Information on additonal funds usage

Since the 2007 summer semester, all students had been required to pay tuition fees in the amount of 500 Euro per semester. These tuition fees have been abolished by a resolution passed by the Parliament of Lower Saxony dated 10 December 2013, becoming effective from the beginning of the winter semester 2014/15. The State of Lower Saxony replaces the fees by paying the universities additional funds in the same amount of the former tuition fees, the so-called "Studienqualitätsmittel" (funds for the improvement of study conditions).

Ideas and suggestions for new proposals
Suggestions for the use of the "Studienqualitätsmittel" may be submitted by every faculty member, including students, teachers, and administrative staff. Please use the online form (see right hand column) to submit your suggestion. Students may also provide their suggestions to the departmental student organisation. Students have an equal say on the allocation of the additional funds. The boards determining the use of these funds are therefore composed of student representatives.


What has improved at the Faculty?
Within the framework of decentralized use, already the tuition fees at the Faculty of Business and Economics were used in many different ways to improve teaching and supervision of students. The Faculty will keep these individual measures by using the "Studienqualitätsmittel" for funding them. The measures that have taken place thus far fall under the following nine categories (for more information, please click on the respective bullet-point):

• Expansion of the tutorials
  
  This allocation category comprises financing for new or additional tutorials. Additional tutorials offer students a large selection of courses from which they can choose from, allowing them to select those that correspond best to their area of specialisation. The introduction of new or additional tutorials for current courses enables lecture content to be dealt with more intensively, which would otherwise only be possible if students studied it on their own.
  
  
• Additional courses
  
  Additional funds also enable guest professors to offer lectures in Göttingen, increasing the selection of course offerings. The same holds true for teaching assignments, which also allow for additional courses to be offered. There is also a crash course in math for students beginning their bachelor's or master's studies to help close any gaps that may exist between high school knowledge and university math requirements, and also falls under the category of additional courses offered.
  
  
• Enhanced technical equipment
  
  Under this category, the additional funds are used to improve teaching material such as purchasing books for the textbook collection, databases and expanding access to online journals. In addition, licenses for simulation games, panel data and case studies for individual courses are acquired every semester. "Studienqualitätsmittel" also finance the extended opening hours of the library of economic and social sciences.
  
  
• Practical application
  
  Practical experience is promoted by the additional funds by financing excursions. For example, students have visited: IBM, the logistics centre of Amazon, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. These trips provide students an opportunity to gain insight into the daily work life in their fields, and enable talks with representatives on site. Financing has also been made it possible to invite guest speakers/ lecturers from industry, by covering their travel costs to the campus. This increases the chances of having managing directors or a member of the board of directors of a company holding a lecture for our students.
  
  
• Enhanced student support and conditions of study
  
  The Service Centre for Students is also supported by the additional funds. For questions regarding studying abroad, transfer of credits, or general questions regarding studies, the Service Centre for Students provides a place in the Faculty where questions can be answered. The financing of the Info-Point at the Examination Office enables tasks to be conducted with greater manpower, such as quicker turnaround for students requests for printing their degree, handing in papers, or picking up certificates. The time saved at the Examination Office is used for more thorough, individual care of students in complex and delicate situations.
  
  Test units have also been financed through which students in project seminars of business informatics can use mobile technology such as iPhones, Android devices and smartwatches to implement seminar specific tasks.
  
  
• Training for lecturers
  
  Special courses in continuing education and training for tutors are financed. In addition, course fees for university didactics courses for the continuing education of staff in the field of teaching are financed.
  
  
• Other
  
  The category "other" includes for example the free printing credit, the student council's freshman weekend, statistical advice for term papers and theses as well as the administration of tuition fees.