Introduction
IAU, founded in 1950, is the UNESCO-based worldwide association of higher education institutions. It brings together institutions and organisations from some 120 countries for reflection and action on common concerns and collaborates with various international, regional and national bodies active in higher education. Its services are available on the priority basis to Members but also to organisations, institutions and authorities concerned with higher education, as well as to individual policy and decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and students.
The Association aims at giving expression to the obligation of universities and other higher education institutions as social institutions to promote, through teaching, research and services, the principles of freedom and justice, of human dignity and solidarity, and contributes, through international cooperation, to the development of material and moral assistance for the strengthening of higher education generally.
Statutory Documents
The IAU statutory documents are composed of the IAU Constitution and the Decisions and Guidelines which set out the mandate of the Association and framework for its operations. Along with the IAU’s general mission, a four- year Work Plan is regularly developed to translate the mission into concrete strategic directions and to define expected outcomes and activities to be pursued between quadrennial General Conferences. All documents are available below. For more information about IAU do not hesitate to contact iau@iau-aiu.net.
Conscious of their high responsibility as guardians of the intellectual life;
Conscious of the fundamental principles for which every university should stand, namely: the right to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to follow wherever the search for truth may lead; the tolerance of divergent opinion and freedom from political interference;
Conscious of their obligation as social institutions to promote, through teaching and research, the principles of freedom and justice, of human dignity and solidarity; to develop mutually material and moral aid on an international level;
The universities of the world, through their representatives assembled in conference at Nice, hereby decide to create an international association of universities.
General Decisions and Guidelines
The document General Decisions and Guidelines supports the implementation of the Constitution. It is regularly modified by the Administrative Board and tabled at each IAU General Conference.
General Decisions and Guidelines
As stated in its Constitution IAU's mission is based on the fundamental principles for which every university should stand:
The overall goals of IAU are both internal and external:
Both of these complementary goals are pursued through future oriented collective action, including conferences and meetings, information services, policy discussion, research and publications.
By encouraging Members to work together, IAU
Adopted at the 14th IAU General Conference in November 2012, Puerto Rico, the IAU work plan introduces the main lines of work of the Association. A more detailed strategy and action plan will be developed in collaboration with the IAU President and Administrative Board.
Chaired by the President of the IAU, the Administrative Board is made of twenty elected and two ex officio members as follows: eighteen executive heads of member institutions and two heads of member organizations, the immediate past President and the Secretary General. A number of deputy members, from different regions and both categories of members are also elected. The Administrative Board meets annually, ensures that decisions of the General Conference are implemented and guides the work of the International Universities Bureau. The term of tenure is four years.
President
Vice-Presidents
Immediate Past President
Full Board Members
Africa
Americas
Asia and The Pacific
Europe
Organizations
Secretary-General
Deputy Members
Africa
Americas
Europe
Organizations
Honorary Presidents
The Executive Committee is composed of the President and four Vice-Presidents. The Secretary General of the IAU serves as secretary to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Administrative Board between meetings and guides the Association's action agenda and program of activities. It provides support to the President of the Association by preparing the meetings of the Administrative Board and the business sessions of the General Conference. One Vice-President, so designated, replaces the President of the Association should the need arise for whatever reason during the latter's term of office. One Vice-President, also so designated, acts as Treasurer and chairs the Finance Committee.
The Members of the Executive Committee are designated by the President from among the Members of the Administrative Board, elected at the IAU 14th General Conference, in November 2012.
President
Vice-Presidents
Terms of Reference: * Advise the Secretary-General on admission policy (issues of principle) in order to prepare for Board discussions, especially in case the IAU eligibility criteria may need revision; * Develop for discussion by the Board, general and/or specific membership development strategies and recruitment campaigns that may be carried out by the President, by the Secretariat, by the Membership Development Committee and by all Board Members; * Monitor membership recruitment campaigns and other membership development activities to assess successful and less successful approaches; * Propose how IAU may offer current services better or develop additional services to increase membership satisfaction, based first of all on current, on-going activities and later on activities that could be developed in the future.
Chair
Members
Secretariat
Chair
Members
Secretariat
The International Universities Bureau is IAU's permanent Secretariat and its major instrument of program implementation, along with the Administrative Board, various Committees and Working Groups. Created by UNESCO in 1949, initially as an international information centre on higher education, the Bureau was instrumental in preparing the International University Conference in Nice, 1950, at which the IAU was founded. Today, under the authority of the IAU and as a partner organization of UNESCO, its mission includes:
Eva Egron-Polak - Secretary-General and Executive Director
Isabelle Turmaine - Director, Information Centre and Communication Services
Hilligje Van't Land - Director, Membership and Programme Development
Georgeta Sadlak - Manager, Information Systems
Beatrice Inglisian - Manager, Reference Publications
Angella Nino - Office Manager
Amanda Sudic - Librarian/Documentalist
Élodie Boisfer - Programme Officer
Ross Hudson - Programme Officer
Trine Jensen - Executive Assistant
Nicholas Poulton - Administrative/Editorial Assistant
Christina Keyes - Assistant, Reference Publications
Samuel Pousson - Assistant, Reference Publications
Saholi Andriambololo-Nivo - Assistant, Reference Publications
Morgane Baillargeant - Secretarial Assistant
Activity reports are snapshots of the Association, its activities and achievements. Featuring financial information, they contribute to the Association's total transparency.
IAU Activities and Finance Report 2000-2004 (rtf, 540 kb)
Written in the wake of IAU's 12th General Conference in Sao Paulo, this document provides an analytical account of the developments and initiatives undertaken by the Association from August 2000 to July 2004. Reporting major changes and achievements, it features six chapters: Memberships, IAU Governance, Activities, Partnerships and Networking, IAU Publications Programme, Finance and Administration.
Annual Report 2004 (pdf, 2.15 mb)
In addition to the covering the current thematic priorities and various actions implemented by IAU working groups, the report focused this year on the IAU 12th General Conference held in July 2004 in Sao Paulo, Brazil and its follow-up. The report offers also the opportunity to discover the new IAU President and Administrative Board elected in July 2004.
Annual Report 2003 (pdf, 2.07 mb)
Precious information concerning the IAU itself, its partnerships and recent publications, as well as major events that are to take place in 2004. It also offers data concerning the financial year 2004.
IAU adopts positions and develops Policy Statements on issues of global importance for higher education. Each Statement is the product of extensive drafting and international consultations. In recent years, the Statements have been formally adopted by the General Conference of the Association, though in the past some emanated from international Round Tables or meetings of the Administrative Board. The topics that have been the subjects of such Policy Statements are usually identified by the Association’s leadership and membership as requiring the attention of the international academic community.
IAU Policy Statements most frequently identify the issue area, present a number of key principles and include a few recommendations for action at either the institutional or the governmental level or both.
Traditionally, the development of an IAU Policy Statement has been delegated by the IAU Administrative Board to a small Working Group or Task Force whose members are drawn from each world region. IAU is committed to being the global voice for higher education institutions hence the international composition of the Task Forces is essential in order to ensure that each Policy Statement reflects the collective interests of higher education without ignoring the specific concerns or interests of institutions in various parts of the world.
The IAU 14th General Conference, held at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, USA, in November 2012, approved two new policy documents: the IAU-MCO Guidelines for an Institutional Code of Ethics in Higher Education; and Affirming Academic Values in Internationalization of Higher Education: A Call for Action.
More information on related activities can be found on the Ethics in HE webpages and the Internationalization webpages. .
IAU Policy Statements, listed here in chronological order, starting with the most recent Statement, are freely available for dissemination. More recent Statements have been open to endorsements by other Associations of Higher Education; all are open to comments.
Prepared in collaboration with the Magna Charta Observatory.
Prepared in collaboration with AUCC, ACE and CHEA
Total Number: 630
Member Institutions are universities or degree-conferring higher education institutions whose main objective is teaching and research, irrespective of whether or not they carry the name of university. Benefiting from IAU's complete range of services and able to become active participants in all IAU working groups and activities, they also participate in the election of the President and the Administrative Board.
As a global Association, IAU has Member Institutions on every continent, with the following repartition:

Africa: 11%: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo (Democratic Republic), Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe.
Asia and Pacific: 24%: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, China - Hong Kong SAR, China - Macao SAR, China - Taiwan, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
Europe: 40%: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM), Moldova, Netherlands (The), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Latin America and Caribbean: 5%: Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Middle East: 13%: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
North America: 7%: Canada, Mexico, United States of America.
Total Number: 27 (October 2012)
Since the General Conference held in Durban in 2000, IAU has Member Organizations. Member Organizations are higher education organizations active on the national, regional or international level. Just like Member Institutions, they are granted full benefits, voting rights, and are represented on the Administrative Board. This status has been created at Durban's IAU General Conference in 2000.
The complete list of Member Organizations:
Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), USA
The Consortium for North American Higher Education (CONAHEC), U.S.A.
Federation of Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), Morocco
Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), Canada
Réseau Africain Francophone de la Formation Supérieure et de l’Enseignement Technique (RAFSET), Togo
Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), South Africa
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), United Kingdom
Bangladesh
Association of Universities of Bangladesh
Canada
Association
of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)
Canadian Bureau for
International Education (CBIE)
Germany
Universitat
Bayern e.V.
Hungary
Hungarian Rector's
Conference
India
Association of Indian
Universities
Japan
Association
of Private Universities of Japan
Mexico
National
Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education
(ANUIES)
Nigeria
Committee of
Vice-Chancellors (CVC) of Nigerian Federal Universities
Netherlands
Association of
Universities in the Netherlands
South Africa
Higher Education South
Africa (HESA)
Spain
Conference
of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE)
Associació
Catalana d'Universitats Públiques
Sweden
Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF)
U.S.A.
American
Council on Education (ACE)
Association of American
Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
IAU Observer status can be granted to public or private not-for-profit degree-conferring higher education institutions which do not yet meet the eligibility criteria for Membership of 3 cohorts of students.
The Observer status will be valid until the institution graduates three cohorts of students at which time it will be admitted to full Institutional Membership.
In creating this category, IAU wishes to become more inclusive and to contribute to the development of quality higher education globally.
IAU Affiliates are non-governmental organisations or networks, whose primary mandate is related to education and sharing the Association's goals and values but which are not eligible to join as full members. Benefiting from IAU's services, they participate in most of the Association's projects.
Today, IAU affiliates are:
Africa
African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE)
UNESCO Network of Associated Libraries
Americas
Europe
European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities (ESMU)
The Netherlands organization for international cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC)
The Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU)
IAU Associates are well known and respected leaders and experts in higher education who share some of IAU's goals and values, and wishing to enhance their personal collaboration with the Association. Connected to the information dissemination programme, Associates attend conferences and participate in IAU projects.
Initially open only to former IAU Board Members, the IAU Associate's category has been broadened beyond former Board members to include all individuals who share an interest in higher education, would bring value to the work of the Association and who wish to work with the IAU.
Today, IAU Associates include:
IAU is a worldwide association of universities, higher education institutions and university organizations, bringing together more than 620 institutions as well as several national, regional and international university associations from around the globe. We offer our Members a unique forum for debate, dialogue and sharing of experiences.
Several categories exist for IAU Membership:
For additional information, please contact Trine Jensen.
IAU institutional membership is open to public, or private not-for-profit degree-conferring institutions whose main objective is higher education and the development of knowledge. Applying institutions must:
Exceptionally, the Administrative Board, acting under the provisions of Article 4 of the IAU Constitution, may admit institutions of high standing, which are concerned with only one specialised field of knowledge, as long as they meet all the above-mentioned criteria.
In addition, all Higher Education Institutions invited to join IAU as members will be asked to endorse a letter of commitment to the core academic values that are the cornerstones of the Association. Endorsing this letter forms part of the admission process.
According to the Constitution of the International Association of Universities, any Association of universities and other higher education institutions (national, regional or international) may be admitted as a Member Organization.
In addition, all organizations of higher education invited to join IAU as Members will be asked to endorse a letter of commitment to the core academic values that are the cornerstones of the Association. Endorsing this letter forms part of the admission process.
The IAU Observer status can be granted to public or private not-for-profit degree-conferring higher education institutions whose main objective is higher education and the development of knowledge but which do not yet meet fully the eligibility criteria for Membership.
Applying institutions must:
Exceptionally, the Administrative Board, acting under the provisions of Article 4 of the IAU Constitution, may admit institutions of high standing, which are concerned with only one specialized field of knowledge, as long as they meet all the above-mentioned criteria.
The 'Observer' status will be valid until the institution graduates three cohorts of students at which time it will be admitted to full Institutional Membership. Once accepted to full Membership, the Institutional head will be able to stand for IAU Board membership and have the right to vote in elections.
In creating this new category, IAU wishes to become more inclusive and to contribute to the development of quality higher education globally.
In addition, all Higher Education Institutions granted IAU Observer status will be asked to endorse a letter of commitment to the core academic valuesthat are the cornerstones of the Association.
The IAU Affiliate status is open to all non-governmental organizations and networks, national or international in nature, whose primary mandate is directly related to the mission and work of the IAU but which are not eligible to join the Association as full Members of IAU.
The IAU Administrative Board examines requests and determines eligibility.
Welcome as IAU Associates are individuals whose present (or past) career has been devoted to higher education in ways directly related to the mission of IAU and who work to advance research on higher education, public policy in the field of higher education and related areas:
IAU will not grant IAU Associate status to Individuals who are heads of higher education institutions or universities eligible for full membership in the Association or to individuals representing private companies offering consultancy services to HEIs, nor to those working in government.
Membership is granted by decision of the IAU upon thorough review of information requested by the IAU Secretariat.
Please fill in the Institutional Membership Application Form for the review and assessment of the institution’s eligibility for membership and send it back to Trine Jensen; Fax: +33(1) 47347605.
Membership is granted by decision of the IAU upon thorough review of information requested by the IAU Secretariat.
Please fill in the Organizational Membership Application Form for the review and assessment of the organization's eligibility for membership and send it back to Trine Jensen; Fax: +33(1) 47347605.
The IAU Observer status is granted by decision of the IAU upon thorough review of information submitted to the IAU Secretariat.
Please fill in the IAU Observer Application Form for the review and assessment of the institution's eligibility to the IAU Observer status and send it back to Trine Jensen; Fax: +33(1) 47347605.
The IAU Affiliate status is granted by decision of the IAU Administrative Board which examines requests and determines eligibility.
Please fill in the IAU Affiliate Application Form for the review and assessment of the organization's eligibility to the IAU Affiliate status and send it back to Trine Jensen; Fax: +33(1) 47347605.
All written applications to Trine Jensen; Fax: +33(1) 47347605 must include the following minimum information: Name; Current position; C.V.; Stated interest in the IAU.
One of the steps to becoming a Member of IAU concerns the constitutional obligation to settle annual membership fees. These are payable per academic year (1 October to 30 September). As soon as IAU receives the payment of fees, the applying institution/organization will become entitled to all membership benefits.
The IAU financial year runs from 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013.
Since 2006, and in order to demonstrate solidarity with institutions based in low income countries, the IAU institutional membership fee structure is based on a combination of institutional student enrollment and the Gross National Product (GNP) of the country.
Please note that universities and institutions of higher education applying for membership in IAU are not required to settle membership dues until admission has been granted by the Association.
Institutions in Low income countries
Institutions in Middle income countries
Institutions in High income countries
Fees for Organizations are based on a combination of the Gross National Product (GNP) of the country where the Organization's headquarters are situated and the enrollment size of its largest institutional member.
Please note that organizations applying for membership in IAU are not required to settle membership dues until admission has been granted by the Association.
Organizations in Low income countries
Organizations in Middle income countries
Organizations in High income countries
Please note that universities and institutions of higher education applying for the IAU Observer status are not required to settle membership dues until admission has been granted by the Association.
Institutions in Low income countries
Institutions in Middle income countries
Institutions in High income countries
Once the payment of membership fees is confirmed by the IAU Secretariat, the new IAU Member will become entitled to all benefits.