The functional autonomy of the university system appears undermined by a “descending” decision-making process, which has been designed by the last university reform. In an effort not to abide the transformation of the university system to consent by its main characters, the s.c.“Gelmini Law” has relegated the university community from “subject” of the reform to a mere “object”.
This is what comes to evidence from the reduction in the role of the University Council, deprived of significant operational tasks, and reduced to a mere representative body of the university gradually, and ousted from the most important decisions that involve choices.
The procedures for resources allocation and research assessment are dominated, by the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes, highly valued because of a great autonomy from the university system, so giving the work a highly qualified body Undergraduate Education Ministry’s advice.
The outsourcing of most important decisions on merits from the university system may, however, affect the relationship between the university reform and the actual subjects of the Law.