Higher Education

During the last five years higher education research in Germany seems to be in a significant upturn. This is a side effect partly of the obvious boom of empirical educational research in general and partly of the reform movement that has affected the German higher education system since middle of the 1990s. The demand for data in the field of higher education will increase considerably in future. The available data infrastructure for higher education research in Germany consists of two complementary main sources: on the one hand the official higher education statistics, on the other hand survey-based research. All in all, there are no serious or principle obstacles to access to the available data stock. Access in particular to some of the most important surveys could be improved by the establishment of a Forschungsdatenzentrum at HIS Hochschul-Informations-System. Furthermore, there are some deficiencies in the present data provision. New topics and demands of data provision have to be integrated into official statistics and survey based research – e.g. such issues as migration status, competencies, lifelong learning, quality of studies, institutional effects, international mobility, programs to promote younger scholars etc.. In particular there is a lack of panel designs. The very new National Education Panel Study (NEPS) will eliminate some but not all of these deficiencies.

Outcomes from institutional audit: specialist institutions: second series

Consideration of the 59 audit reports published between December 2004 and August 2006 shows that 15 relate to institutions which define themselves as 'specialist' in their missions. These institutions vary considerably in size, and include institutions which are specialist by function as well as by subject. A small number of the institutions had degree awarding powers in their own right, but most worked with one or more awarding institutions or were constituent colleges of the University of London. The frameworks, structures and procedures which support the management of quality in specialist institutions are not significantly different from those in the rest of the sector. The audit reports indicate that the institutions were making efforts to meet the challenges posed, for example, to effective committee operation, by having only a small number of staff or a distinctive organisational structure. A number of the audit reports discuss the institutions' recognition of the potential for insularity resulting from their specialist nature and the steps taken to counter this. These include ensuring the involvement of external peers in programme design, approval and review, the active involvement of professional practitioners in aspects of teaching and learning and the provision of opportunities for placement and work-based learning within the curriculum. However, in a small number of cases, the audit reports note that institutions had been very slow to engage with elements of the Academic Infrastructure. A collegiate culture and a strong commitment to the professional development of staff is characteristic of specialist institutions. The audit reports also describe a commitment to hearing and responding to the student voice, often associated with the effective use of informal systems for gathering feedback, as a feature common to many of the institutions. This is also reflected in the levels of academic and personal support and guidance available to the students. The distinctive learning experience and environment is often supported by specialist learning resources which reflect the professional and vocational orientation of many of the specialist institutions. The audit reports indicate that on the whole, specialist institutions have appropriate arrangements in place for maintaining academic standards and managing and enhancing the quality of learning opportunities provided for students. The institutions are responding to the challenges posed by their specialist nature and their often small size, as well as capitalising on the opportunities presented by their distinctive nature and ethos