STAFFING AUTONOMY IN ESTONIAN AND CROATIAN UNIVERSITIES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The article is dedicated to a comparative analysis of the possibilities of staffing autonomy in universities in Estonia and Croatia. The research is based on the methodology of the European University Association (EUA), which considers staffing autonomy as a part of institutional autonomy. This includes the ability of universities to decide on recruitment and dismissing rules and procedures, ability to decide on salaries and defining career advancement mechanisms. The selection of countries and universities for comparative analysis is driven by the results of the EUA analytical reports on staffing autonomy, where Estonia holds the highest position (100%) and Croatia the lowest (12%). It is emphasized that university websites offering employment opportunities serve as an innovative tool for human resource management. Based on a comparison of the websites of the University of Tartu and the University of Zagreb, it is concluded that Estonian higher education institutions have greater freedom to define their human resource management policies and practices. In contrast, Croatian universities are constrained by centralized state policies that limit staffing autonomy, define academic personnel as civil servants, and regulate all hiring and career advancement procedures through state legislation. However, the comparative analysis also revealed that both the University of Tartu and the University of Zagreb can set additional requirements for candidates applying for academic positions, which demonstrates the universities’ commitment to staffing autonomy.