Germany from Re.ViCa

Partners situated in Germany:

Fernuniversität in Hagen (DE)

Germany in a nutshell

Germany and its "Länder"

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is a country in Central Europe. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With over 82 million inhabitants, it comprises the largest population among the member states of the European Union and is home to the third-highest number of international migrants worldwide.

Germany (Deutschland) is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as Länder (singular Land). Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesländer (federal states; singular Bundesland) is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law. The peoples of the states are the nation of Germany. The governments of the states are part of the authority of Germany.

Description of the Educational System in Germany

Responsibility for German education system lies primarily with the states while the federal government only has a minor role. The Basic Law provides for special forms of cooperation between the Federation and the Länder. The body responsible is the Commission of the Federation and the Länder for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (Bund-Länder-Kommission für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung – BLK), established under an agreement in 1970 as a permanent forum for the discussion of all questions of education and research promotion which are of common interest to Federation and Länder and for the presentation of recommendations to the heads of the Federal and Länder governments.

Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for nine or ten years. In Germany, students are graded on a scale of one through six, one being high and six being very low, or failing. Home-schooling is not permitted in any of the German Bundesländer except rare cases. Primary education usually lasts for four years (six in Berlin) and public schools are not stratified at this stage. In contrast, secondary education includes four types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by teacher recommendations: the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education, and the Gesamtschule or comprehensive school combines the three approaches. There are also Förderschulen (schools for the mentally challenged and physically challenged). One in 21 students attends a Förderschule.

In order to enter a university, high school students are required to take the Abitur examination; however, students possessing a diploma from a vocational school may also apply to enter. A special system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung allows pupils in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run school.

The Education System in Germany

Although Germany has had a history of a strong educational system, recent PISA student assessments demonstrated a weakness in certain subjects. In the test of 43 countries in the year 2000, Germany ranked 21st in reading and 20th in both mathematics and the natural sciences, prompting calls for reform.

For detailled information see http://www.kmk.org/dossier/organisation.pdf.

Higher Education in Germany

There are more than 220 Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science) and about 300 universities (state and state-recognised) listed in the official guidebooks and web-sites. These comprise universities and equivalent higher education institutions such as technical universities, comprehensive universities (Gesamthochschulen) and specialised institutions at university level (eg. for medicine, sport, administrative studies, philosophy and theology).

The Fachhochschulen offer shorter and more practice-oriented programs. They generally lead to credentials at the bachelor's level, but more and more Fachhochschulen also offer master's programs for those students eligible for further study. In addition, Germany's tertiary sector also includes either state-run or staterecognised Berufsakademien (professional academies) in some "Länder": Students receive academic training at Studienakademien (study institutions) and, at the same time, practical career training in a training establishment. A number of colleges of art and music offer programs in their areas.

At the universities, for many decades a master's level degree (differed in "Magister", "Diplom" or "Staatsexamen" - State Exam) was the first degree available and only the recent higher education reforms, which have introduced two-level programs at both the bachelor's and master's level have opened a chance to leave university earlier. The bachelor's degree in the beginning was introduced to avoid the drastic rates of non-completers, which in some university subjects were as high as 75 percent.

There are two semesters each academic year. Most of the information materials are available in German only, and admission in most cases is depending on German language proficiency as well. Big issues in educatianol policy concerning higher education are: equal opportunities, tuition fees and the so called initiative of excellence that benefits only a few universities.

Virtual learning initiatives in Germany

In the following table we would like to highlight the initiatives that we consider to be important virtual learning opportunities in Germany

Table 1

Nr	Name	Institution	City	Type
1.	Distance and Educational Study Center	Technische Universität Kaiserslautern	Kaiserslautern	Higher Distance Education.
2.	FernUniversität in Hagen	FernUniversität in Hagen	Hagen	Distance learning university.
3.	Hamburger Akademie für Fernstudien	Klett-Gruppe	Hamburg	Distance learning.
4.	[http://www.akad.de/ AKAD Privat-Hochschulen	AKAD]	Stuttgart	Privat higher education.
5.	Wilhelm Büchner Hochschule	Wilhelm Büchner Hochschule	Darmstadt	University of Applied Sciences.
6.	PFFH-Technikum	Private Fernfachhochschule	Darmstadt	Privat distance education.
7.	Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg	Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg	Hamburg	Distance learning / continuing education.
8.	Hamburger Fernhochschule	Klett-Gruppe	Hamburg	Distance learning.
9.	ZFH	Zentralstelle für Fernstudien an Fachhochschulen	Koblenz	Higher Distance Education.