Changes to the regulations governing the creation, recognition and authorisation of universities and university centres

On 28 October 2025, Royal Decree 905/2025 of 7 October came into force, amending certain regulations of the legal regime governing universities, among these Royal Decree 640/2021, of 27 July, on the creation, recognition and authorisation of universities and university centres, and institutional accreditation of university centres.

This regulation seeks to guarantee the quality of university education in the face of the increasing complexity of the types of universities that coexist, the proliferation of private institutions, the limited development of research and transfer activities, and the expansion of virtual or online university courses.

To this end, it establishes more stringent requirements for the creation, recognition and authorisation of universities and university centres, even though the deadline for adapting to the requirements set out in Royal Decree 640/2021, which in turn amended Royal Decree 420/2015, of 29 May, had not yet expired.

Thus, among other issues, and without prejudice to its transitional regime, universities with special characteristics (those that deliver more than 80% of their teaching activity under the virtual or hybrid teaching model) are regulated, new requirements are established in the procedure for the creation/recognition of universities, as well as with regard to the academic offer, universities are required to assign at least 5% of their total budget to research and knowledge transfer incentive programmes, as well as to allocate 2% of their total annual budget to calls for proposals, programmes and contracts for research and knowledge transfer, and a minimum student accommodation capacity equivalent to 10% of the number of university students enrolled in official degree programmes is required.