Algorytm finansowania polskich uczelni: jaki był, jaki jest, jaki być powinien

Abstract

The main source of revenue for public universities in Poland is the core grant for teaching. For over 25 years it has been distributed by the use of a funding formula. In the first section of the article, I present arguments in favor of this method of distributing public funds. The second section discusses the evolution of the funding formula in previous years and its consequences for the higher education system in Poland, including the most important ones, such as the ‘chase’ after students, the greater access to higher education, and the decrease in the quality of teaching. The third section presents the current form of the funding formula, in force since 2017. The new funding formula is better than the previous algorithm because it rewards quality effects. The lack of a smooth transition period, however, has caused an unprecedented flow of funds from smaller and regional universities to the largest universities. The next section of my article discusses some changes that are worth introducing without breaking the structure of the current funding formula (because one of the overarching principles is the stability of the algorithm). In the next section, I propose some changes that can be added to the current algorithm without compromising its structure (because one of the overarching principles is the stability of the funding formula). Finally, in the last section, I describe strategies, implied by the new funding formula, which are economically most rewarding for the University of Białystok.