Decree n ° 2016-371 of 25 March 2016 on the organization and operation of the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS).
PRESENTATION REPORT
The creation of the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS) by decree n ° 2013-1294 of 23 September 2013 and its implementation in all regions reflect the vision of the public authorities to put Information and Information Technology Communication (ICT) at the heart of the development of Higher Education and Research for greater democratization of access to higher education and the efficiency of the system.
The realisation of this ambition requires, on the one hand, a clear definition of its status and its mode of administrative, pedagogical and financial governance, and on the other hand the establishment of an adequate and efficient organisational system.
The purpose of this draft decree is to establish the rules of organisation and operation of the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS). It consists of four (4) chapters on general provisions (1), organisation and operation (II), financial arrangements (III) and transitional provisions (IV).
This is the economy of this draft decree.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PUBLIC ,
In accordance with the Constitution, in particular Articles 43 and 76 thereof;
VU Law No. 81-59 of 09 November 1981 on the status of the teaching staff of universities;
VU Law No. 91-22 of 16 February 1991 on the Direction of National Education, as amended;
VU Decree n ° 81-1212 of 09 December 1981 laying down the conditions for the appointment, employment, remuneration and advancement of non-incumbent teachers in universities, as amended;
VU Decree No. 2000-103 of 17 February 2000 laying down the special regime applicable to the Administrative, Technical and Service Personnel (PATS) of the universities;
HAVEN decree n ° 2012-1269 of 08 November 2012 on the financial regime of universities;
VU Decree n ° 2013-1294 of 23 September 2013 establishing the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS);
VU Decree No. 2014-06 of 02 January 2014 appointing the Coordinator of the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS);
VU the decree n ° 2014-845 of 06 July 2014 appointing the Prime Minister;
VU's decree n ° 2014-853 of 09 July 2014 on the distribution of state services and the control of public institutions, national companies and public participation companies, between the Presidency of the Republic, the Primature and the Ministries, as amended by Decree No. 2015-299 of 06 March 2015;
VU's decree n ° 2014-889 of 22 July 2014 on the remit of the Minister for Higher Education and Research;
The report of the Minister of Higher Education and Research,
DECRETE:
Chapter I. - General provisions
First Section. - Status
Article 1. - The Virtual University of Senegal (UVS) is a public administrative institution with legal personality and financial autonomy.
It is placed under the technical supervision of the Minister responsible for Higher Education and under the financial supervision of the Minister for the Economy and Finance.
Section II. - Missions
Art. 2. The mission of the UVS is to develop distance education and training programmes and projects in the context of initial training, continuing education and higher vocational training.
The UVS carries out its mission in cooperation with universities, educational institutions and natural or legal persons with distance education projects.
UVS contributes to the development of higher education and training through research and innovation.
The UVS welcomes students and other learners to whom it provides lessons adapted to the needs of the economic, scientific, cultural, social, national and international environment.
In addition, the UVS contributes to:
-Promotion of African and universal values;
-Promoting service to the community based on a sustainable culture of values of citizenship, citizenship and patriotism among learners;
-preparation of young people for inclusion in working life;
-training in particular of the communities of inhabitants, professionals or users.
Article 3. - As part of the exercise of its mission, the Virtual University of Senegal can, in particular:
-acquire or exploit any intellectual property right;
-designing and distributing products or services related to its activities;
-grant, in addition to diplomas, certificates or certificates in accordance with current standards and standards.
Chapter II. - Organization and operation
Article 4. - The organs of the UVS are:
-the Board of Directors;
-Academic Council;
-the Coordinator.
First Section. - The Governing Council
Article 5. - The Board of Directors is the deliberative organ of the UVS. It ensures that the mission of the UVS is respected. It is the validation body for the strategic, pedagogical and scientific orientations. It is responsible for the evaluation and monitoring of administrative and financial management.
As such, it reviews and approves:
-the strategic development plan and the quality assurance policy of the UVS;
-the budget estimates, the annual budget, the investment plan, the financial statements and the UVS annual report;
-the chart of the UVS;
-measures to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and performance of the UVS;
-the institutional evaluation reports of the National Quality Assurance Authority of Higher Education (ANAQ-sup);
-proposals for donations and bequests to the UVS;
-the creation or deletion of clusters and structures;
-the recruitment of UVS personnel;
-the rules of procedure of the university;
-any matter referred to it by the Minister responsible for higher education.
The Board of Directors receives the reports, information and minutes of the other organs of the UVS.
Article 6. - The Board of Directors shall be composed of twenty (20) members, as follows:
-one (1) representative of the Ministry of Higher Education;
-one (1) representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance;
-one (1) representative of the Ministry of Education;
-one (1) representative of the department responsible for vocational training;
-one (1) representative of the Ministry of Telecommunications/Information and Communication Technologies (ICT);
-one (1) representative of the Ministry of Local Government;
-the UVS Coordinator;
-three (3) members elected by and among the professors holding, conference masters, research directors and research masters;
-two (2) members elected by and among assistant lecturers, assistants, research assistants and research assistants;
-five (5) members from the socio-economic background;
-two (2) student representatives;
-one (1) representative of administrative, technical and service personnel.
The financial control representative shall attend the Board of Directors without voting rights.
It shall be designated one holder and one alternate for each representation.
The Coordinator provides the secretariat of the Executive Board.
The President of the Board of Directors may invite any person whose presence is deemed to be useful to attend meetings of the Board.
Art. 7. - The Executive Board shall meet at least two (2) times per year in ordinary session and as much as necessary in extraordinary session, upon convocation by its President.
Art. 8. The Board of Directors established by:
-one (1) audit committee;
-one (1) ethics and ethics committee;
-one (1) quality assurance committee;
-one (1) Human Resources Committee.
The organisation and operation of such committees shall be specified by the rules of procedure of the university.
Article 9. - The President and the Vice-President of the Board of Directors shall be appointed by decree, among members of the socio-economic background, on the proposal of the Minister for Higher Education.
Other members of the socio-economic background shall be appointed by order of the Minister responsible for Higher Education.
The Vice-President shall act as interim President in the event of incapacity.
Article 10. - The members of the Board of Directors other than the Coordinator shall be appointed for a period of three (3) years, renewable once.
The mandate of student representatives is annual.
The term of office of the members of the Board ceases when they lose the quality in respect of which they have been appointed.
Article 11. - The members of the Board of Directors shall perform their duties free of charge. However, their travel and subsistence expenses are covered under the conditions laid down by the Minister responsible for higher education.
Section II. - The Academic Council
Article 12. - The Academic Council is the competent body for dealing with academic issues.
As such, he has the mission, monitoring and evaluation of the educational, academic, scientific, disciplinary and research aspects of UVS.
It is particularly responsible for:
-approve the curricula and the content of the lessons;
-to decide for the purposes of recruitment, the equivalence of degrees, diplomas and certificates;
-establish the academic calendar;
-specify the criteria and mechanisms for self-assessment of training;
-to propose measures to improve the quality of teaching and research and to develop further training;
-to ensure compliance with the procedures and criteria for self-assessment of training programmes or studies of the sectors according to the ANAQ-sup repository;
-to monitor the implementation of the evaluation recommendations;
-propose the creation or deletion of clusters and structures.
The Academic Council deliberates on the system of studies and examinations.
It is involved in the development of the strategic development plan and the quality assurance policy of the UVS as well as the evaluation operations of the institution.
Article 13. - The Academic Board is chaired by the Coordinator and includes, in addition to the Assistant Coordinator, the following members:
-Directors;
-five (5) elected representatives of the education and research staff of the UVS, including three (3) non-commissioned members A " (Full Professor, Research Director, Conference Master and Research Master) and two (2) Rank " B " (assistant, assistant, research officer and research assistant);
-two (2) student representatives;
-two (2) qualified persons in the field of distance education or research in ICT didactics and appointed by order of the Minister responsible for Higher Education;
-two (2) personalities from the socio-economic world;
-one (1) representative of administrative, technical and service personnel;
-one representative (1) of the administrative, technical and service personnel unions;
-one (1) representative of the teaching and research personnel unions.
It shall be designated one holder and one alternate for each representation.
Art. 14. - The modalities for the appointment of staff, students and socio-economic representatives to the Academic Council shall be determined by the Coordinator after the advice of the Governing Council.
Article 15. - Members of the Academic Council shall perform their duties free of charge. However, their travel and subsistence expenses are covered under the conditions laid down by the Minister responsible for higher education.
Art. 16. - The methods of evaluation, knowledge control, organisation, and the planning and content of the examination sessions are the same as those of universities practising pre-school education.
Article 17. - The diplomas awarded by the UVS have the same academic and professional value as those of universities practising pre-school education.
Article 18. - UVS teaching and research personnel have the same rights and benefits as the staff of equivalent universities and higher education institutions in accordance with the regulations in force.
They are subject to the same obligations with respect to career advancement.
A repository of hourly equivalencies is established by ministerial order in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to university teaching and research personnel.
Article 19. - Administrative, technical and service personnel shall have the same rights and benefits as the staff of equivalent universities and higher education institutions in accordance with the regulations in force.
Section III. - The Coordinator
Article 20. The Coordinator is chosen for his managerial skills among professionals or academics. He is appointed by decree for a renewable term of three (3) years, and on the proposal of the Minister for Higher Education. It provides direction and management of the UVS.
As such, it is responsible for:
-develop the strategic development plan and quality assurance policy and ensure their implementation;
-to implement the general policy of the UVS within the framework of the guidelines defined by the Board of Directors;
-submit an annual report of activities to the Board of Directors;
-to chair the meetings of the Academic Council and to ensure that its deliberations are carried out;
-to ensure the proper administrative and accounting management of all the human, material, financial and information resources of the UVS;
-prepare the meetings of the Board of Directors and ensure that the proceedings are carried out;
-prepare and execute the budget in its capacity as authorising officer for revenue and expenditure;
-to represent the UVS in court and in all acts of civil life;
-review the hierarchical power of all UVS personnel;
-enter into agreements and contracts in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.
The Coordinator shall establish a Management Committee to support it in the performance of its missions.
The Coordinator has the rank of Rector and benefits from the function.
Article 21. - In the course of its missions, the Coordinator shall be assisted by a Deputy Coordinator appointed by decree, for a renewable term of three (3) years and on the proposal of the Minister for Higher Education.
The Assistant Coordinator assures administrative coordination and can benefit from a delegation of signature and power of the Coordinator in the areas covered by his/her responsibilities except for the powers delegated by the Council Administration.
The Assistant Coordinator has the rank of Vice-Rector and benefits from the function.
He acted in the absence of the Coordinator.
Article 22. - The UVS includes the following directorates:
-the Directorate for Studies, Research and Innovation (DERI);
-the Directorate of Training and Pedagogical Engineering (DFIP);
-the Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate (DISI);
-the Directorate for Development and Cooperation (SDC);
-the Open Digital Spaces Directorate (ENO);
-the Alignment, Strategic Planning and Projects Branch (DSSPM);
-Directorate of Communication and Marketing (DCM);
-the Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs (DAAF).
The Directors are appointed by decree on the proposal of the Minister for Higher Education.
They have the rank of Director of Training and Research Unit or Dean of Faculty and enjoy the benefits of the function.
The UVS also has an accounting agency.
Chapter III. - The Financial System
Article 23. - The financial system of the universities is applicable to the Virtual University of Senegal subject to the derogations provided for by this Decree.
Article 24. - The resources of the UVS come from:
-grants and aid funds awarded, inter alia, by the State and local authorities;
-rights, royalties and products of any kind resulting from its activities;
-payments for the participation of employers in the financing of continuing vocational training;
-products of contracts or contracts, including work or studies;
-income from movable and immovable property of the institution;
-proceeds from disposals;
-private contributions, gifts and bequests;
-borrowings;
-in general terms, all revenues authorized by laws and regulations.
The resources of the UVS are used entirely and exclusively for its missions.
Article 25. - The expenditure of the UVS consists of personnel, operating and equipment costs and, in general, all expenditure necessary for the activities of the UVS.
Article 26. - The accounting and financial operations of the UVS are carried out by an Accountant appointed by order of the Minister for the Economy and Finance on the proposal of the Director General of Public Accounting and the Treasury. It is placed under the authority of the Coordinator.
The accounts of the UVS shall be kept in accordance with the rules and principles of public accounting. The accounting repository used is the accounting plan SYSCOA (West African Comptable System).
Chapter IV. - Transitional provisions
Article 27. - The Board of Directors and the Academic Board shall be installed within a maximum of one (1) year following the publication of this Order.
Pending receipt, the budget may be subject, if necessary, to an order by the technical tutelage authority subject to the approval of the Minister of Economy and Finance.
Article 28. - The Minister of Economy, Finance and Plan and the Minister for Higher Education and Research shall each have responsibility for the execution of this Decree, which shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Senegal.
Done at Dakar, March 25, 2016
Macky SALL
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
Mahammed Boun Abdallah DIONNE
