FRANCE: First wave of autonomous universities

The first universities in France to be granted autonomy under a controversial reform law passed almost a year ago will be able to spend their state-allocated budgets as they choose and recruit their own staff from the start of 2009. Of France's 85 universities, 20 have been granted autonomous status by the government. Between them, the newly autonomous universities cater for 312,000 students, about 20% of the total enrolled in French universities.

From January, the first 20 will be allocated a global budget for a period of four years and, for the first time, will be able to decide which academics and researchers to recruit and how much to pay them, while also being allowed to own their buildings - functions that at present are all state responsibilities.

They will also be able to create foundations in partnership with companies to generate extra funding. Over the next five years, the remaining universities are scheduled to be also made autonomous.

Under the new law, all university governing boards have had to be renewed with a maximum of 30 members - half the size of many bodies they are replacing. The boards comprise representatives of teaching and non-teaching staff, students and external interests, including companies. On average, about two in every three board members are new appointees, with an increased proportion of outsiders.

Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, announced the first 20 names to mark a year since adoption of the LRU, the controversial Universities' Freedom and Responsibilities law passed in August 2007.

"In a year, the university landscape has been radically changed," said Pécresse. "This is a reform that will be set up progressively and durably." She said each of the 20 universities would receive EUR250,000 (US$390,000) to help them achieve a smooth transition to autonomy and cover expenses such as consultants' fees and training for staff to adapt to the new regime.

The 20 pilot institutions are the universities of Aix-Marseille 2, Cergy-Pontoise, Clermont-Ferrand 1, Corte, Limoges, Lyon 1, Marne-la-Vallée, Montpellier 1, Mulhouse, Nancy 1, Paris 5, Paris 6, Paris 7, La Rochelle, Saint-Étienne, Strasbourg 1, Strasbourg 2, Strasbourg 3, Toulouse 1 and the Technological University of Troyes.

But while the LRU has the backing of university presidents, some unions representing academics and students continue to oppose it. Jean Fabbri, Secretary-General of Snesup, the biggest union representing academics, said: "With the publication of the list of universities acquiring wider powers, the Minister intends to accelerate these changes contested by teachers, staff and students.

"Shamelessly, while the budget ministry plans about 1,000 job cuts in higher education and research*, the announcement of EUR250,000 for universities taking control of their global budgets on 1 January 2009 is truly absurd!"

Fabbri said his union was "sounding the alarm on the ransacking of public service, the guarantor of equal access to education, degrees and qualifications". With other unions, staff and students would "take action from the new academic year to make the government retreat on its planned breaking-up".

Unef, the majority students' union, also opposes the LRU which it claims will lead to privatisation of the universities, higher fees, selection, domination by business and competition between establishments leading to increased inequalities*.

Union spokeswoman Juliette Griffond told the Parisien newspaper: "The universities will only fund the courses they think are profitable. For example, a university whose law centre is very strong could leave the less highly rated humanities behind."

The autonomy reform coincides and in some cases overlaps with the separate Operation Campus, the government's plan to concentrate greater resources on 10 university groupings in an effort to make French higher education and research internationally competitive*.

Operation Campus federations include the three Strasbourg universities, which will combine into one mega-establishment in January, the three universities of Aix-Marseille due for merger in 2010, as well as Lyon, Montpellier and Toulouse universities. Operation Campus will also include one or more of the three Paris universities heading for imminent autonomy. Clermont-Ferrand has been designated a "campus of promise", and Cergy an "innovative campus".

*See: "Government fast-tracks autonomy law", University World News, 14 October 2007; "Students protest against new law", University World News, 18 November 2007; "More super-campuses announced", University World News 20 July 2008; "Big budget increases - and big job cuts", University World News, 27 July 2008.

jane.marshall@uw-news.com