Compromise on the higher education Pact : city-States should not be at a disadvantage

In the struggle for the new higher education Pact, a compromise solution appears to be emerging. The agreement of the Federation and the länder may provide that the funds will be distributed in a "corridor to the mid-2020s," according to the previous rules, said the President of the German rectors ' conference, Peter-André Alt, on Wednesday after the meeting of the HRK Senate in Berlin. This was the compromise formula, according to which the new higher education Pact could be decided at the beginning of may by the Joint science conference (GWK). It is expected to be around two billion euros in the year.

Recently, it was feared, especially in the case of students, especially the popular city-States such as Berlin and Hamburg, they could be disadvantaged by the new distribution criteria from 2021. So far, the higher education Pact countries, which have built up since 2007, a disproportionately high number of additional students rewarded. In the new edition of the Covenant by which Federal funds are consolidated, are to be added in addition to additional places to study two more criteria: the students who have Bachelor's and master's programs in General, conclude study time plus two semesters, and the graduation rate. And because of the high demand universities that carry an Overload of students have a hard time.

standard period of study plus two is weighted with 60 percent

The compromise formula, according to the Old, from the mid-2020s, the two additional criteria. In the medium term, a newly built freshmen courses and the financial statements will be for the allocation of funds, each with 20% weighting. The students in the standard period of study plus two semesters in the Bachelor and in the Master, for example, for study abroad and work placements will be granted stays, count to 60 percent. With a similar scheme in the awarding of the country in Central Berlin'm already a good experience, said Alt. The disadvantage of the East German Länder, which can build up due to the demographic change, the additional students should be offset by a solidarity contribution of the West German Länder.

the countries have Agreed of age, according to, an annual increase of the Pact's medium-three percent of co-funding. Now had to negotiate the Federal Minister of research Anja Karliczek (CDU), the Federal share in a timely manner with the Federal Ministry of Finance, said the HRK President. Karliczek had been rejected by the annual increase, however, up to now.

New competition for applied research required

Not a criterion in the higher education Pact is Old, according to the supervision ratio between lecturers and students and, therefore, not the creation of life. The expectation that the universities with more stable resources permanent positions, connecting also with the quality Pact for teaching, which also expires in 2020, said Alt on demand. Here are the HRK calls for, in addition to the existing competition for funding of innovative teaching projects and fixed resources for the basic funding of teaching will be distributed. Is rejected, continue to be a by the German science Council and recommended by the Federal government favored "the German teaching community", which is to allocate funds on a competitive basis. The HRK calls for an organized "platform" on which universities to exchange ideas about good teaching and about research.

higher education Pact, the Berlin universities loss

threaten at the same time the rector, to demand interior and President of a new competition. With an annual 500 million euros of application should be related to research at universities of applied Sciences and technical universities will be promoted. In the early, experimental phase of the research, there is a funding gap, said Alt. If the Federation and the Länder could agree on such a contest, would be the of the colleges to be expressed through a Transfer-of-community – in parallel to basic research, German research Foundation – the table.