Estermann, T., Nokkala, T., & Steinel, M. University autonomy in Europe II. The scorecard. EUA, Brussels, 2011. ISBN: 978-9-0789-9730-6. Pages: 83.

Following its 2009 exploratory study “University Autonomy in Europe I”, EUA has recently presented a follow-up report which represents another milestone in EUA’s developing agenda on this topic. Funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture under the Lifelong Learning Programme, this new study provides a more detailed picture of the current status of institutional autonomy in 28 European higher education systems. The Autonomy Scorecard offers a tool to benchmark national higher education frameworks in relation to autonomy, and it establishes connections between autonomy and other key concepts, such as performance, funding, quality, access and retention.

Based on four dimensions of academic autonomy, this report provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art of university autonomy in select European countries in 2010 and identifies areas of future reform and related action. The study also comes up with interesting findings in terms of regional variations across Europe; i.e. the established patterns of organisational, financial, academic and staffing autonomy in Europe look quite different in Northern European countries versus the Mediterranean region. EUA intends to continue monitoring the progress of reforms in university governance and make available further information and data, in addition to the latest report, through a dedicated online platform.

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