Faculty of Architecture | RWTH Aachen

Compatibility Study 2010/2011 Preface XIII
It is very clear that either way there is a high demand for a comparative data collection
as a means not only for a quantitative check but also as a tool for further
improvement of the syllabus quality. This collection, which you hold in your hand
today, serves as a manual for students as well as for the academic advisors and
the Faculty Board – and last but not least for our partner institutions, with the declared
aim to enhance our broad exchange of students and teachers and thereby
to improve our partnerships by giving to our constantly changing study programs
more transparency, coherency, compatibility and comparability.
Acknowledgement:
In more than two years the International Office of our Faculty under the coordination
of the Head of Office collected the enormous amount of data of this study
through interviews of many exchange students and professors of the individual
partner institutions.
We are utmost thankful to all those who during the very tedious assessment process
never gave up hope, especially our incoming and homecoming outgoing
students who helped us with a lot of enthusiasm to undertake this inquiry, such
experiencing or having experienced themselves a year of study abroad in a study
system which was different from the one they were used to. This is the positive
empiric aspect of a university networking in which quality is directly experienced
and identified through the exchange of students and no less important through the
exchange of teaching staff.
Nevertheless it is more than obvious that this manual can only be a very first step
into this direction. Therefore on a long-term and sustainable basis we need:
1. The establishment of a university network on all levels, teaching staff,
student mobility and summer intensive courses as well as network projects.
2. The development of a data bank within the network wherein each partner
takes care of his own curriculum.
3. Higher transparency, comparability and compatibility of the network´s
institutions
4. Agreements with each partner institution about specific study programmes
or modules in addition to bilateral cooperation agreements so that no
evaluation a posteriori of learning outcomes is needed.
5. To increase the mobility of students and lecturers with ensured mobility
windows within Europe, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) as
well as worldwide for a common education and labor market where
diversity is a common purpose.
Faculty of Architecture | RWTH Aachen