemish Inter-University Council (Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad) brings together the rectors of the universities. It promotes consultation and co-operation between the universities and is an advisory body towards the ministers for education and science policy in university matters. The heads of the university colleges joined together in the Council of Flemish University Colleges (Vlaamse Hogescholenraad) to promote consultation between the university colleges, to defend their interests, and to advise the Minister for Education and Training in university college matters. The legislation grants both the Flemish Inter-University Council and the Council of Flemish University Colleges a well-defined place in the policy making process. In a number of matters, decrees have made their advice mandatory for the government. The Flanders Social and Economic Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad van Vlaanderen) is a consultation body between representatives of employers' and employees' organisations. Like the Flemish Education Council it is legally defined as advisory body with regard to draft decrees. Its focus is strictly socio-economical, meaning that it concentrates its advisory function regarding education around issues like vocational profiles, labour market oriented remarks concerning other educational topics, and organisational aspects ROLE OF THE ACTORS AND BODIES IN DECISION-MAKING WITHIN THE INSTITUTION Universities and university colleges in the Flemish Community are, generally speaking, selfgoverning institutions with an autonomous legal personality. This means that the higher education institutions can decide themselves on the composition of their decision-making bodies. They have to take account, of course, of the legally defined framework, but there is no interference of political bodies. As a common feature, policy-making within the institutions is democratic, involving the participation of both internal and external stakeholders in the decision-making processes. Moreover, policy-making actors and bodies are elected by all internal stakeholders (all categories of staff, and students) and policy-making itself is for the most part collegiate. Regarding the legal framework, we must distinguish between former state institutions on the one hand, and non-state institutions on the other. The non-state (private subsidised) 2

3 institutions have always had considerable autonomy. The state or public institutions traditionally were more strictly regulated and controlled by the government. Nowadays, the public institutions have been accorded a similar status to that of private institutions, but nevertheless their structure and functioning is still to a larger extent prescribed by decrees and regulations. For historical reasons, the sector of university colleges in the past was more strictly regulated than the university sector. But here too, by stimulating mergers and by introducing a lump-sum funding system, the government has increased institutional autonomy. For public universities, special decrees define their internal organisation structure. The management bodies of the public universities are the rector, the vice-rector, the Executive Board, the Governing Board, and faculty boards (or equivalent). The rector and the vice-rector are elected and formally appointed by the Flemish Government on recommendation by the Governing Board. The rector is responsible for the general management of the university and represents the institution as a whole. The vice-rector assists the rector in his duties. The Executive Board consists of the rector and the vice-rector, two members of tenured academic staff and one member of every other group represented in the Governing Board (see below). The Executive Board is charged with the day-to-day management of the university. The Governing Board, among other things, decides on a number of regulations (e.g. exam regulations) and the general organisation of the university; sets down the budget, the annual report, and the staff formation; and appoints and promotes the professors. Its members are the rector, the vice-rector, representatives of the different staff categories (tenured academic staff, junior academic staff, and technical and administrative staff), student representatives, and representatives of public bodies and the socio-economic, cultural and political sectors. The Governing Board defines which faculties are established within the university (and which other bodies, like departments, centres, or schools). Each faculty must have a faculty board, headed by the dean, and with a representation of staff and students. The Governing Board also decides on the general policy lines to be followed by the faculties. Private universities can define their own internal structure. As a consequence, the management structure of the universities differs from university to university. There are, however, a number of common features. Among other things, the management structure is based on representation of all staff categories within the university and of the socio-economic and cultural sectors of society. Students also are represented in the management of the university, either in the management board or in a student council consisting of democratically elected students and advising the management bodies of the university on student matters. For public university colleges (so-called Flemish autonomous university colleges), the decrees define the management and participation bodies that have to be present in each university college. These management bodies are the Governing Board, the Directorate, the general manager, department councils, and heads of department. The Governing Board consists of representatives of the different staff categories, student representatives, and representatives of the organising authority, including representatives of the socio-economic and cultural sectors. The Governing Board, among other things, decides on a number of regulations (e.g. exam regulations) and the general organisation of the university college; sets down the budget, the annual report, and the staff formation; and appoints and promotes the education staff. 3

4 The Directorate consists of the chairperson of the Governing Board, the general manager and three members who are staff of the university college or members of the university college's Governing Board. The Directorate is charged with the day-to-day management of the university college. The general manager, appointed by the Governing Board, is responsible for the administrative, technical and financial functioning of the university college and represents the institution as a whole. The Governing Board can establish departments within the university college. Each department must have a department council, consisting of the head of department (who chairs the department board), staff and student representatives, and representatives of the socioeconomic and cultural sectors. In university colleges, the participation bodies established by decree are the so-called negotiation committees for staff and the student council for students. There is a negotiation committee on the level of each university college and one on the level of each department within each university college. These committees negotiate about staff affairs. They have a right of information. On the central level, they consist of mandated representatives of the Governing Board and an equal number of staff representatives. On the departmental level, the negotiation committee is composed of staff representatives and representatives of the department board. The student council guarantees the representation of the students, apart from their membership of the Governing Board. The student council is consulted by the management bodies of the university college regarding all matters regarding students, in particular the arrangements for courses and examinations and the assessment of the teaching staff by the students in the framework of the quality control system. The private, subsidised university colleges are legal personalities. The Governing Board of these university colleges consists of members that they co-opt themselves. The Governing Board of the university college decides which departments are established within the institution and for each department appoints a head of department among the teaching staff of the department. The Governing Board has to establish, in the framework of employee participation, an Academic Council. The Academic Council consists of representatives of the Governing Board and elected staff and student representatives. The Academic Council must be informed regarding all matters concerning the university college, can advise the Governing Board about among other things the educational quality control system and the research policy, and can confer about such things as the spending of the financial means, the organisation of the academic year, the evaluation of the educational programmes, and the education and exam regulations. In addition to the Academic Council on the central level, a department council operates in each department that consists of the head of department and representatives of staff, students, and the socio-economic and cultural sectors. As in public colleges, private colleges have to establish a student council and negotiation committees in order to guarantee the representation and participation of students and staff respectively. An association is an inter-institutional co-operation between one university and one or more university colleges. Associations facilitate interaction between these higher education institutions (see section 4.2) STRATEGIC PLAN 4

5 Whenever a new government takes office, it defines its policy priorities for the coming legislature in a 'policy document' for each policy domain. The current policy document on education and training covers the period from 2004 to 2009 (Beleidsnota Onderwijs en Vorming ). Each year, the Minister sets out in more detail what the priorities will be in the coming year. In the current 'policy letter' (Beleidsbrief Onderwijs en Vorming Voortbouwen en vooruitzien) the reform of the financing system in higher education is one of the key issues (see section 5). The policy priorities thus laid down, are translated in budgetary priorities when the annual governmental budget is drawn up. The higher education institutions for their part are not obliged to draft long-term strategic or development plans. They are free to do so and are free to take account of the governmental priorities, or not. The government funds the higher education institutions on the basis of input and output results of preceding years (see also section 3). Regarding these funds, higher education institutions have reporting duties. Each year an elaborate annual report about all activities of the institution has to be produced, together with the accounts of the preceding year. The accounts are controlled by a bookkeeper and is handed over, together with the annual report, to the Flemish Parliament. Long-term planning has, however, been introduced in the associations. The associations in the Flemish Community have to produce long-range plans for educational development and improvement, for research and service provision, and for investments, infrastructure and library services TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION FLOWS Both universities and university colleges have to provide information in a number of ways. The Flemish Government grants autonomy to all institutions of higher education, while it also provides their basic income. Therefore, the institutions have to account to the government for the public money they receive. At the same time part of the information provided by the institutions can serve to inform the (potential) 'clients' of higher education about the quality of higher education and research. First and foremost, the decrees on universities and university colleges impose the development of a quality assurance system. Following international standards, the quality assurance system in higher education in the Flemish Community consists of three steps: an internal review, an external review, and a public report. In the university sector, the review system takes a study programme or group of related study programmes as its point of departure. First, each of the relevant study fields at each university has to write a self-evaluation report, containing the results of a critical self-analysis by all groups associated with the study programme (professors, assistants, and students). Second, the external review has to determine if a study programme achieves the objectives set at the outset. A review committee, consisting of experts who are not employed in any of the study programmes concerned, drafts a report based on the self-evaluation, student surveys, courses, text books, on-site visits, and so on. Last, once all the study programmes in a particular field of study have been examined, a general report is produced. The final report comprises a comparative section and a section on each university in particular. The review committee quantifies its judgement about the study programmes on six quality aspects: aims and 5

6 objectives of the study programme, content and structure of the study programme, staff commitment, facilities (e.g. study guidance), internal quality assurance, and educational outcomes. The final report is made public. The entire review cycle takes 5 years for professional study programmes in university colleges and 8 years for academic study programme. As for internal quality assurance in university colleges, most have set up a system based on the EFQM standard (European Foundation for Quality Management), although different applications are used. Generally speaking, the quality control in university colleges is very similar to that for universities, although particular attention is paid to vocational skills and the quality of the teaching staff. On top of the quality assurance system, recently an accreditation system was installed. In cooperation with the Netherlands an independent Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation [Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatie Organisatie, NVAO] was set up. Together with the stakeholders, the NVAO worked out a frame of reference to evaluate and accredit study programmes. Students are involved at every stage. Higher education programmes that have successfully gone through the external quality review can send the review report to the NVAO. The NVAO then evaluates the thoroughness of the external assessment and accepts or rejects its findings. All accredited study programmes are included in the Higher Education Register (Hoger Onderwijs Register), which is a publicly available register containing information on the study programmes and the institutions offering these study programmes, that can be consulted on-line by (potential) students. An accredited programme is listed in the Higher Education Register for eight years. Accreditation is a prerequisite for awarding bachelor and master degrees, funding by the government for these programmes, and study financing for students. In line with the international agreements reached in the Bologna process, institutions of higher education in the Flemish Community since 1991 are obliged to award a Diploma Supplement to all students. The current Diploma Supplement is based on the model developed in 1998 by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO/CEPES. The Diploma Supplement is delivered to students free of charge. It is automatically delivered in Dutch and upon the student's request in English PROGRAMMES AND GENERAL ORGANISATION Fields of study, structures and programmes The act on the restructuring of higher education (2003) and the act on the flexible organisation of higher education (2004) define the general organisation of higher education. From the academic year onwards, higher education in the Flemish Community provides five kinds of study programmes. University colleges offer professional bachelor programmes, geared towards professional practice, and advanced bachelor programmes for students who have completed a professional bachelor programme and want to specialise. Both university colleges (within the framework of an association) and universities offer academic bachelor programmes, intended to make students pass on to the master course, and academic master programmes. Advanced master programmes offered by universities and university colleges are intended for students who have obtained a master degree and want to specialise. 6

7 By means of bridging programmes, holders of a professionally-oriented bachelor degree can gain access to master programmes. For each institution, the decrees define the study areas in which it can offer degree programmes. For the university colleges, these study areas are: architecture; health care; industrial sciences, technology and nautical sciences; audio-visual and fine arts; music and drama; biotechnology; education; social and pedagogical work; business science and business administration; and traffic knowledge. The study areas for universities are: philosophy and ethics; theology, religious sciences and canon law; linguistics and literature; history; archaeology and arts; law, notarial law and criminology; psychology and pedagogical sciences; economic and applied economic sciences; political and social sciences; social health sciences; physical education, motor rehabilitation and physiotherapy; sciences; applied sciences; applied biological sciences; medicine; dentistry; veterinary science; pharmaceutical sciences; and biomedical sciences. The study programmes consist of at least 180 'study points' or ECTS credits for a bachelor programme and at least 60 credits for a master programme. Study programmes are broken down in course modules of at least 3 credits each. A credit represents 25 to 30 hours of study time, including contact hours, assimilation time, assignments, training, final dissertations, and exams. By laying down these general curriculum requirements, the government wants to guarantee that the scope of the study programmes remains feasible for students. Within this framework the higher education institutions are free to design their own programmes as a coherent whole of course modules. The specific details of curriculum formulation vary from one institution to another. Broadly speaking, the overall curriculum of a field of study or study programme is drafted by study programme committees (at programme, faculty, department and/or subject-group level) and the content of each subject is then largely determined by the teachers in the study programme. The study programme committees determine whether or not this content meets the established objectives. A limitation to this curriculum freedom is the restriction placed on the establishment of new study programmes. All proposals for new study programmes have to be evaluated by the NVAO. The validation of new study programmes entails that an assessment takes place of the potential of the programme to meet the minimal requirements defined in the accreditation framework, that is, its potential quality and its micro-efficiency. A Council for disputes about decisions on study progress (Raad voor betwistingen inzake studievoortgangsbeslissingen), that is an administrative legal board on the level of the Flemish Community, was set up to offer legal protection to students during exams. If a student has exhausted the internal appeal procedure against study progress decisions in the higher education institution, he can appeal to the Council. In this way the student knows at a suitable time whether, and under what conditions he can start the next year Admissions requirements and limits on the number of places In The Flemish Community, open access to all forms of higher education is a long standing tradition. Everybody who has obtained a diploma of secondary education or an equivalent qualification has access to higher education. 7

8 No central limit is placed on the number of student enrolments in higher education institutions. No entrance exams are organised, except for the study areas of medicine and dentistry at universities. These exams are organised at inter-university level twice a year by the Department for Education and Training. Everybody who passes these exams is allowed to enrol, there is no 'numerus clausus'. University colleges provide a qualification test for nautical sciences and an artistic test for audio-visual and fine arts, and music and drama. Although entrance in arts programmes is free, the government only fully finances the institutions for the first 400 enrolments. To improve access to higher education, a number of measures were taken to remove financial and material barriers. In the decrees minimum and maximum amounts are fixed for the registration and exam fees. Students can receive a study grant from the Ministry when a number of conditions are met, namely nationality conditions, financial conditions (taking into account the income and the composition of the family), and pedagogical conditions. To meet the pedagogical conditions, one has to be enrolled as a regular student in an institution that is accredited, grant-aided or funded by the Department for Education and Training. The amount of the grant varies with the income height. Students who are liable for a grant, can also enjoy other advantages (e.g. a reduction on enrolment fees, a child allowance and tax reduction for their parents, the use of welfare facilities of the higher education institutions). Section 2. Academic staff in higher education institutions 2.1. STRATEGIC POLICY ON ACADEMIC STAFF The Flemish Government develops the legal framework in which the higher education institutions can pursue their proper strategic policy on academic staff. As a general policy goal, the Flemish Government wants to guarantee the effective use of resources it provides to the higher education institutions. In order to achieve this, it has restricted the share of the operating grant (see section 5) that can be spend on wages to a maximum of 80%. In that way at least 20% can be spend on operating costs. In some ways, institutional autonomy with regard to staff policies is limited. First, because senior academic staff has tenure, job opportunities for younger academics are scarce. With an ageing academic staff, there will be many retirements in the next few years. But this is a slow process, and therefore the higher education institutions sometimes use the possibility granted by law to offer their senior academic staff an early retirement (from the age of 60 instead of 65). Second, the increasing amount of external research funding in universities leads to the appointment of growing numbers of junior staff. The number of senior staff, however, has to be paid from the operating grant and therefore cannot increase to the same extent. To give some leeway to the universities, the government has made provisions so that junior staff members who have obtained a PhD are allowed to teach. The Special Research Fund of universities (see 3.2.1) encourages behavioural change within the institutions, as universities must outline in their research plans how the Fund will be used and have to indicate how female participation in research will be encouraged and how staff mobility will be taken into account MAIN CATEGORIES OF ACADEMIC STAFF 8

9 The academic staff of universities consists of junior and senior academic staff. Staff may have permanent or temporary appointments and may be full-time or part-time employees. The career line of the academics in universities is stipulated by decree. The occupational grades are: - junior staff: assistant (assistent); doctor-assistant (doctor-assistent); - senior staff: lecturer (docent); senior lecturer (hoofddocent); professor (hoogleraar); full professor (gewoon hoogleraar). All members of senior staff are allowed to be promoter of PhD's. The categories of academic staff in university colleges too are defined by decree. Staff may have permanent or temporary appointments and may be full-time or part-time employees. The teaching staff in university colleges can be divided in three groups: - group 1 : junior practical lector (praktijklector); senior practical lector (hoofdpraktijklector); lector (lector); senior lector (hoofdlector); - group 2: assistant (assistent); doctor-assistant (doctor-assistent); senior research assistant (werkleider); - group 3: lecturer (docent); senior lecturer (hoofddocent); professor (hoogleraar); full professor (gewoon hoogleraar). In professionally-oriented bachelor programmes staff can be employed in group 1, in academic bachelor and master degrees the ranks of group 2 can be awarded to staff. Group 3 can be applied for all teaching staff of both professionally-oriented and academic programmes in university colleges RECRUITMENT AND CONTRACT In public universities, the staff are civil servants. Private universities are obliged by law to give the same legal rights to their staff. The Flemish Government lays down regulations regarding leave, order, employment grades (see section 2.2), and end of employment. The university management decides on the formation, that is, on the number of staff in each teaching grade (see section 2.4). The university management can appoint by contract guest professors in addition to the formation. It also develops the rules according to which the tasks of academic staff are assigned. An appointment or change of tasks regarding their content, their extent or their nature can only be done after consultation of the body or the bodies to which these tasks are attached (e.g. faculties, departments). When tasks are changed, the member of staff has to be heard. In universities, a doctorate (PhD) is required for all teaching and research posts in the formation, except the post of research assistant which requires a master degree only. The management of the university can and often does set additional requirements for appointments and promotions in the senior academic staff categories. Moreover, it often formulates additional requirements for the appointment of research assistants, for example, candidates must have achieved excellent marks during their undergraduate training. The university management not only defines the criteria, it also appoints and promotes the members of academic staff. It can also regulate the way in which positions are declared vacant. A first appointment as academic staff member, however, has to involve a public announcement. An appointment as senior academic staff must be motivated by the university management, that is, it has to make an objective comparison between the scientific and educational capacities of the candidates. 9

10 Members of junior academic staff are appointed for a period of two years, which can be renewed twice after a positive evaluation. If they only perform teaching duties (praktijkassistenten), they can be appointed in renewable periods of one to five years. The period for doctor-assistants is three years, with a maximum of two periods and only after a positive evaluation of their scientific capacities. In exceptional circumstances, in cases of long-lasting and grave health problems, and in case of pregnancy, the temporary appointment as junior staff member can be extended. Members of the senior academic staff can be appointed full-time or part-time, depending on a decision of the university management. The university college management appoints the members of the teaching staff. It defines the way in which positions are declared vacant and the criteria for appointment. Every appointment for more than one academic year, however, always has to involve a public tender. The vacancy must point out whether the position is full-time or part-time and whether it can lead to a tenured position. The periods of employment of assistants and doctorassistants are the same in university colleges as they are in universities. The university college management lays down the formation. It can employ guest professors in addition to the formation for a period of maximum five years. The decree on university colleges defines minimum diploma requirements for appointments in the different ranks of teaching staff. These are comparable to the requirements in universities, with the addition of the ranks of (senior) practical lector, which require a professionally-oriented bachelor degree, and (senior) lector, which require a master degree. For specific study domains like music, fine arts or religion, additional aptitude requirements are defined. Moreover, the university college management can make additional requirements regarding diploma s and professional experience. For certain ranks, an additional seniority criterion is defined by decree. Moreover, an ordinary professorship can only be granted under certain conditions. The university college has to be active in research in collaboration with a university in the scientific domain of the professorship, the candidate must have six years seniority as a lecturer or professor, and the candidate must answer the criteria guaranteeing high scientific quality in the scientific domain concerned. The university college management defines the assignment and task description of the members of its teaching staff. It also designates the department or the departments to which the staff members are attached SALARIES AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT Contractually, academics are employees in private universities or civil servants in public universities. University staff is paid by the universities. There are different pay scales and pay rates for the different ranks of academic staff. These scales are determined by the Flemish Government, and are regularly adapted to the rise of the index of the cost of living according to the regulations for all public servants. In each academic rank, salaries rise every two years until the highest salary is attained (depending on the rank, after 18 to 25 years working in a rank). The university management decides on the rank of its staff. In principle, universities can in addition reward some staff for special achievements. Additional rewards are also possible for staff in a management position (dean, rector, general manager, ) and staff involved in post-academic training. 10

11 The university management has to determine annually the number of staff members per teaching grade, the so-called formation. It has to maintain control over its staffing levels within its budgetary limits. The basic principle is that a number of points or units are allotted to each department depending on the number of students and the nature of the department (humanities, sciences, ). Each department then appoints academic staff on the basis of its point allocation, with a specific point weighting for each grade. Student-staff ratios therefore differ from university to university and department to department. Once someone has a position as senior academic staff, other criteria besides that of a diploma, determine promotion. Universities themselves are responsible for determining seniority conditions for appointment to a given rank. Academic staff almost invariably start as lecturers. To become a full professor, staff has to proceed through these grades, although it is possible (but does not happen often) to omit some stages. The criteria regard, in general, research skills and output, and teaching skills. Turning to the university colleges, the Flemish Government defines the salary scales of the teaching staff. The university college management appoints or promotes the members of the teaching staff in one of the scales. It can award additional rewards for special achievements, involvement in post-academic training, or managerial positions. A difference with the situation in universities is that the Department for Education and Training pays the salaries of the teaching staff, except for people employed with a labour contract. This is true both in public and in private university colleges DUTIES AND WORKING TIME The legislation on higher education in the Flemish Community defines the mission of higher education as follows. University colleges and universities are active in the area of higher education. Universities are active in scientific research, university colleges participate in this research and perform project-based, thematic scientific research. Both university colleges and universities perform services to society and scientific services. In line with this mission statement for higher education in the Flemish Community, the legislation prescribes the duties of the staff in Flemish higher education institutions in general terms as doing research, teaching, and service provision. Members of senior academic staff are active in these three domains. Likewise, group 1 and group 3 staff in university colleges can be active in these domains. Assistants quite literally assist them with their duties. But assistants also have the right to spend half of their working time preparing a doctoral dissertation. All categories of staff can be charged with organisational or administrative tasks. In university colleges, these provisions are subject to negotiations in the negotiation committees EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY In essence, the rules for the evaluation of the performance and functioning of academic staff can be laid down by the management of the higher education institutions. This is, however, not a free choice: by law, they are obliged to establish such rules. The decrees determine the broad framework of the evaluation procedures. At least every five years an evaluation must take place of the way in which each member of academic staff has fulfilled its duties in the preceding period. When a staff member is appointed for the first time, an evaluation after one year is obligatory. 11

12 The evaluation is carried out in university colleges by the department council of the department for which the staff member works, or else by the Governing Board of the university college. The criteria and procedure of evaluation have to be consulted in the negotiation committees. An unsatisfactory evaluation can lead to a sanction like stopping seniority advancement for one year. The staff member can appeal to an independent appeal body, established by the institution of higher education. Two successive unsatisfactory evaluations can lead to dismissal. So can three unsatisfactory evaluations during the entire career in universities, or five unsatisfactory evaluations during the entire career in university colleges. Section 3. Funding of higher education institutions 3.1. STRATEGIC POLICY ON HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING Higher education is considered to be a public good. Hence, funding the institutions of higher education adequately is considered a public responsibility. Not surprisingly then, at this moment the major part of the financial resources of the higher education institutions is provided by the government. The third party funding of some institutions nevertheless is growing. The government has encouraged this by developing a legal framework granting intellectual property rights to the university when its staff involves in contract activities with third parties (private partners or research councils). Higher education institutions must take responsibility for the funding they receive from the government, that is, have to use it adequately. The system of envelope funding (a fixed amount of lump-sum funding for the university college sector and the university sector as a whole) expresses the wish to make higher institutions accountable. The system discussed in the following subsections will however no longer apply to higher education in the Flemish Community from 2008 onwards. In section 5 we will describe the governmental plans for the new funding system. In general, the internal allocation models are similar to the funding mechanisms as defined by the government. Nevertheless, each institution can lay its own accents, based on the mission and goals it sets out for itself. Hence, funding and accountability of departments differs in each institution PUBLIC FUNDING Allocation of public funding Public funding covers about 80% of the costs of universities. Public funding includes two streams of funds. The first stream is the public operating grant of the universities. The second stream of funds consists of the public funds distributed by the national research councils on a largely competitive basis. The first stream covers the costs of academic education, scientific research, scientific services, and the administration of the institution. It also includes costs the institution has to make in the framework of the restructuring of the courses in bachelor and master 12

13 programmes, the participation in associations and tasks flowing from that (see section 4), and social provisions for staff. Since 2001 the level of the first stream has been fixed per university, in attendance of a new financing system that should come into effect from 2008 onwards. The operational grant is adapted every year on the basis of the index of labour costs and consumer prices. Before 2001, the amount of the operational grant was based for the most part on the number of students and to a small degree on acquired degrees (see section 3.2.2). Next to the first stream of funds, still other public funds are allocated to the universities. The Flemish Government funds separately the investment costs of universities (although the universities are owners of their estate) and the cost of social facilities for students (housing, restaurants, cultural activities, counselling, etc.). With regard to research, every university has a Special Research Fund, funded by the Department for Education and Training. The research councils of the universities can use their Special Research Fund to pay for fundamental research and pursue their own research policy. Both projects and staff can be paid from the fund. This research funding is mainly output based: the number of master s degrees, the number of PhD s degrees, the number of publications and citations (ISI database). Recently the government has created three new funding programmes: the Odysseus programme providing funding for universities to help them to attract excellent researchers from abroad (the appointed researchers receive substantial means to establish and develop a research team); the Methuselah programme to reward outstanding researchers at the universities with a personal grant; and the Hercules programme that covers funding of big research infrastructure and equipment. With new initiatives such as these, the Flemish Government wants to reach the objective of spending three percent of the gross national product on research and development. The decree on university colleges (1994) has put into place a funding mechanism for the university colleges that closely resembles that of the universities. A closed envelope is awarded to the university colleges, meaning that the amount received by all colleges together is fixed (although it is raised too, also on the basis of the index of labour costs and consumer prices). Before funds are distributed among the university colleges, a number of deductions are made to cover certain costs which the government will still meet directly, such as salary costs for certain members of staff. The operating grant each college receives from the Flemish Government covers staff and operational costs for education, project-based research, service to society, and the administration of the institution. It also pays for cooperation agreements and costs following from participation in associations. Next to the operational grant, university colleges receive additional means for educational development (on the condition they establish and implement an educational development plan), and additional means for the so-called 'academisation' (academisering), that is, funding for bringing academic bachelor and master programmes in university colleges on a university level. As with universities, university colleges receive investment funds and funds for social services for students. There is also a yearly envelope for subsidising project-based research in the colleges. 13

14 Funding mechanisms The global envelopes of funding for universities on the one hand and university colleges on the other, were defined on the basis of the number of students. In this section, we describe the system of distribution of the global envelopes among the universities and university colleges, bearing in mind that this system is no longer used in anticipation of an entirely new funding system. The legislation takes as its starting point so-called units of education load. The number of units of a study programme equals the number of students weighed with a factor 1, 2 or 3 (in universities) or a factor 1, 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 (in colleges). On the whole, programmes in humanities receive the lowest weighing factor, those in engineering and medicine the highest. Not all kinds of study programmes are taken into account, nor all students. Only students in basic study programmes (bachelor and master) count, and these students are only financed if they fulfil a number of criteria (a registration criterion, a nationality criterion, and a duration of studies criterion). Both the funds for investment and those for social facilities for students are determined by an allocation model partly based on a fixed amount (the amount granted in a reference year) and a variable amount relating to the number of students. Again for university colleges the situation is largely comparable. Each university college receives a lump-sum. The sum is determined on the basis of a historically fixed sum (the amount granted in a reference year) and a variable part based on units of education load Official regulations on the use of public funding The first stream of funds is provided to the institutions as a lump-sum. The lump-sum may be spent according to the own goals and interests of the institutions. The funding of investments and social facilities for students, on the contrary, are earmarked. Registration fees of students are supposed to be spent to the benefit of the students. As mentioned before, to improve the cost-effectiveness of the higher education institutions the decrees state that the share of the expenditure for personnel may not exceed 80%. All income from real-estate or moveable property, acquired by means of the governmental allowances, become property of the higher education institution. The higher education institution can transfer or lease out objects and services, under conditions defined by the Flemish Government (see also section 4) Accountability Each year the Flemish Government informs the institutions of higher education about the expected allocations for the coming year. The institutions then present their own budget proposals to the Flemish Government. The institutional budget proposals incorporate all expected income and expenses. The estimate of expenses may never surpass the estimate of income. The Flemish Government decides on the actual funding that will be granted to the institutions. The institutions must submit an annual account to the Flemish Government, as a report about the way in which the funds of the previous year were spent. Together with the annual account 14

15 an annual report has to be submitted by the institutions' governing bodies about all activities of the institution for which it received government funding. As regards investments, universities have to present an investment plan for five years. Concerning social facilities for students, an annual report and a financial report must be submitted in order for the Flemish Government to assess these facilities CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES Official regulations on the collection and use of contributions from students and their families The decree on the flexibility of the organisation of higher education defines the minimum and maximum amount of tuition fees in universities and university colleges. Students can enrol at a higher education institution for three kinds of contracts: - a degree contract: if a student wants to obtain a bachelor or master degree; - a credit contract: if a student wants to obtain credits for individual courses; - an exam contract: if a student wants to obtain a degree or credits, but without attending class. Students enrolling for a degree contract or a credit contract pay a fixed amount and a variable amount in proportion to the number of credits they enrol for. Students who enrol for at least 54 and at the most 66 credits pay a tuition fee between 445 and 505 euro. If they enrol for less credits, the fixed amount is 55 euro and each credit costs an additional 7.5 euro. If a student enrols for more than 66 credits, the variable fee becomes between 2.5 and 3 euro per credit. Different amounts are due when a student receives a study grant, enrols for a doctorate or teacher training, enrols half-time, takes a second registration, or enrols in a general practitioner programme. Higher tuition fees can be defined by the institution for advanced bachelor programmes or advanced master programmes, specialised programmes with high costs, programmes which require a specific prior training, or international programmes. For exam contracts the fixed amount is 50 euro, the variable amount 3 euro per credit. For post-graduate training and short courses the institution can define the amount of the tuition fee freely. Some categories of foreign students can be charged higher tuition fees. Conversely, an institution can decide to lower the variable part of the tuition fee for students with limited means. All amounts are regularly increased on the basis of the index of labour costs and consumer prices. There is a general obligation for the institutions to use the student fees in the student's best interests. Regarding social facilities, students are co-responsible for their management Accountability The institutions define the tuition fees, within the limits defined by the decree on the flexibility of the organisation of higher education. They have to motivate their decisions regarding the tuition fees. The decisions have to be presented to the Flemish Government OTHER PRIVATE FUNDS 15

16 Next to the first stream of funds (the operational grant) and the second stream of funds (research funds distributed through research councils), institutions of higher education can draw on a third stream of funds. The third stream of funds consists of income from contract activities. For some universities the third stream funding has increased considerably in recent years. For regulations on third stream funding, see section 4. Section 4. Higher education institutions and their partnerships 4.1. STRATEGIC POLICY ON HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS The main partners of higher education institutions in the Flemish Community are other higher education institutions and companies. The types of partnership in which institutions of higher education are involved range widely, including joint research projects, joint degree programmes, student and staff exchange, curricular cooperation, collaborative training, consultancy, and contract research. The government has created a general policy framework, with institutional responsibility as its starting point. Regarding partnerships with other higher education institutions two kinds of partnership will be elaborated below. First, the introduction of the bachelor-master structure has also led to the obligatory establishment of so-called associations between universities and university colleges (see section 4.2). Second, international partnerships are important and numerous, and are promoted by the government through various mechanisms (see section 4.3). With regard to companies, the legislation defines the way in which scientific service and service to society can be established in a partnership between higher education institutions and other legal bodies. This legislation, discussed in section 4.2, defines a general framework for all contracted service activities and the creation of spin-off companies. An important policy in the area of education is the protection of the Dutch language. The Dutch language is legally defined as both the management language and the teaching language in institutions of higher education in the Flemish Community. Bachelor and master courses have to be taught in Dutch, but exceptions are possible, for instance for foreign language courses or courses taught by guest professors who speak another language. Ten percent of a study programme at bachelor level can be taught in another language than Dutch, but students have the right to do all exams in Dutch. A further exception is made for bachelor and master programmes aimed especially at foreign students. These can be entirely taught in another language. However, in that case the higher education institution has to provide an equivalent study programme in the Dutch language, except when it concerns an International Course Programme in the framework of developmental cooperation or an Erasmus Mundus programme OFFICIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE CREATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS The legislation regarding the introduction of the bachelor and master structure called for cooperation between universities and university colleges in associations between one university and one or more university colleges. The university colleges were free to choose in which association they would participate. Five associations were established, with the universities of Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp, Hasselt and Brussels as centres. The associations are charged, among other things, with improving the research capacity of university colleges, 16

17 consulting about a rational supply of study programmes, structuring programmes and transition possibilities, organising student counselling, and educational innovation and improvement. Partnerships between higher education institutions and business are organised by decree in such a way, that the interests of the educational institutions are guarded, that their costs are remunerated, and that they get their rightful share of the profit. These kinds of partnership are defined as all activities for third parties, carried out for a fee by an office or staff of the institution of higher education, within the framework of their employment at the institution and using the knowledge, scientific results or technology present in the institution. Such partnerships have to be signed by the institution's management. The costs of the service carried out (use of infrastructure, services, or staff of the institution) must be paid by the customer. An agreement has to be reached about dissemination of results and about property of intellectual rights (e.g. patents), thereby guaranteeing a fair share for the researcher or research group. Partnerships that take the form of participation of a higher education institution in a spin-off company must be based on an agreement with the institution's management that guarantees remuneration of the higher education institution for its financial or other contribution. Similar protective measures are defined by law with regard to the participation of higher education institutions in incubation and innovation centres and in research parks. Furthermore, when looking at cooperation in the field of education between higher education institutions and business, several professorial chairs are sponsored by the business community (although this is not common practice) and doctoral research projects, especially in engineering, can be carried out in cooperation with a company. University colleges are obliged to offer their students a practical training period. More in general, the legislation allows institutions of higher education to settle agreements with other institutions of higher education, in the Flemish Community, in the rest of Belgium, or with foreign institutions. These agreements can have as subject student exchanges, joint degrees, and all kinds of activities concerning the three parts of the mission of higher education institutions in the Flemish Community: education, research, and service. 17

18 4. 3. PUBLIC INCENTIVES FOR THE PROMOTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS Public incentives for the promotion of partnerships within higher education comprise the following. Public funding was explicitly assigned to the institutions for the establishment of associations between universities and university colleges. Cooperation between universities is promoted indirectly through funding for research activities, for instance in the so-called university support centres (steunpunten) that offer scientific services to the government and the higher education institutions on topics defined by the government. Also in the second stream of funds cooperation is often required to get research grants. Regarding cooperation with business, companies receive a tax advantage if they carry out research in cooperation with universities. There are, however, no public incentives for the inclusion of representatives of higher education institutions in business advisory bodies. For universities, the interface services they establish for supporting their staff in designing contracts with third parties, managing joint projects etc., are subsidised by the government. The Flemish Government promotes international cooperation in higher education. It covers the costs of international projects. In addition to the funding made available by the European Union for study grants in the framework of the Erasmus programme, the Flemish Community also provides funding to finance the Erasmus activities in order to arrive at a more equitable participation in the programme. And finally, it incorporates into the Flemish legislation international standards like the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and the Diploma Supplement with a view on improving the international transparency and recognition of study abroad, both for incoming and for outgoing students. In the new funding model (see section 5) joint degrees will be encouraged financially ACCOUNTABILITY All partnerships that higher education institutions establish, must be subject of an annual report to the Flemish Government. Also for the associations, the government commissioners have controlling authority regarding the budgets, accounts, and annual reports of the associations, more in particular regarding their consistency with the legislation and their impact on the financial equilibrium of the association. Section 5. Reforms, trends and debates 5.1. FORTHCOMING NATIONAL REFORMS The reforms in higher education in the Flemish Community as a result of the Bologna process have already changed the face of higher education thoroughly. A number of these important reforms have been discussed in the preceding sections: the introduction of bachelor and master degrees, the establishment of associations and the academisation of certain study programmes, the establishment of an accreditation system, the more flexible organisation of higher education, the new regulations concerning study grants for students, This reform agenda is however not yet fully completed. The funding system for higher education at the moment is a transition system. A new funding system that takes account of all reforms and the Lisbon goals has to be put in place, in order to consolidate all the changes and to modernise the financial mechanisms governing higher education in the Flemish Community. 18

19 The Flemish Minister for Education and Training has already conferred with the relevant bodies and actors and has proposed a new funding system for higher education. The new system should be in place from January 1 st, 2008 onwards. The basic principles of the new model have already been identified. In the new funding model the government recognises the basic funding of the higher education institutions as a public duty, but limits this duty to the initial level of qualification, that is, the master level. The new funding model will stimulate the institutions to support student achievement and progression and to improve academic success (in terms of gaining credits and qualifications). It will aim in particular on the academic success of students from under-represented socio-economic and ethnic groups and students in joint study programmes. To achieve these goals, the public funding for higher education will be increased with 9% of the current funds for higher education. The distribution of these funds among the higher education institutions will be done on the basis of an education part and, for the universities, a research part. Funding will consist of three components: - a fixed amount depending on the size and the profile of the institutions; - a variable amount for teaching, depending on the number of students enrolled (input financing) and on the number of credits and degrees awarded (output financing); - a variable amount for research (only for universities) depending on the number of master s degrees awarded in the association, the number of PhD degrees awarded and the number of publications and citations. In order to get a smooth transition into the new system, each institution is guaranteed to receive at least the same amount of funding as in the current funding system. Minimum norms are set, so that small institutions will have to cooperate or integrate with other institutions. From 2010 onwards, the funding envelope for the entire higher education sector will become open-ended TRENDS IN THE GOVERNANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION The main trend is stability. A number of principles regarding the governance of higher education are in place and are not subject to fundamental discussion. Collegiate governance, participative governance, openness towards external stakeholders, and elected managers are among the most important of these principles. The new funding model proposed by the Minister for Education and Training follows a general trend that has been present in Flemish higher education policy since the Flemish Community became an autonomous Community in The government sets out a general framework and defines a number of control mechanisms on the meta-level. The higher education institutions are granted more and more autonomy. This could be described as an evolution towards a market state model. Autonomy for and responsibility of the higher education institutions were the key words in the reforms of 1991 and From then on, the decrees only imposed formal requirements (length of the study programmes, division in degree structures, and so on); the content of education (the study programmes and courses) could be decided by the institutions themselves. All institutions then operated under a block grant (lump sum) financing system, although the precise conditions differed between universities and university colleges. Especially for the merged university colleges and the former state institutions, this meant in practice a considerable increase in their own responsibility for institutional policy. 19

20 With the Bologna reforms two other key elements became more prominent: quality and democratisation. Higher education institutions remain autonomous institutions, responsible for their own policies and quality control. Recently, however, the quality assurance system was strengthened by including an accreditation mechanism in the system. The government pursues a politics of non-intervention, combined with a strong emphasis on quality as the ultimate goal. Granting autonomy to higher education institutions and making them responsible for their own decisions increases the extent of the institutions own reflection on the programmes they offer and, for instance, allows them to keep track of international tendencies. The participation rate in higher education, on the contrary, was a less successful policy issue. Participation, although already high, stagnated, and pass rates remain low. After the initial allocation of fields of study to universities and university colleges, no other major rationalisations were achieved. A framework for lifelong learning is almost absent. The new funding model takes these issues head on NATIONAL DEBATES A number of issues regarding higher education in the Flemish Community is subject to debate. The Minister for Education and Training wants the higher education institutions to rationalise the number of study programmes and to form centres of excellence in research. The institutions will have to submit rationalisation plans. Universities have requested a prolongation of the study duration of programmes which last four years (bachelor and master together), but this was only granted (partly) in the study areas of sciences and biomedical sciences, and for instance not in humanities. The academisation of certain bachelor and master programmes in university colleges, in cooperation with the universities, will remain an important challenge, especially because the process has to be completed in Furthermore, equal opportunities in higher education, or a second wave of democratisation as the Minister calls it, is a goal that will involve considerable effort to achieve. On top of this, agreements in the context of the Bologna process will confront higher education institutions with new challenges. It remains to be seen what the impact will be of the development of the European Qualification Framework and of evolutions with regard to the third cycle. Section 6. Current common practices Current practices in higher education in the Flemish Community are in line with the official regulations and policies described in the preceding sections of this report. Because the government creates general frameworks within which the institutions have autonomy, structures and practices differ considerably between institutions. Section 7. Legislation and other official documents Legislative acts and other official documents For an elaborate overview of legislative acts and other official documents regarding higher education in the Flemish Community, we refer to the website of the Department for Education and Training of the Flemish Community ( Listed below are the main acts 20