Following the Government's decision to shorten the coming term of office for external members of the boards of higher education institutions, the Board of the University of Gothenburg has decided to issue a statement.
"The University Board sees it as problematic that the Government has chosen to shorten the term of office for chairmen and board members from 3 years to 17 months, with reference to the fact that the security policy situation requires the requisite skills and expertise at board level.
We believe that this undermines the nomination process which aims to maintain a balance between public interest and academic autonomy. Both the nominators and the external members consulted assumed that the mandate was for a three-year perspective. We assume that the government does not intend to change the Higher Education Act and that the boards will continue not to have an operational role or make decisions that require scientific expertise.
As academic activities require a long-term approach to decision-making, shortened terms of office are a major disadvantage when it comes to planning and implementing the strategic work of a university board.
Our intention is to ensure that appropriate security policy expertise is available at the university.
We expect the government to return to three-year terms in the future."
In connection with the appointment of chairs and external members to the boards of Sweden's institutes of higher education institutions on 27 April, the Government decided to shorten the next term of office. The explanation given is that the government wants to strengthen the security policy expertise of the institutes of higher education.
The decision was strongly criticised by the institutes of higher education, particularly the Government's manner of making decisions over the heads of the institutes of higher education, as well as the shortened terms of office, which makes the work of the boards more difficult.
By: Karoline Axelson