Excellently prepared for professional life: Graduates honour Witten/Herdecke University with top marks

The data collected as part of the cooperation project Graduate Studies (KOAB) is an important indicator of the quality of higher education. Looking back, 90 percent of graduates and graduates of Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) are very satisfied with their studies - in the degree programmes Medicine (97 %) and Dentistry (100 %), the satisfaction rates are particularly high. 80 percent gave the degree organisation the grades very good or good. In the degree programme PPÖ - Philosophy, Politics and Economics, the figure was 90 percent.

Around three quarters of the graduates surveyed also rated the practical orientation in their subject as very good or good. In the degree programmes Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology (Bachelor's and Master's), the figure was well over 80 percent. Around half of the graduates also came to Witten from other German federal states or from abroad to study. 44 per cent spent time abroad during their studies.

Witten graduates are sought after in practice

The UW/H attaches particular importance to matching graduates' competences with the requirements of their appointments - here it achieves top marks. 97 per cent of those surveyed stated that they had a high level of instrumental skills on graduation. The figure for interpersonal skills was 89 per cent and 94 per cent for systemic skills. This means that all three values exceeded the figures for appointments. In short: Witten graduates and alumni feel very well prepared for the job.

The figures on finding employment and the transition to their first appointment also justify the investment in a private university education at UW/H: 81 per cent found their first job after three months at the latest and on average it took three and a half months (median: 1.0) to take up their first appointment. After one and a half years, only 1 per cent were neither employed nor in training. "Our graduates are sought after in practice," says Prof Dr Dirk Sauerland, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society. "The vast majority of them have a job three months after graduating - and write a maximum of five applications. These are great figures that we also want to achieve for our three new Bachelor's degree programmes, which we are introducing in the winter semester 2023/24."

High response rate among Witten graduates

At almost 60 per cent, Witten/Herdecke University once again achieved a very high response rate to the KOAB this year, which is well above the average for participating universities (39%). "We are very grateful for the valuable feedback from our former students," says University President Prof Dr Martin Butzlaff. "In addition to the content-related impulses for the further development of our study programme, it confirms the close ties to our alma mater."

The KOAB is a project coordinated by the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT, Kassel), in which around 150,000 university graduates from over 70 universities are surveyed about a year and a half after successfully completing their studies and career path. The aim is to obtain comprehensive results on the evaluation of the degree programme.