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55 EINBLICKE
19
With the Lifelong Learning
Campus the University
assumes a pioneering role.
Seminarraum des Lifelong Learning Campus: „Den
Anforderungen berufstätiger Studierender gerecht
werden.“
A seminar room at the Lifelong Learning Campus:
"Meeting the requirements of working students."
in employment, the Standing Conference, in line with the
directives of the Bologna Process, created the conditions for
further reform as early as 2002 – however universities are
largely unaware of this. According to a Standing Conference
structural guideline that applies in all the German states and
was passed on 4 February 2010, "proven competence and
skills acquired outside of the higher education system (…)
can be counted as credits for up to half the total amount of
credits required for a given degree course." In other words:
professionals can have their professional skills accredited
towards their degrees in as far as their skills correspond to
degree requirements. This means that in the best case those
with career experience can see their period of study halved.
But what sounds like a major breakthrough for people in
employment who want to study is in practice littered with
obstacles. First there are fixed quotas that limit the number of
students with work experience who are allowed to enrol for
programmes with admissions restrictions. But far more critical
is the fact that the degree courses are simply not tailored to
the requirements of people in employment.
Empirical studies have long since shown that it is not enough
to open up universities to new target groups, the process
initiated with the resolutions of the Standing Conference of
Ministers of Education. Additional supportive measures are
required. We need advisory and supervision services to be
available both before the course of study begins and in the in-
itial phase of study. Equally important are flexible study struc-
tures that are adjusted to the time limits and experience of
employed students and students who have already acquired
professional experience. Instead of focusing on prescribed
periods of study, the semester rhythm and timetables we
need to get rid of spatial and temporal limitations on higher
education. Students should be able to organise their studies
flexibly and according to their educational requirements –
ideally without being bound to a single university.
The University of Oldenburg is one of the few universities in
Germany that has already takenmany steps towards putting all
this intopractice. It has establisheddegreecourses that arecon-
sistently oriented towards the learning requirements of people
whowork parallel to their studies.Students can have their pro-
fessional skills accredited towards certain courses of study. And
withour successful participation in the "Advancement through
Education: Open Universities" competition organised by the
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) wewill also
develop high-quality degree
programmes in the fields of
science and technology that
are tailored to the needs of
working students.By offering
Master programmes in the fields of renewable energies,wind
energy systems,environmental sciences,building physics and
acoustics the University is also specifically targeting professi-
onals and people with family obligations.
Since the end of last year,with the newLifelong Learning Cam-
pus the University also provides a space specially designed
to cater to the needs of working students – thus assuming a
pioneering role in Germany‘s university landscape. The new
campus incorporates all the institutions that deal with issues
pertaining to continuing education and lifelong learning in
their research and teaching. The Centre for Lifelong Learning
(C3L) is among the largest facility of its kind at a German uni-
versity and provides well-researched, practice-oriented study
programmes for working students. By offering such degree
programmes the University aims to increase the interchange
between vocational training and higher education and attract
new target groups to universities via flexible educational paths.
By focusing the research and teaching resources of academic
continuing education at the Lifelong Learning Campus, the
University of Oldenburg has taken a major step towards rea-
lising the goal of lifelong learning and putting it into practice.
However lifelong learning is a subject that is relevant for all
universities, not just Oldenburg. Lifelong learning must be-
come an integral part of the entire higher education system.
If state-run universities fail to take up this challenge they will
lose competitiveness. There is the danger that in the long
term the deficits exposed by the OECD will not only weaken
state-run universities, but also the competitiveness of Ger-
many as a whole.