Brief description and objectives

The project "Professors at private universities: Working conditions, role constellations and commitment in teaching, research and administration", the personnel structures at private universities are being investigated. The aim is to generate scientifically reliable knowledge about the working conditions of professors at non-state universities, with a particular focus on their roles in teaching, research, transfer and administration. Questions addressed include the roles perceived by professors at private universities, potential role conflicts, working conditions specifically for part-time professors and the question of how part-time and/or fixed-term professors integrate their roles as university lecturers with their non-university activities. The research project will develop theory-based hypotheses that will be empirically tested in an online-based full survey at private universities. In addition to describing and analysing professorial roles and working conditions at private universities, the aim of the project is also to empirically expand the theory of the university as an expert organisation. The work programme is structured as follows: The operationalisation of the questions includes explorative and testing elements in the sense of triangulation. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data allows a deeper and more complex understanding of the working conditions of professors at privately funded universities. To develop a standardised survey instrument for the planned online survey, 10 qualitative interviews will initially be conducted with professors. The results will be incorporated into the development of the survey questionnaire. The online survey will be conducted at all private universities in Germany in the second year of the project. In addition, 20 qualitative interviews will be conducted with part-time professors in order to qualitatively explore their specific working conditions.

Target group

In the project, university lecturers at private universities will be surveyed both qualitatively and in a standardised manner via an online survey regarding their roles in teaching, research, transfer and administration.

Project partners/network

The joint project is supported by 3 universities:

• University of Oldenburg (Prof. Dr Heinke Röbken, project leader),
• Northern Business School Hamburg (Prof. Dr Marcel Schütz) and
• University of Wuppertal (Prof. Dr Petra Buchwald/Prof. Dr Claudia Kastens)

Duration

1 July 2023 until 30 June 2026

Project organiser/funding

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Contact person

Prof. Dr Heinke Röbken;

Further information on the project

Further information on the overall project can be found here.