Two decrees reorganize the social councils of the Canarian universities

The Government of the Canary Islands has approved two new organization and operation regulations for the social councils of the University of La Laguna (ULL) and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). The regulations, processed by the Ministry of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture, are published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands no. 214, of October 26, 2026, in section I. General provisions, and enter into force the day following their publication, that is, October 27.

The first of the texts is Decree 153/2026, of October 19, which approves the regulation of the La Laguna social council (p. 38381); the second is Decree 154/2026, of the same date, for that of the Gran Canaria university (p. 38418). Both were deliberated by the Government of the Canary Islands in its meeting on October 19, 2026, and are signed by President Fernando Clavijo Batlle and Minister Migdalia María Machín Tavío.

A renewed legal framework following state and regional reform

The preambles justify the replacement of the current regulations due to the approval of Organic Law 2/2023, of March 22, on the University System, and the modification of Law 11/2003, of April 4, on Social Councils and Coordination of the University System of the Canary Islands. This new framework, they note, has redefined the institutional position of these bodies, reinforced their competencies, and expanded the instruments to exercise them.

The repealed regulations are:

• Decree 215/2017, of October 16, in the case of the ULL, which in turn had modified the original 1988 text.
• Decree 97/2004, of July 20, and its 2011 and 2019 modifications, in the case of the ULPGC.

Each regulation is structured into six titles and 57 articles: nature and competencies; statute of members and bodies; operation; internal control and economic-financial activity; personal and material resources; and reform procedure. The stated objective is to consolidate the social council as a body for society’s participation in the university and as a channel for relations with the economic and productive environment.

Twenty-eight members and five commissions

Both councils are constituted by twenty-eight members: six representing the university community and twenty-two representing social interests. Among the latter are three members proposed by the Government of the Canary Islands, three by the groups of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, one for each island council (cabildo insular), two by trade union organizations, and two by employers’ associations, in addition to representatives from professional associations, funding companies, foundations and companies with agreements, persons of recognized prestige, and alumni associations.

The term of office for the members is four years, and the presidency, elected from among the representatives of social interests, also lasts four years and is renewable only once. The regulations further establish that the presidency shall appear every second semester of the year before the university commission of the Parliament of the Canary Islands to present the activity report.

The operation is structured around the Plenary, which meets in ordinary session at least once per quarter, and five commissions:

• Permanent Commission, with executive functions and for the monitoring of agreements.
• Planning and Economic Affairs Commission.
• Academic Affairs and Quality Commission.
• Society Interaction Commission.
• Institutional Integrity and Anti-Fraud Commission, with autonomy and control powers over the risk of fraud and corruption in the execution of public funds.

Economic control, auditing, and response times

The fourth title develops the regime of the Internal Control Service, the Audit Committee, and the Permanent Audit and Financial Control Plan, and incorporates fraud prevention and risk management instruments. The social council assumes the approval of the university’s annual budget, the annual accounts, the spending limit, and borrowing and guarantee operations, and must submit both the budget and the accounts to the competent department within a maximum period of one month from their approval.

Regarding reports, the general deadline is 30 calendar days from the receipt of the proposal; it is reduced by half if the presidency deems it urgent and to 7 calendar days in cases of extreme urgency. The agreements of the Plenary exhaust the administrative route.

Each council shall have its own budgetary program integrated into the budget of its university, with one regional allocation and another charged to the center’s own resources, equivalent to at least 0.25 percent of the total volume of the latter. An item of up to 15 percent of the funds raised by the council itself may be added.

Headquarters, transparency, and entry into force

The headquarters of the social council of the ULL is established in the central building of the institution; that of the ULPGC, in the institutional headquarters of the university. The General Secretariat is configured as a technical support body, with exclusive dedication and free appointment, and its functions of legal coordination and monitoring of agreements are reinforced. The La Laguna regulation further establishes that the Plenary shall approve its transparency rules within a period of six months.

The entry into force of both regulations, the day after their publication, implies that the social councils of the two Canarian public universities face the new academic year with different operating rules. The change affects the composition and regime of their bodies, the deadlines for reporting on university files, and the mechanisms by which they supervise budgets, accounts, and contracts—areas that until now were governed by texts from 2004 and 2017.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 214, of October 26, 2026, section I. General provisions, pages 38381 and 38418 (official reference: Decree 153/2026 and Decree 154/2026).