TURKISH HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

GOVERNANCE


The Council of Higher Education is a 22-member corporate public body responsible for the planning, coordination and supervision of higher education within the provisions set forth in the Higher Education Law. Seven of its members are academics elected by the Interuniversity Council, seven are appointed directly by the President of the Republic, giving priority to former rectors, and eight are appointed by the Government, mostly from among senior civil servants, each for a renewable term of four years. The president of the Council is directly appointed by the President of the Republic from among the Council members. The day-to-day functions of the Council are carried out by a nine-member executive committee, elected from among its members.

The Interuniversity Council is an academic advisory body, comprising the rectors of all universities and one member elected by the senate of each university.

The Minister of National Education represents higher education in the Parliament and can chair the meetings of the Council but has no vote. Neither decisions of the Council nor those of the universities are subject to ratification by the Ministry.

Each university consists of faculties and four-year schools, offering bachelor's level programs, the latter with a vocational emphasis, and two-year vocational schools offering
pre-bachelor's (associate's) level programs of a strictly vocational nature.

Graduate-level programs consist of master's and doctoral programs, coordinated by institutes for graduate studies. Medical specialty training programs equivalent to doctoral level programs are, however, carried out within the faculties of medicine and the training hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health and the Social Insurance Organization.

Universities, faculties, institutes and four-year schools are founded by law, while two-year vocational schools, departments, and divisions are established by the Council of Higher Education. Likewise, the opening of a degree program at any level is subject to ratification by the Council. Universities are free to determine the number of students to be admitted to graduate-level programs, as well as admission requirements, and the curricula and degree requirements of such programs, in line with the general rules and regulations adopted by the Interuniversity Council.

On the other hand, the numbers of students to be admitted to bachelor's and pre-bachelor's programs are determined annually by the Council of Higher Education, upon the
recommendations of universities. Students are admitted to such programs through a central competitive entrance examination, organized and administered by the Student Selection and Placement Center, affiliated with the Council. The Council, upon the recommendation of the Interuniversity Council, determines common course requirements of such programs. Universities are completely free to determine the rest of the curricula, all course contents, grading systems and degree requirements, while teaching methods and grading are prerogatives of the individual instructors.

Both academic and administrative staff in state universities have civil servant status and, except for research assistants and assistant professors, have tenure. The numbers of academic and administrative staff posts allocated to each state university are determined by acts of Parliament, while staff appointments at all levels are, however, made exclusively by the universities themselves, and are not subject to ratification by any outside authority. The law only sets forth the minimum requirements for academic promotions and the procedures to be followed in making appointments.

At all levels, the chairperson of a council, senate or board, such as the president of the Council of Higher Education, rector, faculty dean, institute and school director, or department chairperson, is responsible for the implementation of the policies adopted by the various boards. At the university level, however, the rector is both the chief academic and executive officer of the university, as are the deans, directors and department chairpersons in their respective units.

Each unit head referred to above, with whom the final decision-making power rests, is assisted by an academic board with a broad membership and an administrative board of a relatively narrower membership, such as the senate and the university administrative board, in the case of the university as a whole, and the faculty board and the faculty administrative board, in the case of a faculty. The former types of boards make general policy decisions, while the latter are responsible for the day-to-day implementation of such policies. Institutes and schools have similar structures, which, for the sake of clarity, are not shown in the accompanying chart.

Procedures governing the election, nomination and appointment of rectors, deans, directors and chairpersons and the requirements thereof, as well as the composition of boards, and the responsibilities and authorities of each, are stipulated by law.

Universities are completely free to accept gifts and donations and to enter into research contracts and service provision agreements with outside bodies, both Turkish and foreign. Academic staff have complete freedom in choosing research topics and methods. To obtain financial support for such activities, other than the infrastructure provided by the university free of charge, individual academic staff must submit a proposal, which must be approved by the outside body concerned, or by the research fund of the university, administered by the university itself.

Private universities have only to conform to the basic academic requirements and structures set forth in the law. Apart from this, they are completely free to manage their own affairs according to rules and regulations adopted by their boards of trustees, in which lay members in most cases make up the majority.

The Higher Education Law of 1981 has undergone a number of relatively minor changes since its enactment. The major change came in 1992, when new procedures for the nomination and appointment of rectors were implemented. According to the new procedures, six candidates from among full professors of that or any other university are elected by the assembly of faculty members, which includes all full, associate and assistant professors in that university. From among these six, the Council of Higher Education elects three nominees by secret ballot, and submits their names to the President of the Republic, who appoints one of them as the rector for a period of four years, renewable only once.

Deans are appointed by the Council from among three full professors nominated by the rector, while institute and school directors are directly appointed by the rector.

Each department within a faculty is made up of sections. Section heads are elected by faculty members in that section, who, in turn, advise the dean regarding the appointment of the department chairperson.

All boards in a university consist of elected and ex-officio members. The senate, for example, consists of all faculty deans and a faculty member elected by each faculty board, plus three vice-rectors directly appointed by the rector from among full professors, and institute and school directors. The university administrative board, on the other hand, consists of all faculty deans plus three faculty members elected by the senate. Both the senate and the board are chaired by the rector, and in general are advisory in nature, except for academic staff appointments at the full and associate professor levels, which are finalized by the university administrative board.

In a similar manner, the faculty board consists of three full and two associate professors and one assistant professor elected by all the faculty members in the respective ranks, plus all department chairpersons in that faculty. The faculty administrative board, on the other hand, consists of three full and two associate professors plus one assistant professor elected by the faculty board. The dean chairs both boards. Institutes and schools have two similar boards each.

At the department level, the departmental assembly consists of all department faculty members, while the department board consists of division heads; both are chaired by the chairperson of the department.

The term of office of elected members in the senate and all boards is three years, and is renewable. Although the senate and the various boards are in general advisory in nature, rectors and deans often delegate decision-making powers to these bodies, especially in matters that are academic.

All expenditures are subject to the approval of the rector, who, in turn, may delegate this authority to the vice-rectors, deans, directors or the secretary general to the extent he or she
deems fit.

Students and administrative staff have no representatives on any of the boards.

There are no lay members, i.e., other stakeholders, in either the senate or the various boards of state universities. The only potential source of external influence are the lay members of the Council. However, hidden or indirect governance stems from the public finance laws, which stipulate in minute detail the procedures to be followed in the preparation of annual budgets, procurement (including construction contracts), and auditing of expenditures, to which all public agencies are subject.

The annual budget of each state university is negotiated jointly by the Council of Higher Education and the university concerned with the Ministry of Finance and, in the case of the investment budget, with the State Planning Organization. The Council transmits these budgets, together with its own budget, to the Ministry of National Education, and the Minister defends them in the Parliament. The president of the Council is also given the floor at the beginning and the end of the discussion in the parliamentary commission. The result is a line-item budget with very specific earmarked budget figures.

In addition to the annual budget, provided by the state, each university has three more sources of income. First, income from the services provided by the university, such as patient care in university hospitals, and contract research, is collected in a revolving fund. Second, student contributions towards highly subsidized services are collected in a separate fund. Third, each university has a research fund made up of a lump sum grant from the state-provided budget plus a portion of the income from the revolving fund and from earmarked projects given by the State Planning Organization.

The above-mentioned three funds are also subject to laws, rules and regulations similar to those concerning the state-provided budget, which leave little room to maneuver. The major difference between these three funds and the state budget is that any money left in the former is carried over to the next fiscal year while that left unspent in the state-provided budget reverts back to the Treasury.

The Scientific and Technical Research Council (TÜBİTAK) of Turkey also supports research projects after evaluating proposals submitted by faculty members. However, such grants are given directly to faculty members, and are thus not included in university income.

The right of all Turkish citizens to petition and to appeal all matters concerning themselves is under constitutional guarantee. Furthermore, the Constitution also subjects all administrative and executive decisions and actions to the scrutiny of the courts.

Thus, all staff and students can petition and appeal matters concerning themselves, such as academic promotions, disciplinary action, and grades. The process generally starts at the departmental level, with the right to appeal to a board at the next level, and can eventually reach the Supreme Court of Appeals, a constitutional body that protects the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the state.