Student participation in the governance of university alliances: A case study of student participation at a European University, Una Europa

Abstract

This thesis examines how student participation emerges in the governance of a university alliance such as Una Europa and aims to understand the structures and relations students have to engage with in order to impact the decision-making processes. Through recognising perspectives of students and university staff, this research aims to create a comprehensive and explanatory description of student’s place in university governance. The European Universities Initiative funded by the European Commission aims to establish transnational alliances of higher education institutions across Europe i.e. European Universities. Since 2019, 50 alliances have been created by around 500 higher education institutions. They aim to deliver on the promise of innovation and create universities of the future but face a significant number of unknowns and a daunting task of designing and introducing a complex, emerging governance system. Deciphering this model and understanding the students’ place within it helps to understand the benefits and drawbacks of innovative governance solutions in respect to student participation. It also sheds light on the democratic potential of this approach to higher education governance. Limited influence of students on university governance is a constant challenge faced by higher education globally. While a greater involvement of students in the university decision-making has been a key aspect of policy making and organisational development, especially in the European Higher Education Area, many challenges remain. The extent to which this may be different in a new higher education governance model such as European University is unknown. This study interprets student participation through the theoretical lens of democratic theory and employs analytical framework of student partnership to analyse the link between governance models and student roles. Through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with students and university staff and complemented with a document analysis, it describes normative aspects of governance as well as its perceptions held by interviewees. The research shows that the case study European University is providing a number of ways for students to engage with the decision-making, seeing them as democratic participants of the governance system. Still, significant obstacles for formal acknowledgment of student agency within the high-level leadership bodies remain. The emerging form of student participation bears signs of innovative approach which enables student agency by combining representative and partnership forms of student participation. The significance of the research is underscored by its potential to influence the improvement of governance structures, identifying environments where students are integral to the decision-making fabric of their institutions. While recognising the experimental aspects of the European University Initiative, the findings help to recognise and mitigate the limitations of student participation while enhancing the empowering potential of innovative solutions.