Requirements for Appointment

The requirements for Appointment as a Higher Education Institution Leader are set in the Higher Education Act. 

In pubic higher schools the Rector can be a professor/associated professor and a full-time faculty member.

Private higher schools are allowed to have different structure, management model and mode of designating their governing bodies providing they do not thus wise violate academic freedoms.

Conditions of Service

The governing bodies of Higher Schools are the General Assembly, the Academic Board and the Rector which are elected for a four-year term.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly has some of the following duties:

• electing by secret ballot a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson of the General Assembly
• adopting or amending the higher school's Rules of Operations
• determining the number of Controlling Board members
• electing by secret ballot the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson, and the members of the Controlling Board for the term of its powers
• electing the Rector by secret ballot
• determining the number of the Academic Board members and electing such members by secret ballot
• discussing and adopting the Rector's annual report on the state of the higher school

The GA is represented by its Chairperson who also concludes a contract with the elected Rector under the Labour Code.

Academic Board

The Academic Board is the authority vested with the governance of a higher school's educational and research activities. The ways The Academic Board does this is through:

• determining the higher school's educational policy
• adopting the programme for the term of its powers and supervising its implementation
• determining the higher school's research policies and taking decisions on major issues as to the organisation and contents of research activities
• determining the General Assembly's composition and the manner and organisation of electing its members
• determining the human resources policy of the higher school, approving the job descriptions of the faculty and adopting rules for the assessment of faculty members
• electing Vice Rectors on a suggestion of the Rector
• adopting the rules for particular educational, scientific, creative or research and production activities carried out by the higher school
• validating a system of assessing and maintaining the quality of instruction and the faculty's performance at the higher school and exercising control over its application and improvement
• electing members of the Board of Trustees.

The Academic Board is made up of 25 to 45 members and comprises representatives of all full-time faculty members in the higher school's students, doctoral candidates, and employees (i.e. administrative staff).

At least 70 percent of all Academic Board members ust be habilitated faculty members with academic rank (professors or associated professors), and 15 percent of all Academic Board members must be representatives of students and doctoral candidates.

The Rector alone should be a member of the Academic Board by right. Elected to the offices of Rector, Dean and Director of an affiliate or college shall be habilitated persons who, upon their election, will occupy the position under a full-time contract of employment with the higher school. Any persons elected to the managerial positions of Rector, Dean, Director of department, affiliate and college, as well as their deputies may not be re-elected to one and the same position for more than two consecutive terms.

Rector

Rectors have a number of important duties, among which are to:

• represent the higher school; be by right a member of the Academic Board and its Chairperson;
• conclude and terminate employment contracts;
• render final decisions on any matters regarding the admission, dismissal or transfer of students, doctoral candidates and trainees engaged in specialised studies;
• draw up and submit to the Academic Board for consideration and approval the higher school's annual report with the financial and physical indicators, as well as the results of the operation of the internal quality assessment and assurance system;
• put forth the candidacies of habilitated faculty members to the Academic Board to elect one or more Vice Rectors;
• appoint and dismiss an Assistant Rector who may be from outside the faculty of the higher school;

The rector may convene, if needed, the governing bodies of the higher school's primary units and affiliates.

Vice Rector

Vice rectors are another position that is part of the management staff. The Vice Rector assists the Rector in the performance of his duties and also has the power to represent the latter in any case when explicitly authorised by him. The Vice Rector organises and is responsible for all activities in a specific area of the higher school's operations and participates in the meetings of the Academic Board in a non-voting capacity, unless elected by the General Assembly as a member of the Academic Board.

Other functions

The governing bodies of the faculty are the general assembly, the faculty assembly and the dean.

The management bodies of the departments are defined by the regulations governing the activities of the higher education institution, and those of the branches and institutes are determined by the academic board of the higher school.

The management bodies of the college in the structure of higher education institutions are the general assembly, the college council and its director, and those of the department - the departmental assembly and the head of the department.

The authority vested with internal controlling functions as to a higher school's overall operations is the Controlling Board.