and Master Programmes in German Higher Education Institutions

new degrees to enhance the programme delivery in the future. TUs are particularly interestedin new delivery modes: About 80% of TUs intend to offer at least some part-timeMaster programmes, about 60% of TUs are interested in distance learning. In the Fachhochschulsector, an increase in dual Bachelor degrees is planned by 50% of institutions(Chapter 3). Whether these intentions are put into practice remains to be seen.Programmes for international students. Interestingly, the dominance of “internationalisation”aims revealed in Chapter 4 does not fully translate into institutions’ programmesupply: 60% of FHs and 40% of universities offer no programmes specifically aimed at internationalstudents, while the great majority of TUs does. This might partly be explainedby the fact that many programmes are evenly addressed towards international and Germanstudents (Chapter 4). As mentioned earlier, the SB data on foreign student enrolment revealsthat foreign student enrolment is significantly higher predominantly in Master programmes(Chapter 3).Language. However, programme language is rarely directed towards international studentseither. Only about 10% of programmes are offered at least mainly in English. Asked for anoverall judgement of language use in their B/M degrees, institutional management’s mostfrequent answer was “mostly German”. Many programmes are taught partly in English andpartly in German language. It can be questioned of what use it is to international students ifsome courses are taught in English language as long as some of the compulsory courses areonly taught in German. Also, it cannot necessarily be taken for granted that all German professorshave sufficient command of English to teach well, an issue that is delicate to tackle.Also, for several reasons, switching to English as the language of instruction is more easyfor some subjects (technical subjects) than for others (humanities). This is confirmed by thefact that more FHs and TUs move to English as the language of instruction than universities.Language might thus constitute a serious barrier to the future development of internationally-orientedB/M in all subject areas (Chapter 4).Credit Points. The KMK guidelines (Strukturvorgaben) of March 1999 prescribe the use ofa credit point system for all B/M. A clear majority of institutions uses ECTS across theboard. Other credit point systems are the exemption. Astonishingly, some institutions statethat they use no credit point system at all in spite of the KMK guidelines (Chapter 4).“Vordiplom”. Institutions are roughly divided into equal parts with respect to the questionof maintaining or abandoning the Vordiplom as part of Bachelor programmes. Among universitiesand TUs there is a clearer tendency to abandoning the Vordiplom than among FHs.The choice is not an easy one: while maintaining the Vordiplom makes it more difficult todesign a sensible three or four year Bachelor programme, there are also reasons for keepingit. In line with the HRK (2001a) recommendations, many institutions want to allow for studentmobility between the traditional and the new system. Maintaining the Vordiplom keepsthe systems similar and allows students to decide for the Bachelor degree at a relatively latepoint in time. Students who initially might not have enrolled in the Bachelor programme,can thus still opt for the new degree. Maintaining the “Vordiplom” can therefore also serveto increase the number of students deciding for a Bachelor degree (Chapter 4).66