LRU

   The Ley de Reforma Universitaria. (Law of University Reform) was enacted on 25 August 1983, in an attempt to deal with the crisis which had plagued the universities since me mid-1960s, when the rapid growth of the student population had created huge pressure of numbers, leading in turn to infrastructural problems and staff shortages. In addition, the atmosphere of discontent was intensified by the fact that most staff had no security of tenure. The intention of the legislation was to implement the principle of university autonomy by sharing responsibility among the state, the autonomous communities, and the universities themselves in respect of organization, government, financing and academic affairs. An important provision of the act was the creation of private universities, for which detailed regulations were finally drawn up in 1991. The act also provided for the assessment of the teaching and research competence of academic staff. Though the LRU has been criticized, and has not met all the expectations which it aroused, its effects on university life have been visible and positive. Universities are now much freer from official control, and there have been significant increases in funding.

   See also: education and research; LOGSE; science; student life; UNED; universities; university education

   Further reading

   - Capitán Díaz, A. (1994) Historia de la educación en España. II: Pedagogía contemporánea, Madrid: Dykinson (pp. 841–59 contain a detailed commentary on the act).

   - Hooper, J. (1995) The New Spaniards, Harmondsworth: Penguin (chapter 19 gives a good overall account of the development of education at all levels).

   ALICIA ALTED