Higher education is organized in universities, academies of studies, institutes, schools of higher studies, hereinafter referred to as higher education institutions or universities, which have obtained provisional functioning authorization or accreditation.

Higher education institutions are educational providers that carry out educational activities based on programs of study authorized to operate provisionally/accredited under the law, initial and continuous training at university level, programs that operate on the principle of quality and the correlation of the educational offer with the labor market.

The national higher education system includes all accredited higher education institutions. A higher education institution authorized to operate provisionally, according to the legal procedures in force, becomes part of the national higher education system only after accreditation. For more information, you can also access the website of the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education - www.aracis.ro .

Higher education institutions can be public, private, or confessional. These institutions have legal personality, are non-profit, and are apolitical. Higher education institutions are legal entities of public law or, as the case may be, legal entities of private law and of public utility.

University autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution. Academic freedom is guaranteed by law. Also, public accountability is regulated for any higher education institution, public or private.

By an annual government decision, the following are validated:

• The nomenclature of university study fields and specializations/programs per year
• the structure of accredited public and private higher education institutions or authorized to operate provisionally, with:
  • fields of undergraduate studies and specializations/programs of study accredited or authorized to operate provisionally,
  • geographical locations,
  • number of transferable study credits for each university study program,
  • form of education and language of instruction,
  • maximum number of students that can be enrolled

The mission of higher education is to generate and transfer knowledge to society both through initial and continuous university-level training, for the purpose of personal development, individual professional integration, and meeting the competence needs of the socioeconomic environment, as well as through scientific research, development, innovation and technology transfer, through individual and collective creation in the fields of sciences, engineering sciences, arts, and humanities, by ensuring performance and physical and sports development, as well as the valorization and dissemination of their results. All these are carried out in compliance with the following principles:

a) the principle of university autonomy;

b) the principle of academic freedom;

c) the principle of public accountability;

d) the principle of quality assurance;

e) the principle of equity;

f) the principle of managerial and financial efficiency;

g) the principle of transparency;

h) the principle of respecting the rights and freedoms of students and academic staff;

i) the principle of independence from ideologies, religions, and political doctrines;

j) the principle of national and international mobility freedom for students, teaching staff, and researchers;

k) the principle of consulting social partners in decision-making;

l) the principle of student-centered education.

Structure of the academic year (according to Law no. 1/2011 – art. 136)

• The academic year generally starts on the first working day of October, includes two semesters, and ends on September 30th of the following calendar year.
• A semester generally has a duration of 14 weeks of teaching activities usually followed by at least 3 weeks of exams.
• The structure of the academic year is approved by the university senate.
• When assigning transferable study credits for a semester, a period of at least 17 weeks is considered.
• The university senate of each higher education institution approves annually, at least 3 months before the start of the academic year, the regulations regarding the students' professional activity as well as the calendar of educational activities specific to academic study semesters.