Senior studies
Senior studies (or studies in old age) is the study by senior citizens at universities and technical colleges .
The term senior studies (including studies for the elderly, studies from 50 or especially Switzerland senior university) includes various educational offers that take into account the special spectrum of interests of older people. In Germany there are three models in addition to general continuing education programs: guest auditor and certificate courses or regular enrollment for Bachelor / Master’s courses ,
50 German universities offer special educational offers for the older generation. Most of these are simple guest auditor studies without additional requirements (no Abitur required). There is then no possibility to acquire course work; Evidence of studies is limited to certificates of attendance for seminars. Some universities offer special certificates especially for studies on civic engagement in old age, also on the basis of guest audiences but with proof of achievement and requirements, e.g. B. in the form of a thesis.
A win-win situation of intergenerational justice can be found in the model set up in 1984 by the solidarity community teachers and educators Südbaden (SOLE) and adopted by the Freiburg University of Education in 1987 , in which highly qualified, yet unemployed young academics found employment as additional lecturers for senior studies .
Since a regular course of study takes a lot of time and requires a corresponding university entrance qualification, most senior citizens use the guest auditor course, which is integrated into everyday university life and is therefore part of the regular teaching program for regular students. The 60-plus generation makes up almost every second of the approximately 40,000 guest students at German universities. The Federal Statistical Office reported that this proportion has almost doubled since 1997.
A guest student or senior course is not geared towards examinations or degrees and students can put together their subjects themselves ( Studium generale ). The tuition fees , depending on the university and sometimes the number of hours per week, range between around 40 and 240 euros per semester . A semester ticket or discounts in the cafeteria does not exist for it.
The admission of a regular course in subjects with restricted admission in old age is only possible to a limited extent, as younger students have priority. Participation in the allocation procedure for university places is excluded or severely restricted in the central procedure of the Foundation for University Admissions or the allocation regulations of individual federal states. “ Anyone who has reached the age of 55 when applying (...) will only be involved in the award procedure if there are serious scientific or professional reasons for the intended course of study, taking into account the applicant's personal situation. “(Identical § of the procurement regulations in Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony). These restrictions can only apply to the first subject semester or even to consecutive postgraduate courses (master’s and others in NRW, also as preparation for doctorates). On the other hand, access is always possible in non-admission courses and for doctoral studies.
The first German senior university in Horn-Bad Meinberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, the European Center for University Studies (EZUS), has existed since 2006.
In Austria there is also the possibility of studying in old age. There are no restrictions for the regular bachelor's degree with the exception of the hard NC subjects . Further education courses are also offered. As an extraordinary student, general or individual subjects can be studied; the Matura is not required for this, examinations can be taken. The University of Salzburg offers a “Studium 55plus” on this basis, the ÖH contribution (regular € 383) is reduced to around € 200 per semester. Similarly, the University of Klagenfurt has a “Senior Studies Liberals” that includes selected courses and examinations (ÖH fee plus € 100 per semester). The fees for senior and further education studies are very different. For a regular Bachelor's or Master's degree - not a second degree - only low semester fees have to be paid within the minimum period of study plus 2 semesters.
literature
- Günther Böhme : On the theory of a university of the 3rd age. Research as a Challenge (Part I). In: Critical quarterly for legislation and jurisprudence (KritV). Vol. 87, 2004, ISSN 0179-2830 , pp. 219-232.
- Silvia Dabo-Cruz: Examples from the University of the 3rd Age in Practice. Research as a Challenge (Part II) . In: Critical quarterly for legislation and jurisprudence (KritV) . 87th vol., 2004, pp. 226-232.
- Willy Potthoff / Antonius Wolf: The senior studies at the PH Freiburg , in: PH-FR 1991/1, Freiburg
Web links
- First senior university in Germany and senior studies
- Study guide for seniors from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( Memento from May 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file, as of 2013) in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
- Academic Association of Seniors in Germany
- 20 years of senior studies at the University of Leipzig
- European Center for University Studies
- [1] Allocation regulations of the central university admissions foundation and all federal states
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://recht.nrw.de/lmi/owa/br_text_informationen?v_id=10000000000000000420 | Allocation Regulation for Study Places NRW § 4 Paragraph 2
- ↑ EZUS - background. European Center for University Studies, accessed August 1, 2018 .