University Institutional Autonomy in Moldova

This book introduces four evaluation studies in which the current status of university institutional autonomy in Moldova is evaluated. For the purpose of these evaluation studies, a research methodology was developed by the EUniAM project team and used by the Task Force teams to collect and analyse the data.
Unobtrusive data in the form of laws regulating directly or indirectly the higher education system in Moldova, governmental and ministerial decrees, university chapters and organizational structures, and education records were collected and analysed. A total number of 144 documents have been analysed, adding up to approximately 8000 pages.
These evaluation studies were conducted by the EUniAM Task Force teams in 2013 and reported in 2014. They commenced at the time when the Government of Moldova made changes to the financial autonomy of universities, allowing them inter alia to open own bank accounts in a bank of their choosing, and keep and transfer the balance for the next reporting year. At this same time, the Ministry of Education together with the higher education community started working on the Code of Education. Although during this period data were a
moving target, the Task Force teams made everything possible to account for those changes in the evaluation studies.
During the above mentioned period, data and information from these evaluation studies contributed to a great extent, directly and/or indirectly, to the debate on university institutional autonomy legislation in Moldova. Preliminary findings of the evaluation studies were presented at the International Conference on “A Quest to (Re)define University Autonomy” organized by the EUniAM project. At the same time, these findings had an impact on the context of the new Code of Education.