evelopment strategy, quality assurance mechanisms, and financial and human
resources management;
Diversification/classification of HEIs into three groups:
a) advanced research universities;
b) teaching and research universities;
c) teaching universities.
An exercise for the ranking of study programmes every four years, linked with
financial incentives;
Rationalisation and concentration of resources, through the development of
university consortia, or institutional mergers on a voluntary basis;
Developing entrepreneurial universities, and changing their governance and
management accordingly;
Reform of human resources policy to encourage high performers and increased
responsibility
The main changes facilitated by the new provisions included:
Classification of universities:
This set out criteria and procedures for differentiation of universities and study
programmes;
According to an evaluation of their quality and institutional capacity, Romanian
universities are classified in three types:
- teaching oriented universities
- teaching and scientific research universities (including the sub-category of teaching
and artistic/creative universities)
- universities with advanced research and educational programmes
Classification is based on outputs. Each university is invited to identify its own
mission and provide data to substantiate this. Evaluation follows this.
Ranking of study programmes:
for each academic discipline, a ranking method provides information to stakeholders
on the level of academic quality in teaching, research, and society engagement.
Public funding:
Funding is designed to take account of the classification exercise and ranking processes.
Resource allocation and promotion of excellence will recognise all types of HEI in the
HEsystem. Financing will reflect mission and quality.Financing streams are structured as
follows:
a core financing stream for public universities based on quality criteria, and directed
by the National Council of Higher Education Financing (CNFIS) on behalf of the
Ministry;
an additional funding stream for institutional development addressed to the ‘best’
universities and study programmes in each category.
6. Follow-up to the Romanian classification exercise
Engaging the EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP)
The 2011 Law required that the classification exercise was followed up by the institutional
evaluation of all universities, to be carried out by an international agency. The European