‘Our programmes in Law, Business Administration and Economics and Information Systems are among the best third of ranked universities in the German-speaking world – an excellent result’, University President Carola Jungwirth said. ‘For many years, the University of Passau has been ranked in the top tier Germany-wide considering study conditions, innovative teaching and teacher support.’ Nevertheless, medium rankings in the areas of doctoral study, academic publications and support for new students suggest there is room for improvement. President Jungwirth said: ‘The results confirm our recent strategic decision to redouble our measures to support early career researchers and enhance the visibility of Passau’s research.’
‘The CHE results confirm, once again, the excellent reputation of our faculty in the German-speaking world’, said the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Hans-Georg Dederer. In student surveys, Passau has been ranked in the top groups for ‘Overall study situation’, ‘Teacher support’ and ‘Study organisation’. For instance, the commitment and availability of teaching staff, access to classes, the transparency of the examination system and the co-ordination of classes received positive ratings from local students. Furthermore, the strong academic and professional relevance of the programme, range of courses offered as well as the condition and technical equipment of the seminar rooms and lecture theatres were given excellent marks. The free university revision courses for the state examination were rated excellent. ‘We aim to provide our students with the best possible preparation for their final examinations. This is reflected in the CHE rankings, but above all in the standardised Bavarian state examination for Jurists. In the 2016 state examination, Passau had the lowest fail rate and the highest share of graduations with distinction in the state of Bavaria.’
Passau’s students of Business Administration and Economics are among the fastest to complete their degree programmes in the German-speaking world. ‘Our strong ranking in the category ‘Graduation in appropriate time’ proves how well the programmes in Business Administration and Economics and Information Systems is organised’, said the Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems, Professor Franz Lehner. In the surveys, students gave particularly high marks for Passau’s ‘International orientation’, ‘Teacher support’ and ‘Courses offered’. Top marks were also given for the rooms and lecture theatres. For Economics, Passau was only ranked in the category ‘Academic publications’ this time. Professor Lehner explained: ‘Since we do not offer a pure Economics bachelor’s degree, neither students’ feedback nor the number of graduates in appropriate time could be considered. However, the quality of the M.A. International Economics and Business programme was confirmed in the earlier December 2014 rankings for Economics master’s degrees, where it was found to be one of the three best economics programmes in the German-speaking world.’
The latest edition of the study orientation magazine ‘ZEIT Studienführer 2017/18’, which includes the CHE results, was published on 9 May. Every year, one-third of all presented programmes are re-evaluated – this year this included Business Administration, Law, Economics, Information Systems, Social Work, Engineering Management and Corporate Law; however, the University of Passau does not offer degree programmes in the latter three.
The CHE rankings are the broadest and most detailed university rankings for the German-speaking world, encompassing some 300 participating universities and universities of applied sciences representing more than 2,500 departments. In addition to offering facts on study, research and teaching conditions as well as equipment, it includes the opinions of students from 7,500 degree programmes. The rankings are published online at ZEIT ONLINE.
Extract from the latest regional results of ‘ZEIT Studienführer 2017/18’ for the University of Passau (newly assessed disciplines only):
Discipline: Business Administration
Excellent rankings for:
- Graduations in appropriate time
- Courses offered
Medium rankings for:
- Overall study situation
- Academic publications
- Support for new students
Discipline: Law
Excellent rankings for:
- Overall study situation
- Teacher support
Medium rankings for:
- Doctoral study
- Research funds
Discipline: Economics
Medium ranking for:
- Academic publications
Discipline: Information Systems
Excellent ranking for:
- Overall study situation
Medium rankings for:
- Professional relevance
- International orientation
- Academic publications
- Support for new students