The Government approves the University Student Statute with new rights

The Official State Gazette publishes this Thursday, October 22, 2026, Royal Decree 855/2026, of October 21, which approves the new University Student Statute, replacing the text in force since 2010. The regulation, promoted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities led by Diana Morant Ripoll, was approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on October 20 and enters into force the day following its publication, that is, October 23. The text appears in Section I of issue 262, starting on page 140858, with official reference BOE-A-2026-21955.

A framework for 1.89 million students

The Statute develops Title VIII of Organic Law 2/2023, of March 22, on the University System, and expressly repeals Royal Decree 1791/2010, of December 30, which until now regulated this matter. It applies to the entire Spanish university system, both public and private universities, their own and affiliated centers, and lifelong learning centers, regardless of the delivery method, including virtual.

The explanatory memorandum of the royal decree supports the reform with these system figures:

• 98 universities and 1,891,300 students in the 2025-2026 academic year, compared to 66 universities and 1,554,000 students in the 2000-2001 academic year, a growth of 22%.
• 1,074,000 women and 817,300 men enrolled; female students represent 57% of the total.
• Private universities have gone from 7% of the student body in 2000-2001 to 29% in 2025-2026.
• Those enrolled in virtual studies already exceed 27% of the total and foreign students have increased by 30%.
• 37.5% of university students were employed in 2024, according to the National Statistics Institute; the proportion reaches 62.3% in Master’s and 80.9% in Doctorate.
• More than ten thousand official degrees are offered in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Evaluation, enrollment, and mental health

The Statute is organized into 17 chapters and 64 articles. Among the novelties are the right to socio-professional guidance and to psychological and mental health care, which will be free and accessible and will be coordinated with the regional public health services, as well as care for students with disabilities and learning difficulties.

In the academic sphere, the text reinforces specific guarantees:

• Continuous assessment is the benchmark, although universities may establish alternative formats such as a final exam, final project, or final practicum.
• The evaluation criteria in the teaching guides may not be modified once the enrollment period has closed or teaching has begun, except with reasoned authorization.
• Each subject will have at least two examination periods, one ordinary and one extraordinary.
• Students shall not be summoned to global tests of different subjects of the same course with less than twenty-four hours’ difference.
• As a general rule, the review of grades shall not result in the worsening of the initial grade.
• External academic internships will determine inclusion in the Social Security system.

Coexistence, representation, and adaptation deadlines

Chapter XI refers the coexistence regime and the offenses and sanctions to Law 3/2022, of February 24, on university coexistence, and requires each university to have a joint Coexistence Commission and Coexistence Rules of mandatory compliance. The Statute also incorporates the duty to refrain from fraudulent procedures in evaluation tests, “especially through the inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence.”

The application calendar includes these deadlines:

• Six months for universities to have approved protocols against suicidal behavior, harassment and cyber-harassment, and personal harassment (bullying).
• Twelve months to adapt the affected regulations and provide student support units or services.
• Three months for universities to send the Ministry the designation of their representatives to the State University Student Council, whose constitutive session will be convened within a maximum of four months.
• Six months for the Permanent Commission of that Council to draft its internal regulations.

The text includes reports from the State University Student Council, the Council of Universities, the General Conference of University Policy, the ministries of Finance and for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, and the Council of State, and was negotiated with the Coordinator of Representatives of Public University Students and the student sectoral commission of the conference of rectors.

The new Statute arrives as the Spanish university faces a more heterogeneous student composition and an expansion of virtual and private teaching. For readers with university studies in progress or imminent, the change will translate into more precise rules on how they are evaluated, what they can demand before enrolling, and what support they are entitled to, with the university as the ultimate party responsible for guaranteeing them.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 262, of October 22, 2026, Section I. General provisions, page 140858 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-21955).