Public University in Portugal and New Models of Governance: How It Improves Its Competitiveness

In September 2007, the new legal regime of the Institutions of Higher Education (RJIES) - Law No.
62/2007 of 10 September - introduced a new framework of options for models and governance
structures in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Portugal.
If in the European context, the conception and design of governance models are generally
converging, blurring the differences between the management model of private and public institutions,
to what extent does the implementation of the model result in immediate visible changes at
institutional level?
In Portugal, most public HEIs have opted for the traditional model, having already their statutes
approved and published in the Diário da República. Only three institutions have opted for the
foundation model, whose process is still under development.
In this article we make a critical analysis of governance models provided for in each of the statutes of
the public HEIs, while also referring to the foundation model.