2005:13 R

Evaluation of undergraduate and graduate programmes in German at higher education institutions in Sweden

The impression of the panel of assessors is that the quality of undergraduate programmes in German in Sweden is sound. The largest problem faced by the subject at the moment is posed by the lack of students and the system for allocating funding for languages with the negative consequences that ensue.

The number of students has declined from about 1,500 FTE´s in 1998 to just over 1,100 FTE´s in 2003. One factor that has had major significance for recruitment to higher education is that the numbers taking German in the primary and upper-secondary schools has also declined considerably. The panel of assessors considers that one way of countering this trend would be to raise the credit status of languages in the school system.

As a result of the current system of allocating resources, a declining student population leads to reductions in funding for the subject, which results among other things in a low number of teaching hours. During first-term programmes this averages just under 8 hours per week. The most frequent criticism of the programmes expressed by the 100 students that the panel of assessors were able to talk to during the site visits concerned the dearth of teaching. The panel considers that more teaching is needed as language programmes require training in proficiency.

One way of improving recruitment to the subject is to include the subject in various programmes in which German can be combined with other subjects, often economics. Efforts have been made in a number of places to have German included in more programmes. In addition to working to this end with those responsible for these programmes, it is also important for the subject itself to undertake continuous development of new courses that can attract students taking programmes or other single subject courses. Another way of recruiting students has been to offer beginner courses in German, which has helped to mitigate the decline in the numbers of students in the regular programmes. However, beginner courses do not provide any significant recruitment base for advanced studies in the subject.

The panel of assessors considers that every higher education institution that has opted to offer a specific language subject should receive earmarked language support from the government. This should not be provided unconditionally but should be linked to active innovation which has to be accounted for.
All of the institutions have reported a deterioration in the entry qualifications of their students, which means that there is a risk that the level of the teaching may be lowered. The institutions are attempting to redress this through propaedeutic courses and other remedial activities, such as counselling and mentorship programmes.

During recent years, subjects and departments have been merged to form multi-subject departments partly because of the reduction in the numbers of students. This can lead to more effective use of resources and to increased cooperation between different subjects. At the same time it is important to ensure that there is an explicit and systematic division of responsibilities between faculty administrators, departmental chairs, subject representatives and directors of studies.

The students that the panel of assessors met testified to very good informal contacts with their teachers. The panel considers it important for the students also to be offered greater scope to influence formal decisions in the departments. The panel formed the impression that all the courses are, with few exceptions, subject to course evaluations but that further development of these procedures is possible.
In all a total of 60 students are registered in graduate programmes in the subject, of whom about two-thirds are active. The majority of the 30 or so graduate students that the panel talked to are very satisfied with their supervision. The panel of assessors considers that there should be an independent contact person for graduate students to turn to should, nevertheless, problems arise. There should also be an action plan to enable problems to be dealt with in which routines for switching supervisor are specified.

The panel of assessors considers that there could be greater cooperation on courses, seminars and graduate schools between institutions in Sweden and the other Nordic countries. A cooperation group (or several cooperation groups) should be established to provide a structure for this cooperation. Cooperation with cognate subjects on courses, seminars and graduate schools should also continue and be intensified.

The number of theses published between 1994 and 2004 has doubled in comparison with the previous decade. The panel of assessors considers that theses are often too extensive and that the universities should review their demands so that they can be adapted to the period for which funding is available for graduate study.