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German universities are still geared towards what is regarded
as the "traditional student". He or she begins their undergra-
duate studies after gaining their university entry qualification,
and once they have obtained their Master‘s degree they seek
employment. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) has long since charted out a diffe-
rent course. It recommends increasing the number of people
gaining degrees by giving other groups access to higher
education. For example those who are qualified to study but
come from low-income and less-educated families, or people
who already have professional qualifications and want to
study for a degree.
However in the undergraduate study programmes prevalent
throughout Germany, cases of students who are in full-time
employment parallel to their studies are rare. A student‘s stu-
diesmust take priority over employment, and anywork should
be limited to the vacations.The general rule is: full-time study
according to the semester schedule with the obligation to
attend courses throughout the week. Few universities award
credits for job-related skills or develop degree courses that are
tailored to the requirements of people in employment. The
German higher education system recognises only one perfect
Improve University Access!
Germany suffers from a lack of university graduates. Unlike in other countries, the percentage of the workforce that is
highly-qualified has barely risen in the past 50 years.There is a particular shortage of students and graduates in the STEM
fields of study – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One reason why Germany is lagging behind in this
respect compared to other countries is that German universities are insufficiently oriented towards the requirements of
lifelong learning.
path to a successful university degree: the "Abitur", Ger-
many‘s formal university entry qualification.
Yet this orientation towards the "traditional student" has
long since ceased to correspond to the reality of the situation.
According to a social survey by the Deutsches Studentenwerk
and the Hochschul-Informations-System published in 2010,
the proportion of students in Germany with work experience
is – at 64 percent – actually above the international average.
Almost a quarter of all students have already completed a
vocational training course before they begin their university
studies. In 1999, 66 percent of all students jobbed "on the
side". And the number of students who work in addition to
studying rises in proportion to their age, reaching 79 percent
among 30-year-olds.
Clearly then, work and study are far more interconnected
than the universities are willing to recognise, even though the
number of working students and students with professional
experience will continue to rise. Given the opportunity,many
graduates will start working after gaining their Bachelor‘s de-
gree and only later – while still working – return to university
to study for their Master‘s.
University policy and the universities themselves must be
„Hochschulen müssen sich auf neue Zielgruppen
einstellen“: Die Autoren Heinke Röbken, Anke
Hanft, Olaf Zawacki-Richter (v.l.n.r.)
"Universities must adjust to new target groups":
The authors Heinke Röbken, Anke Hanft, Olaf
Zawacki-Richter (from left)