With the abolition of tuition fees in the 2014/2015 winter semester, the University of Oldenburg has been receiving study quality funds from the state of Lower Saxony as financial compensation for each student on an undergraduate Bachelor's or consecutive Master's degree programme since 1 September 2014.

Of the total funds, 25% (after advance deductions) are used for the financing of central tasks and measures. The remaining 75% is available to the Schools for their own responsibility and is divided between the Schools. A small proportion is distributed evenly among the Schools for decentralised measures, regardless of the number of students (the so-called base amount). The remaining share is based on the teaching performance of the respective School. A key factor in the calculation of teaching performance is the number of examinations taken.

The share of study quality funds for School I calculated in this way is allocated in accordance with the guidelines of the Presidential Board and the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act to ensure and improve the quality of teaching and study conditions. Above all, this is intended to improve the student-teacher ratio, but also the range of tutorials on offer and the equipment of teaching rooms.

A certain amount is available to the Institutes each semester, which is to be spent promptly. If this amount is not spent within a year, the remaining amount is transferred to central tasks and is no longer available to the School. Financing is agreed between the respective study commission and the Presidential Board.

There was often a considerable delay in the utilisation of the tuition fees due to committee deadlines. This was often accompanied by a delay in the outflow of funds. In order to minimise this delay in the spending of study quality funds, a new procedure for planning and spending study quality funds is proposed:

1. Institutes and working groups are responsible for the earmarked use of study quality funds for the amounts allocated to them. At the beginning of each semester, each Institute (including the working groups in the Institute of Educational Sciences) decides on the framework planning for the available study quality funds. This framework planning is compiled into a framework plan for the School by the Office of the Chair and submitted to the Presidential Board for approval.
2. The framework plan is discussed and confirmed by the Study Commission and the Faculty Council.
3. Justified individual applications are only submitted if they deviate from the utilisation plan once it has been defined and approved.
4. Members of School I - School of Educational and Social Sciences are eligible to apply for justified individual applications. An application form for measures/individual applications can be found on the homepage and must then be approved by the regular committees (institute council, study commission, faculty council).

This means that the utilisation planning per Institute is approved once in the School's committees (Institute Council, Study Commission and Faculty Council) and then all measures are implemented - without further individual applications.

The committee procedure would therefore be as follows:

• Preliminary discussion and coordination in the working groups (only concerns the Institute of Educational Sciences)
• Decision in the institute council
• Decision in the study commission
• Decision in the Faculty Council

Quality control with regard to the use of study quality funds is carried out by submitting a proof of use from the Institutes; deviations from the already approved use plans from a value of € 1,000 must be presented here (for example, an excursion is applied for and approved, but guest speakers are then settled).

Furthermore, any individual applications that may have been submitted and passed through the committees must be listed again in the interests of a transparent overall view.

The measures financed from study quality funds are documented on an ongoing basis in order to report on their use to the Ministry by 31 March / 30 September. The report is then published on the University of Oldenburg's homepage.

If you have any questions about the individual measures, please contact the applicants directly or the Office of the Dean of Studies:

Prof Dr Sebastian Schnettler
Dean of Studies