Poland

Organisational autonomy: medium high

Universities appoint their executive heads independently; however, selection criteria, term of office and dismissal procedure are all stated in law. The university senate may not include external members. Universities may determine their internal academic structures. The activities of any legal entities established by universities must be linked to the mission of the university.

Financial autonomy: medium low

Although universities are free to allocate internally the funds received through the annual block grant, they do not control research funding distribution as it is directly allocated to faculties. The use of any surplus generated is subject to constraints imposed by an external authority. Borrowing is possible with some restrictions. Property transactions require external authorisation depending on the origins of the buildings involved. Universities may not charge tuition fees to full-time national/EU students. Fees for non-EU students are set through co-operation between universities and an external authority.

Academic autonomy: medium high

Universities decide on student numbers and set admission criteria at all levels. Universities may introduce new Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes freely, with exceptions. There are some restrictions on the ability of universities to introduce new doctoral degree programmes. Polish universities cannot choose either quality assurance mechanisms (mandatory programme or faculty-level accreditation) or providers.

Staffing autonomy: high

There are some restrictions regarding the ability of universities to recruit senior academic staff but universities recruit senior administrative freely. Minimum salary levels are set by an external authority. Dismissals for senior academic staff are subject to regulations specific to the sector, while this is not the case for senior administrative staff. Senior academic staff have a special status in law with rights that provide a high level of protection against dismissal.