Austria

Universities in Austria have flexible public funding modalities: it is one of the few systems in which funding cycles last for more than a year. Universities receive their funding in the form of block grants and for a period of three years. They may own and sell real estate, though in practice most university-occupied buildings are owned by an intermediary public real estate company. Institutions are unable to determine the level of tuition fees, which is set by the government. However, regular students who complete their studies within the standard duration do not pay fees.

There are different contractual frameworks for university employees: staff hired after 2004 are directly employed by the universities and their employment is subject to private labour law. Those hired before 2004 are civil servants or public employees for whom stricter public-sector regulations apply.

The most significant restrictions on academic autonomy relate to overall student numbers and admission mechanisms. The system of free admissions and universities’ inability to select students are seen as major challenges in view of limited resources. By contrast, Austrian universities may freely select quality assurance mechanisms and providers, which is far from common in Europe. While opening degree programmes is straightforward, they have to be negotiated with the ministry in the context of performance agreements.

Institutional autonomy in Austria’s has increased considerably since the 1990s, especially as regards financial and staffing issues. Due to current pressures on public budgets, efforts by the government to reassert control over university affairs have sometimes been noted.