Weaknesses of the Management System of Traditional Hungarian Universities

Transformation of the management of traditional higher education institutions emerged in Hungary following the change of the political system in 1990, however, an appropriate answer has not been found to date. The first step in the management of reform is identification of the issues that need to be resolved through the implementation of changes. The present research has been aimed at identifying the present weaknesses of the inner management system of traditional Hungarian universities, thus find a solid starting point for reforming it. I conducted in-depth interviews in the course of research, with 10 top university managers who represent 9 institutions, thus the majority of traditional Hungarian universities. Such a research has not been made at least for the last decade. In my paper first I present the current legal framework of the system of university management. Then I give an assessment of it on the basis of the interviews, analysing the deficiencies, the external and internal obstacles to efficient management I conclude that the present leaders of the universities can exactly identify those deficiencies of the system and the related external and internal circumstances that lead to disturbed operation and low efficiency. The results obtained through the interviews suggest that a reform of the internal management should rearrange intra-university power relations and harmonize scopes of responsibility and competence. A shift toward a stronger central, rectoral and a more limited faculty- and body-related management appears necessary