Overview

• The Council of Ministers approved the measure on October 7, with entry into force expected late October after publication in the BOE.
• All new campuses must secure a favorable, binding report from ANECA or regional quality agencies, and a negative assessment will halt a project.
• New institutions must reach 4,500 students within six years, employ roughly 380–500 faculty with at least 50% PhDs, offer 10 bachelor’s, 6 master’s and 3 doctoral programs across three fields, and dedicate 5% of their budget to research while obtaining 2% via competitive funds.
• Promoters must provide a financial guarantee equal to the third‑year budget, and most fully online universities will shift to state oversight requiring approval by the Cortes, with exemptions for established, publicly funded or co‑official‑language providers.
• Economy and Labour ministries and the CNMC raised objections including residency conditions for online faculty, while the final text lowers promoter‑experience demands and removes the binding character of the Conference General’s report.