Licensing of Non-State Universities: Institutional Modernization Under Conditions

The licensing of non-state universities has re-emerged in the public debate as a critical institutional development. In a recent article in Kathimerini, Konstantinos Drosatos, Professor at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, President of the ARISTEiA Institute (USA), and Secretary General of the Board of Komvos, examines the issue not as a simple “state vs. non-state” dilemma, but as a matter of quality, institutional coherence, and strategic direction for higher education in Greece.

As he emphasizes, the core issue does not lie in the mere creation of new institutions. Meaningful modernization requires strict evaluation standards, transparency, and long-term investment in human capital and infrastructure:

“There had been hopes that the new institutions would immediately become the country’s top universities. Such expectations disregard international experience, which shows that academic reputation and excellence in teaching and research are built through systematic, long-term investment over decades or even centuries in human capital and infrastructure.”

International experience demonstrates that only under these conditions can non-state institutions genuinely enhance competitiveness and research dynamism, rather than remain a fragmented intervention without substantive results. The article concludes that licensing can serve as a tool for modernization only when embedded in a coherent, qualitatively demanding plan that goes beyond symbolic or ideological frameworks.

📎 Read the full article here (in Greek).