This study concerning state superior educational system financing comes to emphasize the main state superior educational system financing forms from Romania, looking forward to find new future state superior educational system financing forms. Romanian educational system reduced financing imposes a special attention for educational process, concerning both quality and, especially, an appropriate financing level endowment. For the future of academic education, it is vital to be found new financing sources, because a composite, diversified financing leads to the raise of total amount of resources at the service of universities, to their freedom degree, too, making them capable to undertake the constraint imposed by the dependence of a solely financing source.the financing of the academic education, private funds financing, public fund financing, public funds usage surveillance.

Bene Gheorghe Florin

Cosma Dorin

Schneider Suzana

English

Research Papers in Economics

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381 
BASES OF STATE SUPERIOR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FINANCING FROM 
ROMANIA 
Schneider Suzana 
West University of Timisoara Faculty of Economics and Business Administration 
Cosma Dorin 
West University of Timisoara Faculty of Economics and Business Administration 
Bene Gheorghe Florin 
West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration 
 
This study concerning state superior educational system financing comes to emphasize the main 
state superior educational system financing forms from Romania, looking forward to find new 
future state superior educational system financing forms. Romanian educational system reduced 
financing  imposes  a  special  attention  for  educational  process,  concerning  both  quality  and, 
especially, an appropriate financing level endowment. For the future of academic education, it is 
vital to be found new financing sources, because a composite, diversified financing leads to the 
raise of total amount of resources at the service of universities, to their freedom degree, too, 
making  them  capable  to  undertake  the  constraint  imposed  by  the  dependence  of  a  solely 
financing source.     
 
Keywords:  the  financing  of  the  academic  education,  private  funds  financing,  public  fund 
financing, public funds usage surveillance. 
 
JEL classification: I22 
 
Introduction 
According  to  Low  of  national  education,  no.  1  from  January  5th,  2011,  the  state  superior 
educational system  incomes  are  composed  by  sums  allocated  by  Education Ministry  budget, 
according to a contract, for the basic financing, complementary and supplementary financing, 
investments  objectives  accomplishing,  competition  basis  allocated  funds  for  institutional 
development, competition basis allocated funds for inclusion, scholarships and students’ social 
protection  as well as own incomes, rates of interest, donations, sponsorships and fees legally 
perceived  from  individuals  or  companies,  aboriginal  or  from  above,  or  another  sources, too. 
These incomes  are  used  by  superior  educational system  institutions,  on university  autonomy 
conditions, in order to accomplish their dedicated objectives because of the state policies on the 
field of education and university scientific research.      
 
1. State superior educational system institutions public funds financing   
 Financing inside the superior educational institutions is accomplished in the context of university 
autonomy and it is also materialized in their rights of managing, according the laws, the funds 
allocated from the national budget or the ones coming from another sources, too, in accordance to 
the criterions commonly agreed with the Ministry ( M.E.C.T.S.). 
State  superior  educational  system  financing  is  ensured  from  public  funds,  according  to  the 
following requirements
17: 
 - superior educational system development to be considered as a public responsibility and the 
educational system, generally, to be considered as a national priority; 
                                                       
 ￿
382 
-  superior education quality to be ensured on the level of standards from European Space of 
Superior Education for human resources preparation and personal development as citizens of a 
democratic society based on knowledge; 
- human resources to be proficient according to the labor market diversification; 
- superior educational system development, scientific research and artistic university creation 
development for the top integration on the world scientific level. 
 Basic financing is to be insured according to the number of admitted students on the form of 
budget study, as well as according to another indicators specific to education activity, especially 
the one referring to the quality of performance in education. Basic financing is multi-annual, it is 
ensured on the entire period of a study series. 
State superior educational system institutions basic financing is performed due to a institutional 
contract, agreed between the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports and the superior 
education institution. 
The Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports will ensure the basic financing for the 
public  universities,  by  study  grants,  based  on  the  average  costs  equivalent  per  student  per 
domain, on study series and on teaching language. The study grants will be priority awarded to 
those domains that ensure the supportive and competitive society development, but, inside the 
domain, priority for the best placed programs o their quality hierarchy, the number of study 
grants assigned for a program, which vary on the position of the program in this hierarchy. The 
received grants will be managed by universities according to their own terms. 
The national budget funds for basic financing are differentially assigned for superior educational 
institutions according to the following criteria: 
- number of students unitary equivalents (70%); 
-  qualitative  indicators  (17  indicators  structured  in  5  groups)  determined  for  each  university 
(30%). 
On the institutional contract agreed between the university and the Ministry (MECTS) there are 
stipulated, along with basic financing, the sums assigned from national budget for scholarships 
and students’ social protection as well as the sums assigned for investments achievement. 
The number of student unitary equivalents are calculated, for every single university and every 
single educational domain, as it follows:: 
                                                         D   
                                            SEU
U
= ￿ Cd*SE
U
d                                                                                                                            (1) 
                                                                                    d=1 
 
 where: 
SEU
U = number of students unitary equivalents of the U university; 
Cd = cost coefficient corresponding to educational domain d; 
SE
U
d = number of students from D domain of U university;  
D = total number of educational domains financed from the national budget. 
The allowances from the national budget concerning basic financing are guided from the title of 
“Transfers”; they represent a pay form for a service performed (school-house for a number of 
students agreed with the MECTS). 
Complementary financing is awarded by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports 
by: accommodation and meal subventions, funds allowed on priorities and specific standards for 
endowments and another investments and capital restorations; funds allowed n competitive basis 
for university scientific research. 
Complementary financing is awarded on competitive basis, due to a complementary basis, the 
sums  are  to  be  directed  to  investments  and  capital  restorations,  to  cover  some  didactic ￿
383 
equipments  endowment  and  research  expenditures  or  some  development  projects  (new 
specializations, new education forms), and also for some scientific research projects financing.  
Supplementary financing is awarded from public funds by the Ministry of Education, Research, 
Youth and Sports in order to stimulate the excellence of institutions or study programs from the 
universities. This is awarded for the universities, for a sum, on national level, of minimum 30% 
from  the sum  allowed  on  national level to the  state  universities as  basic financing,  upon  the 
criterions and quality standards agreed by the National Council of Superior Education Financing 
and approved by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. 
 
2.State superior education institutions private funds financing  
Regarding to national strategies, the changes performed by the reforms from many countries have 
tried to increase superior education institutions autonomy concerning financial management and, 
especially, private funds usage and gathering.  
State superior education institutions from Romania may perceive examination fees in case of the 
students who are not sustained by the state. The value of school-house fees is established by the 
university Senate, according the laws. 
Besides the school-house fees, there is the alternative of a large scale of sources for state superior 
education institutions private financing. 
The sources for private funds available for public institutions are the following ones: 
- donations and legacies; 
- loans;  
- rents and incomes from positions sponsorships; 
- usage of research results / research based on a contract; 
- payments for different performed services; 
- rate of interest on investments; 
- private commercial companies foundation. 
If there are some restrictions regarding certain financing forms (private commercial companies 
foundation, rate  of  interest  on investments, loans),  the  Romanian  state  will  authorize  all the 
private income sources mentioned above.  
Research contracts under she form of common research projects between superior education 
institutions  and  contractor  private  entities  represents  the  most  well  known  private  financing 
source. 
Services performing as it may be the adult permanent education, classes for the employees from 
different  companies,  consulting  services  and  events  organization,  they  all  represent  another 
important source of private financing.  
State superior education institutions from Romania are allowed to found commercial companies, 
but didn’t yet happen. Commercial spaces renting or another facilities renting represent another 
income source for state universities. 
State universities from Romania have the right to get and to receive loans.  
Partnerships with the private sector, local or regional authorities represent for the state superior 
education institutions from Romania an important financing source for their increasing incomes, 
representing  a  way  of  transfer  for  the  research  and  results  of  academic  research 
commercialization. 
In order to encourage such partnership achievements, the state may allow certain incentives for 
superior education institutions and/or private cooperating entities. This kind of incentives may 
appear as: superior education institutions tax releases; donors, sponsors or private partners tax 
releases; private sectors partnership financial support or another kind of support; regulations that 
allow institutions to own intellectual property; budget financing influence or evaluation influence. ￿
384 
In Romania, there are accorded tax releases for state superior education institutions donors and 
sponsors. In case of research activities financed by public funds, the real owners are the superior 
education institutions and the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, except for the 
situation when the research contract provides something different. 
Private funds attracted by state superior education institutions are used in order to co-finance 
some objectives stipulated in the institutional strategic plan. 
 
3.The control of superior education institutions allocated funds usage  
Although the superior education institutions are autonomies, they are supposed to be controlled 
because they represent public services providers and they benefit from public funds. 
The control represents a clear stage of budgetary process. It appears in every stage of budgetary 
process, especially during the process execution. 
 The manner of control in the specific situations when superior education institutions use the 
allocated funds is accomplished in order to avoid dissipations, embezzlements or peculations. 
Public  Finance  Ministry  specialized  authorities  are  checking  the  way  that  national  budget 
received funds have been used, the accuracy and the reality of the data in the records of public 
institutions and the way of funds management and usage. 
The public, but especially superior education institutions financers have their own proper interest 
of having knowledge about what it is happening in those institutions.  
An annual report in our country is mandatory; it is usually prepared and presented to the Minister 
by  the  superior  education  institution  Rector.  Although  many  of  the  annual  reports  include 
information about institutional project, they are mainly used as a superior education institutions 
responsibility instrument.   
Our country annual report about the activity of superior education institutions is an essential 
document  for  superior  education  institutions  financing,  which  includes  information  about 
accomplished  objectives,  registration  data,  teaching  and  administrative  positions  data, 
institutional  budget  data,  facilities,  research  projects,  publications,  international  relations, 
consulting and direction, experimental units, etc.. 
Superior education institutions from Romania are responsible for public funds usage through a 
link accorded between a part of allocated funds and institutions results. It breaks consideration 
for  performance  indicators  in  the  financing  formulas  used  to  calculate  the  global  public 
subventions  and/or  research  indicators  results  for  certain  subventions  accomplished  for  that 
specific research.  
Another  way  of  superior  education  institutions  surveillance  is  represented  by  the  strategic 
institutional  plans.  These  plans  constitute  an  alternative  of  institutional  achievements 
measurement. In case of a superior education institutions from Romania, the strategic plans are 
included in the performance contract for public funds allowance.  
 
Conclusions 
Actually, Romanian universities capacity of another financing source attraction, besides the study 
fees, is very reduced, meanwhile global financing system didn’t solve the problem of superior 
education financing and it won’t solve it without involvement from universities and without a 
performance management. 
Romanian education reduced financing from private sources imposes an increased attention for 
educational process, as well for quality, as it is a financing proper degree insurance. 
We  remind  here  some  main  recommendations  concerning  state  superior  educational  system 
financing from Romania: 
- remission of the two categories of existing students in the actual state superior educational 
system  (who  are  paying  school-house  fees    or  who  are  financed  from  the  budget)  and  the ￿
385 
introduction  of  mandatory  individual  contribution  for  all  the  students  concerning  superior 
education costs. This new study fee system, lower, but equitably paid, by all the students, could 
represent a solution for the extra-budgetary financing increase. The sum representing individual 
contribution will be established due to the student’s performance; 
- achievement of some partnerships between universities and economic agents, which allow to 
certain companies to sustain a part of students’ study fees, with the condition that the student 
financed by an economic agent to be employed by the financing company at the end of the 
studies with a lower salary than the appropriate until the student will pay the entire loaned sum 
and also the rate of interest for the loan awarded by the economic agent; 
- partnerships between universities and economic agents agreed for human resources formation 
common financing, may be also achieved in cooperation with local authorities and the rooms of 
commerce and industry in order to sustain local economy development; 
- the state will continue to finance superior education (on the form of study subventions), because 
individual  subvention  doesn’t  have  to  substitute,  but  to  add  itself  to  superior  education 
subventions from the state budget; 
- encouragement of university research, as a source of innovation and education financing; 
-  contribution  of  enterprises  on  superior  education  institutions  financing.  This  embraces  two 
forms: research contracts, services provided, material conditions insurance for training stages, 
donations: a legally form (based on the example of Delaure Law, from France, which forces the 
enterprises  with  a  high  number  of  employees  to  direction  a  certain  percent  from  the  salary 
amount to the state, with the mention adult permanent education. 
 
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Le system éducatif en France, col. Les Notices, La Documentation française,

Learning Entitlements

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The public responsibility for higher education and research,

Universities and Business: Partnering for the Knowledge Society,

BASES OF STATE SUPERIOR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FINANCING FROM ROMANIA

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BASES OF STATE SUPERIOR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FINANCING FROM ROMANIA

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