Change Management at Change Management at Ghent UniversityGhent University

Bert Hoogewijs

Situating the citySituating the city

Between the coast and BrusselsPart of FlandersDutch-speakingGhent University (UGent)

– 25,000 students– distributed campus

Historic City of Gent

Situating the UniversitySituating the University

Founded in 1817Autonomous public university since 199111 faculties and 134 departments5,500 staffPart of Ghent University Association

Founded Students

K.U.Leuven (Louvain) 1425 27,000

VUB (Brussels) 1834 (1969)

9,000

UA (Antwerp)(RUCA-UFSIA-UIA)

1995

(2003)

9,000

LUC (Limburg)(+ TUL with Maastricht)

1971 2,500

KUB (Brussels) 1969 700

Other Universities in FlandersOther Universities in Flanders

Mission statementMission statement

EducationResearch Services to society

Also: socially committed, pluralistic, broad

international profile, decentralised and dynamic, participation

Organisational Structure IOrganisational Structure I

Rector and Vice-RectorBoard of DirectorsExecutive CommitteeManagement Committee

Organisational Structure IIOrganisational Structure II

Central administration (8 Departments)

11 Faculties (+ Faculty boards) Faculty departments Degree planning committees Advisory councils and committees

Change Management: Change Management: OverviewOverview

Financial reform: 1991-1996Reorganisation of Faculty departmentsResource allocation modelsPersonnel management reorganisationReform of central administrationBologna process

Financial ReformFinancial Reform

Autonomy led to financial accountabilityReduction of personnel costsReduction of Faculty departmentsIntroduction of resource allocation modelsConstraints on spending

Resource Allocation ModelsResource Allocation Models

Autonomy and lump sum fundingDistributive codes for distribution of

resourcesMore autonomy for faculties

Distributive codesDistributive codes

Academic staff:

85% teaching activities

30% programmes offered

45% teaching load

10% graduate dissertations

15% researchNew analysis of real needs in progressDecentralisation

Reorganisation of Reorganisation of DepartmentsDepartments

From 400 to 134Smallest administrative unitCollectively responsible for organisation of

teaching (content = degree planning committees)

Led by elected chairmanResearch units

Personnel management Personnel management reorganisation Ireorganisation I

Support staff– new procedure for hiring– job assessment and evaluation– job function classification:

functional groups with specific salary scales

Personnel management Personnel management reorganisation IIreorganisation II

Academic staff– new career model for senior academic staff– two major classes and a dual approach– seniority and biannual evaluations (incl. student

evaluations)– competition applies to the highest categories

Reorganising the Central Reorganising the Central Administration IAdministration I

First analysis of information flows led to recommendations

Second analysis led to STaR projectS= service-oriented

T= transparant

and

R= responsibility-oriented

Reorganising the Central Reorganising the Central Administration IIAdministration II

STaR led to new structure from 1 Oct 2001Eight central departments:

Educational AffairsResearchAdministrative AffairsPersonnel and OrganisationFinanceInformation and Communication

TechnologyInfrastructure and Facility ManagementStudent Facilities

Enterprise Resource Planning Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)(ERP)

Automation of administrative procedures

First application is Finance (with SAP)

Bologna – Prague – BerlinEuropean Higher Education AreaConvergence towards 2-cycle structure of

Bachelor’s and Master’s degreesImplementation by 2010

Educational change: BolognaEducational change: Bologna

Bologna in FlandersBologna in Flanders

Structural Decree (April 2003)

Other decrees to come (by 2004-2005) Professionally oriented and Academic Bachelor’s

degrees Master’s degrees of at least 60 credits (1 year) Master’s degrees as additional qualification Ba-Ma system implemented from 2004-2005

AssociationsAssociations

Collaboration between 1 university and several other institutes of higher education

Ghent University Association comprises 4 institutions

University supervises research of the members of the association

Bridging programmes

AccreditationAccreditation

Quality assuranceIn Flanders in collaboration with the

Netherlands

Flexible learningFlexible learning

Decree is being preparedIndividual learning pathsFrom credit transfer to credit accumulation

Ghent University AssociationGhent University Association

Legal status since the spring of 2003Representatives of all institutes in governing bodiesCo-operation by means of wide-ranging working groupsDiscipline-oriented working groups discuss contentThe transition towards the Ba-Ma structure is on

course

Strategic Policy LinesStrategic Policy Lines

Continued and strict budget controlMarket-orientationInternationalisationPersonnel managementInnovation

ConclusionConclusion

Drastic transition from state university to autonomous public university

Confidence in the future

Change Management at Change Management at Ghent UniversityGhent University

Bert Hoogewijs

Universiteit GentSint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25B-9000 Gent – Belgium

Bert.Hoogewijs@UGent.be