University of Applied Sciences, Fulda

Chapter 4

Analysis of the Data

The idea for this study was the result of some frustrations and problems that the students had during the first term. During a trip, organised by the university, to a small town near Fulda, there was some criticism of the program, which actually ended in a unanimous decision by the participants to organise a gathering and write a list of the criticisms for further discussion. After the list was prepared, it was submitted to the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences in its raw form. This, however, caused some misunderstanding between the professors and the faculty on the one hand, and the students on the other. Unfortunately, the letter was taken as insulting by some of the professors, though this was never the intention of the students.

In order to solve the existing problems, it was decided to hold a meeting, called evaluation of the program, to which all the students and professors were invited. In this meeting teams were formed under the supervision of one of the professors to work on the criticisms and, if possible, come up with suggestions and recommendations to further improve the quality of the program. I must add here that this evaluation meeting did result in some changes and at least clarified most of the misunderstandings.
The problems the students referred to could be grouped into three categories: The most important category, from the students' point of view, could be described as the problems they had with the teaching methods. Most of the students felt at a loss–and in extreme cases that they did not receive enough guidance–to learn the subjects taught. The second category consisted of problems arising from the ambiguity and confusion the students experienced with respect to the prevailing system of evaluation, that is, their confusion about what formed the basis for the grades or marks they were to receive. The third consisted of language problems.

Introduction to the German Higher Education System

Before the actual analysis, the writer feels the necessity to explain some of the standards in the German higher education system, since some of these norms were precisely the source of confusion and dissatisfaction.
In Germany, one requirement for receiving a degree at the end of one's studies is to collect a certain number of Scheine [some sort of certification equal to a pass/fail in other systems] which students receive for the courses they do. The credits are divided into Studienleistung credits and non-Studienleistung credits. The ones which are not Studienleistung refer to those courses which do not include any exams or tests. The students receive a kind of certificate of attendance from the professor at the end of the term. The criteria of how to obtain the Schein is, therefore, determined by the professor.The Studienleistung ones, on the other hand, are passed or failed; this is determined by an exam or any other method which the lecturer chooses. The evaluation method is again not always taking an exam. Most of the professors expect active participation in the classroom and presentations, given individually or in a team. A list of the subjects to be presented is sometimes provided by the lecturer, or it is again a subject of discussion and consensus in the classroom between the professor and the students.
At the beginning of the term, the professors do not necessarily provide a list of the topics to be covered. This is because the content of the term can also be changed if both the students and the professor agree on certain areas to be included or excluded. Even in cases where such a list or overview is provided, there is no guarantee that the classes will be organised accordingly.
Giving lectures explaining the basic elements of a subject and then requiring more expansions on the subject by the students is also not necessarily the standard practice. Students are required to read handouts and participate in discussions after the content of the handout is either talked about again by the professor or is presented by one or a team of students. Hence a lot is expected from the students, but they are not forced to do any work, because no method of direct evaluation is applied. In fact, one can pass a subject without doing much work, and one can specialise in an area and get the Schein. Except when written exams are involved, a Schein does not contain any marks; that is, one passes or fails.
It is assumed that the students have chosen to study of their own free will and that they would therefore understand the necessity to read about and work on the subjects. The lecturers do not spoon-feed the students. They provide them with very general guidelines, and if there are any questions that can foster deeper reflection on the subjects, there will be discussions in the classroom. Otherwise the lecturer assumes that there are no points which are not clear enough.
The aforementioned points and their cultural background will be discussed in more detail in the analysis of the interviews with German students.