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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the appropriateness of incentives used by governments for Polish public higher education institutions (HEIs) to be more efficient in real estate and how these incentives can be strengthened.

A closed-ended questionnaire was sent to all public HEIs in Poland. Of the 132 questionnaires sent, 57 were successfully completed and returned, representing a response rate of 43 per cent.

Analysis of empirical data demonstrates that when considerable public funds, both national and European, were distributed to extend and upgrade academic infrastructure, Polish HEIs have had no obligation to show how they manage the assets entrusted to them, and the government has not created adequate incentives to encourage efficiency in the use of HEIs real estate. This may have resulted in a significant, yet not always justified, increase in the space at their disposal. In view of a demographic decline, the low level of internalisation of Polish HEIs, the decreasing level of funding from the public purse and the growing operation and maintenance costs of the buildings, an oversupply of space may cause financial distress to some establishments. This may affect the future of the whole system of higher education.

This paper can be a resource for HEI chancellors, financial directors and campus managers, as well as HEI funding and supervisory institutions.

This paper highlights the need to strengthen incentives for public HEIs in Poland to foster their greater efficiency in resource allocation and utilization. Greater transparency in HEI operations and the improvement of the POL-on system may contribute to more efficient use of university assets.

The purpose of the paper is to offer insights into university asset management (AM) and describe the impact that the various determinants have on the process of university AM. The process of university AM is influenced by a range of determinants.

A literature review and a case study were used to achieve the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques – interviews and document analysis.

Changing conditions of state-run universities, such as decreasing number of students and a tendency to increase the proportion of scientific research activities, require flexible adjustments to the size and structure of the universities’ facility base. Reductions in government grants and increasing maintenance costs of university assets have made it necessary to manage both existing and future assets more effectively to achieve measured improvement of environmental and social performance, to fulfil strategic responsibilities and to create shared value.

The paper was limited to one practice case study. Additional cases could be studied to confirm the findings and increase the usefulness of the methodological framework and improve its application.

Identifying the various factors that influence the process of university AM would be useful for universities and other public building owners and their decisions-makers, such as chancellors and asset managers. The experience of the Polish market also may support the development of university or public building AM in other countries.

The process of optimising of university asset structure proposed in this paper can contribute to the better understanding and management of higher education institutions ' assets and to the greater competitiveness and efficiency of the Polish universities. The work is novel in that it provides insights into university AM and describes various determinants from an external (macro and micro) and internal (connected with the university itself) perspective.