University Autonomy in Europe: autonomy scorecard event in Portugal

The Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP), together with EUA, recently organised a one-day event for Portuguese higher education stakeholders entitled "University Autonomy in Europe: the autonomy scorecard and the case of Portugal". The meeting, attended by over 100 participants and with strong media presence, followed up on the publication of last year’s EUA Autonomy Scorecard report which compares university autonomy across 26 European countries. The event combined presentations on current international trends and the Portuguese perspective.
In addition to an in-depth analysis of the state of institutional autonomy in Europe, the report includes scorecards which rank and rate higher education systems in four autonomy areas: organisational, financial, staffing and academic autonomy. Last week's event at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon was an opportunity for different stakeholders in Portugal (including universities and policy makers) to discuss the report’s findings with European experts in the context of the Portuguese higher education system.
Introductions by EUA President, Professor Helena Nazaré and the President of the CRUP, Professor António Rendas, were followed by a detailed presentation of the Scorecard project by report author Thomas Estermann. Individual sessions then looked in more detail at each of the four elements of university autonomy outlined in the report and in which European experts (including former EUA President Professor Jean-Marc Rapp, and Sir Howard Newby, Vice-Chancellor, University of Liverpool and Chair of the Autonomy Scorecard Steering Committee) presented alongside Portuguese experts. The event showed how the Scorecard findings can be useful in informing national debates and reforms on university autonomy. EUA intends to continue to monitor progress in this area with its members.
Find out more about the event here. To find out more about the Scorecard project visit the online autonomy tool developed by EUA.