and Master Programmes in German Higher Education Institutions

Finally, our survey asked respondents to rate (on a scale of 1 to 4) how important relationshipswith external parties are (have been) in relation to the introduction of B/M programmes.Although there was quite a lot of disagreement among respondents (high standarddeviations) for most questions, some patterns can be discerned. The item ranking the highestby FHs and TUs referred to relationships with foreign higher education institutions(ranked second highest by universities). The item ranked highest by universities, by contrast,was recommendations of umbrella organisations (such as the HRK, WR, etc.) 39 Theitem rated the lowest by FHs and TUs was agreements with other German higher educationinstitutions, whereas the universities rated both agreements with employers/companies andagreements within international consortia the lowest. 40Table 19: Have relationships with external organisations had an influence on the introductionof B/M programmes at your institution? mean (on a scale of 1 to 4) and standard deviationgiven.Factor FH Uni TUAgreements with otherGerman higher educationinstitutionsAgreements with foreignhigher educationinstitutionsAgreements withininternational consortiaRecommendationsfrom umbrella organisations(HRK, WR, ...)Position of employerorganisations(Berufsverbänden)Agreements withindisciplinary networks/organisationsAgreements with employers/companies1.8(.99)2.8(1.10)1.8(.90)2.3(1.02)2.6(1.05)2.2(1.04)2.0(1.10)1.7(1.03)2.1(1.01)1.4(.83)2.3(1.01)1.8(1.00)2.0(.89)1.4(.74)1.4(.84)2.6(1.12)2.1(.92)2.3(.90)2.1(.92)2.4(1.03)1.4(.51)Note: The mean (first number given) indicates the relative ranking of each item (higher numbers mean a higher importance),and the standard deviation (between parentheses) indicates the level of agreement among the respondents (highernumbers mean a higher level of disagreement). Not all respondents answered all questions, the number of responsestherefore varies from factor to factor. Source: CHEPS/CHE Survey data4.3 Programme development: strategic choicesIn this section, we report key choices made by institutions concerning the positioning(“Ausrichtung”) and development (“Ausgestaltung”) of B/M. The survey asked institutionalmanagement directly for their position regarding key decisions to be taken. This data is39 This item was ranked third highest by FHs and TUs.40 As with the other questions in this section, the response rates varied: here between 95%, 91%, and 94% (forthe item concerning agreements with foreign higher education institutions), to 86%, 84% and 88% (for theitem concerning agreements within international consortia) in the FH, university and TU sectors, respectively.33