Studying and Mobility
Migration behaviour of freshmen and students in Saxony
Runtime
08/2009 – 08/2012
Contracting Authority
Financing provided by the European Social Fund and the Free State of Saxony, within the framework of the funding guideline “ESF Hochschule und Forschung” – state innovation promotion.
Goals / Summary
The German university landscape has been undergoing a radical change for a few years. The universities are facing enormous competitive pressure. Each university is trying to raise their position in the competition through strengthening their profiles, attracting and retaining renowned scientists as well as recruiting qualified students.
The attractiveness and lure of a university are important criteria for recruitment, which in turn represent an indication of its appeal. Results of empirical research of students shows sedentariness in both West and East Germany emerging already since the 1960s. This means that the strongly suspected mobility does not exist and that the proximity to home is one of the most important deciding factors in the choice of place to study.
The choice of place to study dramatically affects demographic change. In western Germany there will be an excess of freshmen due to doubled high-school graduating classes while the east will see a shortage. In order to draw attention to the opportunities to study in Saxony and eastern Germany the state started the ad campaign “It’s best to start your studies in Saxony”. For the former East German states the image campaign “Studying in the Far East” followed. Through attaining a greater number of freshmen, the ultimate goal is to gain more graduates for Saxony. A lack of demand for study places and the imminent lack of highly qualified graduates would have negative effects on the economy in Saxony.
With the help of official statistics, the dissertation project will examine the mobility of freshmen and students and will also map out the catchment area of universities in Saxony. How mobile have those with university entrance qualifications, freshmen and students become over the years? Have the catchment areas changed? Are there signs that Saxony’s ad campaign is showing initial results? How well can mobility be recorded in official statistics? These are the main questions to which adequate answers should be found. In a short digression it will also be attempted to show the mobility of Saxon graduates based on preexisting quantitative surveys.
Project Management
Prof. Dr. Karl Lenz
Prof. Dr. Andrä Wolter
Contributor
Jacqueline Beyer, M.A.