The Universitaria Consortium Proposes Revising the Higher Education Funding System and Promoting Academic Excellence

From November 14–17, 2024, „Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați hosted a new reunion of the Universitaria Consortium, during which the latest trends in higher education were analyzed, and key aspects of the current state of Romanian and global higher education were discussed. 

The event gathered representatives from all nine universities that are members of the Universitaria Consortium:  University of Bucharest, „Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, West University of Timișoara, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, University of Craiova, „Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, „Ovidius” University of Constanța. Representatives of the State University of Moldova (Chișinău), which holds associate membership within the Consortium, also attended the event.

The opening session was held on Friday, November 15, 2024, in the Virgil Madgearu Aula of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at „Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați. It was attended by university rectors, senate presidents, vice-rectors, directors of doctoral study councils, general administrative directors, secretaries, student representatives, and union delegates from the member universities, alongside representatives of the Ministry of Education and local public authorities: Daniela Vasilica BURGHILĂ, PhD, General Director – Higher Education General Directorate, and Mihai PĂUNICĂ, PhD, General Director – General Economic Directorate, as well as representatives of local public administration authorities.

After the opening speech delivered by Marian BARBU, PhD, Rector of „Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați, Liviu-George MAHA, PhD, Rector of „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași and current President of the Universitaria Consortium summarized the Consortium’s activities over the last seven months. The opening continued with addresses from the rectors or heads of delegations of the participating universities and public institution representatives.  The event’s discussions were then organized into working groups focusing on themes such as funding, human resources and administration, student activities, research and doctoral studies, teaching and quality management, and union activities etc.

One of the most significant aspects analyzed was the financing methodology of higher education. Several issues were highlighted, such as the insufficient justification for some of the cost coefficients used in the allocation of basic funding, as well as the principle of using the same coefficients for distributing supplementary funding across different scientific fields. A rethinking of the philosophy underlying the latter allocation is necessary, considering the number of students and teaching staff and emphasizing academic excellence and the use of objective methods and relevant quality measurement indicators.

Another topic discussed during the meeting concerned the allocation of budget-funded university places. Certain aspects that reduce the social and economic impact of this public policy were noted. In this context, a better correlation is required between the distribution of budgeted places and the population size and number of high school graduates, correcting evident imbalances between university centres and even between regions, and considering the demand from candidates, as reflected in the number of fee-paying students. Thus, when allocating unoccupied budgeted places following the autumn admission session, the number of fee-paying students admitted in the current year should be considered.

The issue of resources allocated to funding teaching master’s programs was also raised. Its impact could be significantly greater if funding—especially scholarships, which are substantial—were conditioned on students committing to a professional teaching career in pre-university education for a specific period. In this context, a clarification of the system for evaluating the professional trajectory of university graduates was proposed, particularly since many programs offered by comprehensive universities, which are less vocational in nature, provide diverse career prospects, some even required for public sector positions.

Another topic discussed was the funding of scientific research and several problems identified in recent national research project competitions. Measures are needed, such as rethinking how research fields are grouped for project funding competitions, identifying ways to enhance the scientific relevance of funded topics—particularly in relation to Romania’s development strategy and national priorities—and revising project evaluation criteria to ensure a fair fund allocation mechanism.

Finally, the participants in the Universitaria Consortium emphasized the importance of collaboration with higher education institutions in the Republic of Moldova, in the context of its continued European integration process. The Consortium, as well as its individual members, expressed openness to intensifying cooperation with universities across the Prut River, supporting their efforts to join major international academic networks and alliances, and ensuring the best conditions for bilateral Romania-Moldova projects.

Additional proposals from the working groups’ discussions include the following:

• Adoption of secondary regulations under the new higher education law within the prescribed deadlines and immediate clarification of issues arising from the lack of regulations due to legislative changes;
• Revision of specific standards for university fields/programs through a strategic, national approach involving specialists from each field and consultation mechanisms aligned with the scope of proposed changes;
• Increasing employers’ involvement in developing and revising specific standards for university programs;
• Clarifying and operationalizing integrated and dual-education programs;
• Improving collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education regarding specific issues and situations;
• Implementing concrete measures to create a vision for an integrated financial ecosystem for scientific research, supporting researchers, research organizations, technology entrepreneurs, and the business sector;
• Aligning the number of students considered in budget allocations with categories eligible for scholarships under current legislation and increasing funds for social scholarships;
• Enhancing the legal and institutional framework to effectively support the transition to cleaner, more efficient technologies without compromising economic growth;
• Intensifying dialogue between the Ministry of Investments and European Projects and higher education institutions regarding the real needs of digitalizing university processes;
• Establishing a legal framework for using artificial intelligence in education, aligned with European Union regulations;
• Increasing transparency in analyzing public education expenditures to support the 2025 education budget proposal.

The Universitaria Consortium is Romania’s most complex academic structure of its kind in terms of academic tradition, size (including over 42% of students and more than 40% of teaching staff in the country’s higher education system), regional distribution (representing all development regions), diversity of study programs (primarily comprehensive universities), and international rankings performance.