UB presents a reform plan to strengthen teaching and research and get more resources
The University of Barcelona, the public Catalan university with the largest number of students and Spanish leader in scientific production, has set up a reform plan of its academic and administrative structures in order to modernize and improve functioning, multiply resources, simplify organization to promote research activities and strengthen Universityʼs missions: teaching, research and knowledge transfer. Once the contributions of the university community have been collected and the plan has been passed at the beginning of the academic year 2014-2015, the process to adapt and implement the reform will trigger two years. The reform —which considers the restructuration processes carried out by the best European higher education centres— will produce a scientific-academic impact valued at €10 million.
The University of Barcelona, the public Catalan university with the largest number of students and Spanish leader in scientific production, has set up a reform plan of its academic and administrative structures in order to modernize and improve functioning, multiply resources, simplify organization to promote research activities and strengthen Universityʼs missions: teaching, research and knowledge transfer. Once the contributions of the university community have been collected and the plan has been passed at the beginning of the academic year 2014-2015, the process to adapt and implement the reform will trigger two years. The reform —which considers the restructuration processes carried out by the best European higher education centres— will produce a scientific-academic impact valued at €10 million.
Todayʼs morning, the rector of the University of Barcelona, Dídac Ramírez, accompanied by those members of the Governing Bodies who are most involved in the process, gave a press conference to describe the details of the reform plan. It includes a 100-page report that collects the objectives, an analysis of Universityʼs present situation, the evaluations that pointed out the need of a reform, the impact it may have on the University and its community and, finally, a proposal of internal restructuration.
For the last years, the university system has undergone some changes in Spain and many other European countries. The adaptation to the European Higher Education Area and the novelties included on new education and science acts have changed higher education. This context, together with the conclusions got from internal and external evaluations that suggested a reform process, are the two main reasons to adapt administrative structures to the intense daily activity of the University of Barcelona.
Proposal: 10 faculties, between 50 and 60 departments and adapted administrative structures
The reform plan suggests to reduce the number of centres from 19 to 10 and the number of departments from 106 to 50-60 as well as to improve Universityʼs functioning and managing by adapting administrative structures. Nowadays, the University of Barcelona has more than 60,000 students. The institution offers more than 60 bachelorʼs degrees, around 140 masterʼs degrees, 70 doctoral programmes and 400 postgraduate programmes. Teaching and research staff is composed by 5,400 members and the administrative and service staff by 2,500 people.
The plan to reduce the number of schools and departments is based on four main criteria: critical mass, internationalization, affinity, and identity and territoriality. The proposal to reform administrative structures considers criteria to improve management and adaptation among centres and transversal areas.
Impact on the University of Barcelona
UB considers that the reform will have a positive impact on scientific and academic aspects. It will provide academic structures with more resources and services and improve their potentialities. Moreover, degrees will become more transversal because teaching cooperation and interdisciplinarity will be promoted and staffʼs abilities will be better profited. In this sense, the reform, which does not involve any dismissal or staff cut, will also have a positive impact on graduatesʼ employment, teaching staff professional opportunities and the specialization of the administrative and service staff. In short, UB estimates that the net economic impact of the reform will be around €5 million annually, and its gross impact will be around €10 million.
Participation of the university community
Yesterday, the reform plan and the attached report were presented to all faculty deans and school directors of the University on an extraordinary committee. Today, the proposal is announced to all UB members who are able to make any comment or suggestion they consider relevant on the website: www.ub.edu/reforma.