Main focus of the meeting was the transition to a new university governance model, i.e. proposed university councils, future of senates and constitutional assemblies, their functions, scope of competence, role and composition, appointment or election procedures. According to the President of Latvia, proposed amendments to the Law on Higher Education Institutions should trigger major changes in existing model or people will not be able to benefit from competitive and excellence-driven higher education anytime soon.
President Levits and Chair Ašeradens agreed that despite different views on what these university councils should look like there is a rather broad consensus that the reform envisaged by the new higher education law will provide a clear typology of universities and other higher educational establishments. Arvils Ašeradens also stressed the necessity to adopt a separate University Law in future to further improve the efficiency of higher education system.
