Criteria for Appointment of Members to University Councils in Polish Public HEIs: Management Professionalization in the Polish Academia

Abstract

Background. For many years, the Polish style of managing universities was based on the Humboldtian model of higher education and the assumption of academic self-government that decides in a collegial manner. Simultaneously, “Ustawa 2.0” (The Law on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018) significantly changed the way of managing universities. The state authorities noticed that the hermetic academic environment must become open toward the socioeconomic sphere, cooperate with it, and enable universities to professionalize their management. Research aims. This article seeks to learn the criteria of appointing members to university councils in Poland from the perspective of Ustawa 2.0 and those people who were directly or indirectly engaged in choosing the councils’ members. In the light of this goal, I had to capture the solutions introduced by Ustawa 2.0 from the perspective of changes that occurred in the university management in Poland. Methodology. I used a mixed methodology to conduct this study. To that end, I analyzed the contents of Ustawa 2.0 and particularly focused on articles about appointing members to the councils. Additionally, I analyzed twenty statutes of Polish universities singled out by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the first edition of the competition “Excellence Initiative – Research University.” Moreover, I interviewed seven people in university management positions who were engaged in appointing members to university councils (among others, a rector and a vice-rector). Findings. Although university councils operate in many countries, they are a novelty in the structures of the higher education institution (HEI) management system in Poland. The role and competencies of the councils are broad, and they practically influence how Polish universities operate. The conducted research showed that the appointment of members to the university councils follows the universal rules specified in the Ustawa 2.0 and, partially, in the statutes of universities. The law indicates that university council members should be persons respected in the academic environment, who know the mission and values of a given university.