To make it easier for prospective students with professional qualifications to start their degree programmes, individual support will now be available as early as the stage when they are deciding which course to study: The Department of Further Education and Educational Management and the Centre for Lifelong Learning (C3L) at the University of Oldenburg are developing a comprehensive range of support services as part of the InOS project, which forms part of the BMBF initiative “ANKOM – Transitions from Vocational to Higher Education”.

The project’s partners are the Institute for Technology and Education (ITB) at the University of Bremen, the Oldenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for East Frisia and Papenburg, wisoak at the Bremen Chamber of Employees, and the Wolfgang Schulenberg Institute for Educational Research and Adult Education. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The amendment to the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act in June 2010 significantly expanded access to university for individuals with vocational qualifications but without the Abitur. As part of the ‘Open University’ pilot project, various options for recognising continuing professional development qualifications have also been established in recent years, enabling students to complete their degree in a shorter time.

The ‘Individualised Online Study Preparation Programme for Individuals with Vocational Qualifications (InOS)’ consists of three components:

1) Individualised academic guidance is designed to provide information on the recognition of qualifications as early as the stage of deciding on a course of study. Depending on the continuing professional development qualification held, the part-time Bachelor’s degree programme in ‘Business Administration in Medium-Sized Enterprises’ (C3L) for individuals with vocational qualifications can be shortened by up to three (out of a total of eight) part-time semesters.

2) As part of the counselling process, any gaps in knowledge are identified and suitable professional development modules are recommended. These modules also cover introductory course content and are credited towards the subsequent degree programme (Bachelor’s in ‘Business Administration’, C3L). To enable working learners to manage their studies largely independently of time and location, the modules alternate between face-to-face sessions and online learning phases (‘blended learning’).

3) The creation of an e-portfolio helps students to become aware of their own skills, to reflect on them and to document them. The informally acquired skills recorded in this way can be credited with up to 40 KP upon admission to the degree programme.