Order of the Ministry of Education no. 6227/2023 provides a Framework Methodology on the process of setting up and appointing the structures and management functions at the level of the institutions of the national higher education system, which regulates the process of setting up and appointing the university management structures and functions at university level and at faculties and departments levels.

Establishment of management structures

The governing bodies in state or private higher education institutions are:

• the university senate and the board of directors, at the level of the higher education institution
• the faculty council
• the department council
• the council for doctoral studies
• the doctoral school council.

The Department's Council consists of teaching and research staff as members. All teaching and research staff have the right to choose the members of the Department's Council. The election of the members of the Department’s Council is done by universal, direct and secret vote.

The Faculty’s Council is made up of a maximum of 75% of the teaching and research faculty members and of at least 25% of the faculty students. Representatives of teaching and research staff have the right to elect members of the Faculty’s Council. Student representatives are elected by universal, direct, and secret ballot by the students of the faculty.

The University Senate consists of 75% teaching and research staff, representatives of each faculty and 25% of the students' representatives. Members of the university senate who are teaching staff and researchers, are elected, without exception, in electoral constituencies established by the senate, by direct and secret universal vote of all teaching staff and researchers in those constituencies. Members of the university senate who are students are elected, without exception, in electoral constituencies established by the university charter, by universal, direct, and secret vote of the students in those constituencies. Each faculty is represented in the university senate by representation quotas stipulated in the university charter. 

In military, intelligence, public order, and national security higher education institutions, instructors have one representative in the university senate from the quota established for teaching and research staff.

Each higher education institution shall establish, through its own regulations, the method of electing the members of the senate.

In higher education institutions whose employees are organized in a union, and which is representative, a representative of the union shall participate as an observer in the meetings of the university senate.

In the case of multicultural higher education institutions, fair representation of study programs/teaching sections in the languages of national minorities shall be ensured within each faculty. 

The composition and size of the university senate are established by the university charter in order to ensure effective decision-making and representation of the academic community. 

The board of directors of state higher education institutions is made up of the rector and vice-rectors of the higher education institution, the deans of the faculties, the general administrative director, the deputy general administrative director, and a student representative. In higher education institutions where employees are organized in a union, a representative of the union participates as an observer in the meetings of the board of directors.

The board of directors of private higher education institutions is appointed by the founders.

The Council of the Doctoral School is established by the universal, direct and secret vote of the doctoral supervisors of the respective doctoral school. PhD Supervisors in the Doctoral School have the right to be elected as members of The Council of the Doctoral School. 

Doctoral students represent 25% of the members of the Council of the Doctoral Studies and are elected by universal, direct, secret, and equal vote of the doctoral students within the institution organizing doctoral studies (IOSUD).

Conditions of occupation of management positions

The Department Director and the members of the department council are elected by universal, direct and secret vote of all teaching and research staff members in that department. They, all titular teaching and research staff of that department, have the right to be elected, as Department Director.

The Deans are selected through a public contest, organized at the faculty level, by the newly elected Rector of the university. Persons from university or from any similar faculty in the country or from abroad who, on the basis of the hearing in the plenum of the Faculty Council, received his / her notice of participation in the competition, have the right to take part in the public contest for the post of Dean. The Faculty’s Council has the obligation to approve at least 2 candidates.

The Vice - Dean is a leading position at the faculty level, being appointed for this purpose by the Dean.

In multilingual and multicultural universities, at least one of the Vice - Deans is appointed at the proposal of teachers belonging to the national minority from the department or teaching line in a language of the national minorities, in accordance with the study line regulations, pursuant to Article 24(2) of Law No. 199/2023, as amended, unless the Dean comes from the teaching department or line of study with the language of the respective national minority. Teachers belonging to the department or teaching line must propose at least 3 candidates.

The Rector of state and private universities may be appointed in one of the following ways:

• based on a public contest, based on a methodology approved by the newly elected university senate in accordance with law
• by the universal, direct and secret vote of all teaching and research staff in the university and of the representatives of the students from the university senate and faculties councils. 

The method of appointing the rector is determined by a university referendum at least 3 months before each appointment of the rector, by universal, direct, and secret vote of all tenured teaching staff and tenured researchers within the higher education institution and student representatives in the university senate, who account for at least 25% of the total members of the university senate, as well as student representatives from faculty councils, who account for at least 25% of the total members of each faculty council.

The appointment by a public contest of the Rector of state and private universities can be done on the basis of an approved methodology in this respect by the newly elected senate. In order to organize and conduct the public rector's competition, the newly elected university senate has the following attributions:

• elaborates and approves the methodology for advising, selecting and recruiting the rector
• establishes a selection committee consisting of at least 12 members, of which at least one representative of the students or a graduate of the higher education institution appointed by the students in the university senate, in accordance with the university charter, and one representative of the representative trade union, acting as an observer.

The selection committee is made up of 50% university members and 50% of scientific and academic personalities outside the university, from country and abroad. Scientific or academic personalities from the country and from abroad who, on the basis of hearing in the plenum of the newly elected University Senate, obtained the notice of participation in the competition have the right to take part in the contest for taking the position of rector.  The notification shall be given only on the basis of the simple majority vote of the members of the newly elected university senate. The newly elected university senate has the obligation to endorse at least 2 candidates.