New legislation to provide Finnish universities with financial autonomy
New legislation has come into force in Finland, allowing universities to own property, accept private donations and choose how to spend them. The aim is to provide higher education institutions with greater financial autonomy. All universities in Finland are state run and state funded. While having full autonomy to design their own syllabi and curricula, in internal administration, and in admitting students, Finnish universities do not have quite so much independence when it comes to administering their own funds. Nor are they allowed to own property, with the exception of two institutes. In recent years though, the proportion of funding received by universities from external sources has increased, mainly for research activities. This prompted the Finnish Government to re-think universities' autonomy in administering finances. Now, in addition to the money coming form the state budget, universities will be allowed to invest in property and administer the funds coming from private sources.
Countries
Finland