The Current Status of Financing Public Higher Education Institutions in Romania – The Case of The University of Craiova

Public institutions have as their main mission the redistribution of public wealth through the community services. In the Romanian budgeting system, education is considered a priority of national interest. Higher education is a clear contributor to the development of the society as a whole by providing knowledge to youngsters as to develop and improve their training in various fields of study. Currently, academic education faces a strong underfunding, which is an impediment to the progress expected. In addition, higher education is still deeply marked by the legislative changes from 2011 which came as an approach of convergence with the European requirements. This paper appears as a practical study in which we intend to highlight the current financing system of the University of Craiova, its structure and its most "consistent" sources of financing in the context of an unfavorable underfunding.