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Germany
I.A Brief Description of German Higher Education System
The German higher education
past is characterized by a clear binary differentiation between universities
and specialized institutions of engineering, medicine, economics, and
various colleges and vocational schools. However, beginning in the 1960’s
as Germany moved from elite
to mass education, a number of the non-universities
were ungraded. Specialized colleges attained university status, and
teacher-training colleges were absorbed into the university system.
Perhaps the most significant change occurred when engineering schools
and higher vocation schools were upgraded to Fachhochschulen, now referred
to as universities of applied sciences. The new
term is supposed to provide more transparency for foreign students interested
in studying in Germany. Universities of applied sciences have different
admission prerequisites than the classical German universities, and
the study period of four years includes a lengthy practical work placement
in a related professional field. As a rule, graduates of Fachhochschulen
who transfer to universities will have to study one or two more years
in order to achieve a
university diploma. Parallel to the traditional system,
in which the only university first degree was the Diploma, bachelor and master degrees have recently been introduced in accord with the European Union’s 1998
Bologna Declaration, attempting
to conform European university degrees around the “bachelors-masters model.
German higher education
is overwhelmingly public, consisting in 1996 of 90 universities (traditional,
technical, and special), 146 universities of applied sciences, or Fachhochschulen,
46 academies/colleges of art and music, 16 theological seminaries, 6
teachers colleges (down from 51 in 1970) and 1 comprehensive university
(down from 11 in 1975). The overall growth and changes in sector composition
is shown in Table 1. Private higher education, mainly universities of
applied science and theological colleges, in 1996 totaled 77 institutions.
Public universities are defined as, “corporations under public
law” although some states, or Länder,
have tried to
establish other legal forms for
universities--e.g. public universities in Lower Saxony under the new state law
will have the opportunity to be run as foundations. The university’s basic budget comes from the states. Only buildings, and
large investments and some research are financed dually by the Federal
Government (Bund) and the Länder. In 1996,
revenue for public institutions came 86 percent from the Länder, 9 percent
from the Federal Government and 2 percent from private sources (eurydice.org).
All academic institutions fall under both the federal Framework Act for Higher Education and
the laws and regulations of the respective Länder. However, the higher
education institutions are guaranteed the constitutional right to self-administration.
Table 1
Growth in German Public Higher
Educational Institutions
By Sector, 1960-1996
|
Type
of Institution |
1960 |
1965 |
1970 |
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
Universitiesa |
33 |
34 |
41 |
49 |
55 |
59 |
70 |
90 |
92 |
|
Theological
|
17 |
17 |
14 |
11 |
11 |
15 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
|
Teacher’s
colleges |
52 |
54 |
51 |
19 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
|
Art
academies |
24 |
26 |
26 |
26 |
26 |
26 |
26 |
46 |
46 |
|
Comprehensive
universitiesb |
_ |
_ |
_ |
11 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Fachhochschulenc |
_ |
_ |
98 |
97 |
115 |
122 |
122 |
176 |
183 |
|
Total |
126 |
131 |
230 |
213 |
229 |
240 |
248 |
335 |
|
a Including technical universities and special universities.
Source BMBF, Grund-und
Strukturdaten/Basic and Structural Data: 1999/2000, pp.72-73, in B. Kehm’s book Higher Education in Germany, Wittenberg
& the UNESCO European Center for Higher Education, Bucharest (1999).
The ministries of education, or the higher education ministries
of the 16
individual Länder govern the higher education institutions. Due to this federal
approach to higher education policy
there
is a wide variety
of rules
and systems. However, the trend is clearly toward an increasing degree
of autonomy. In most of the states, detailed state planning
and regulation has been lessened, and a steering approach has been introduced
with instruments
such as lump-sum budgeting, contract management, and formula funding.
At the same
time, the Länder retain
authority over: (a)
approval of the statues of higher education institutions; (b) regulation
of institutional organization and administration through higher education
laws --in particular the administration of staff, budgets, and finances;
(c) approval of new course programs; (d) approval of study and examinations
regulations; (e) confirmation of rectors and presidents after election;
and (f) confirmation of professors. In some states university autonomy was enhanced
by a
reform of the Framework Act for Higher Education that abolished most of the
former Länder–imposed regulations regarding organizational and committee
structures. In other Länder, some of the regulatory
function has been given to university councils, which have similar functions to the American boards
of trustees.
And
in most of the states the internal
budgeting processes have been deregulated.
There is a controversial and emotional debate going
on concerning tuition fees. In the 1998 federal election, the winning Social Democrats promised
to forbid tuition fees in Germany by a change in the Framework Act. Since
the majority of the states did not support this plan, the Federal Government failed. In the meanwhile, several states implemented special
forms of fees. By 2001, the following fees exist:
·
In Baden-Württemberg, there is a tuition
fee of DM 1,000 [$505] per semester to be paid by students
who have studied longer than the normal duration of a certain program (mostly about
4-5 years, sometimes longer) plus 4 semesters. The objective of tuition
fees is a kind of “punishment” and an incentive to work more efficiently for long-term students.
As of 2001, Saarland
plans to implement a similar system.
·
In Bavaria and Saxony students who already acquired a degree and inscribe for a second study
program have to pay (Bavaria) DM 1,000 [$505] and (Saxony) DM 600 [$303] tuition fees per semester. The first degree until now means
the diploma; Master studies are kept tuition-free. However, there are some thoughts
about charging fees for Master studies.
·
In
Berlin, Lower Saxony and Brandenburg all students have to pay DM 100
[$51] as an enrolment
fee each semester. The intention is the sharing of administrative cost.
There is no loan or
grant policy connected with these forms of tuition fees. The tuition fees go to the universities; the immatriculationenrollment fees become part of state budgets.
Parents have
a legally-enforceable obligation depending on their financial means,
to support their children’s expenses of books, room, and board. For this reason, some financial support is
directed to the parents:
All families with children studying up to the age of 27 receive the “Kindergeld”, a payment
of DM 250 per month for the first child (and even higher for further children) and benefit from certain
tax allowances. Other sources of support for the expenses of attendance
include: (a) a grant or loan provided by the federal state
under the Federal Education and Training Assistance Act (BAföG); (b)
a scholarship provided by a private or a public foundation; or (c) part-time
employment.
Despite the fact of many students being part-time employed no formal status of
a part-time student exists in German higher education.
Table 2
State Financial Assistance under BAföG
|
|
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
|
Total number
of students |
1,806,000 |
1,836,000 |
1,829,000 |
1,814,000 |
1,794,000 |
1,781,000 |
|
% BAföG Recipients |
23 % |
19 % |
17 % |
15 % |
19 % |
18 % |
|
# University
BAföG recipients |
297,000 |
251,000 |
217,000 |
188,000 |
223,469 |
210,332 |
|
# Fachhochschulen
BAföG recipients |
111,000 |
102,000 |
94,000 |
86,000 |
116,810 |
113,363 |
Source BMBF: Bundesministerium
für Bildung und Forschung, BAföG Statistik; www.bmbf.de;
The Federal Education and Training Assistance Act (BAföG) was
originally devised in 1971 to provide the needy students with non-repayable
state grants, the level of which was dependent on parents’ income. Later,
these grants were changed to a means-tested combination of a 50 percent non-repayable
grant and a 50 percent interest-free loan, having to be repaid within
twenty years, beginning in five years after graduation with a monthly minimum
payback of DM 200 [$101]. Federal Government and Länder provide
the funds for BAföG in a 65-35 ratio. There are merit-based elements in the BAföG: after
the 5th semester, students have to submit a “certificate for qualification” in order to maintain their BaföG eligibility.
If students need more time than the normal length associated with a certain program, they
may receive a loan only, at an interest rate of about 4-5 percent and a repayment obligation
beginning 6 months after graduation.
The BaföG grant is differentiated
according to several aspects of living costs: e.g. students in the “old states” of Western Germany receive more than those
in the “new states” in the east; the same is true for
students living on their
own compared with students living with their parents. Also students in certain cities with
especially high
living costs may receive additional grants.
Since there has been a continuous decline in the percentage
of students applying for BAföG, there were pressures on the federal
government to reform the system, both to increase the size of the grant/loan
BAföG entitlement and to increase the number of students and families
eligible by “easing” the means test. There were also recommendations,
not ultimately approved, for a more fundamental change that would have
essentially removed the parental obligation to contribute to
Table 3
Higher Education Expenses Borne
by Parents and Students In Germany,
First Degree, Academic Year 1998-99
[National
currency converted to $US
by 1999 Purchasing Power Parity $1 = DM.1.98*]
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Low Public: Living at home with parents.
Moderate
Public: living in
dormitory or shared apartment.
High Public: living as an independent adult.
* OECD (January, 2001). Main Economic Indicators. <http://www.oecd.org/std/ppp1.pdf>.
ftp://ftp.bmbf.de/GuS2000_ges_engl.pdf
www.rwth-aachen.de/zentral/aaaguide_guide5.htm
www.fh-karlsruhe.de/aaa/en/dgr/fin_e.htm
www.tu-dresden.de/aaa/auslaender-e/infos-e.htm
The Office of Student Fees and Loans at the Darmstadt
Technical University1 997-98; Class Notes for ELP525 ISPF.
GF, DBJ, FZ 10/15/01
