ISTAT Graduate Survey

At Hochschule Offenburg, all graduates of the previous examination year are surveyed annually about their completed studies at Hochschule Offenburg and their (professional) career.

This information is of great importance for the university and for quality management. Every piece of feedback helps us as a university to systematically improve and adapt to changing requirements. The experiences of former students can make a significant contribution to systematically improving the study conditions at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences.

Among other things, the graduates are asked about the following topics:

  • Satisfaction with studying at Hochschule Offenburg

  • Career entry and current employment

  • Application of the qualifications acquired in the course of study

Participation

All graduates of the examination year 25 (graduation period 01.09.2024 - 31.08.2025) of Hochschule Offenburg will receive an invitation to participate in the graduate survey 1-2 years after their successful graduation.

Between 1 October 2026 and 14 February 2027, the project will be in the so-called field phase. During this period, graduates will be contacted by email and invited to participate in the survey. Up to four letters (including reminders) can be sent.

The survey is conducted exclusively online. A standardised questionnaire is used, which enables both a nationwide comparison of study conditions and career success, as well as providing universityspecific results.

You can access the questionnaire anonymously and securely online via a link. You can take part in the survey with the help of the personal access code provided in the e-mail cover letter.

It is possible to interrupt the answering of the questions at any time and continue at a later time. The access code must be kept for this purpose.

Cooperation Project Graduate Studies

The graduate survey at Hochschule Offenburg is part of the nationwide "Kooperationsprojekt Absolventenstudien" (Cooperation Project Graduate Studies) (KOAB project) and is coordinated by the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT).

The KOAB project is a scientific research project. It is based on a network of about 80 universities. Hochschule Offenburg has been part of it since 2021. Together in the project network, a questionnaire was developed that is continuously adapted and further developed to meet the needs of the universities. This is the questionnaire that graduates receive.

It can be adapted individually for each university. Within the framework of the project, about 60.000 university graduates are surveyed annually about their career paths. Each participating university receives its individual results and national comparative values.

FAQs
Why should I take part in the survey?

Because only you can provide information about your career and assess from your perspective to what extent the knowledge and skills acquired at the university can be used professionally. And it is precisely this information that is of great interest to our quality management. It helps us to keep up with the ever-changing demands on higher education and to systematically improve. Among other things, the survey results flow directly into the further development of our degree programmes and thus contribute to permanent quality improvement. Furthermore, as a higher education institution we have an educational mandate and are obliged to evaluate our study programmes and find out what influence studying and teaching have on career entry and later career paths. This is anchored in the Framework Act for Higher Education (Hochschulrahmengesetz) and the Baden-Württemberg State Higher Education Act (Landeshochschulgesetz).

Who can take part in the survey?

All graduates of the previous examination year. You will be contacted by email 1 to 2 years after graduation. Only with the help of this letter and the personal access code it contains can you take part in the survey online.

How do I get to the questionnaire?

The survey takes place online. In the email you received, you will find both the link to the questionnaire and your personal access code, which you will need to register. Please pay attention to upper and lower case when entering the code.

It is possible to interrupt answering the questions at any time and continue at a later time. You must keep the personal access code for this purpose.

In which period can I participate in the survey?

The online survey takes place annually. The survey period runs from October to February of the following year.

Why may my address data be used?

Address data may be used within the university if it serves the fulfilment of academic tasks and/or the fulfilment of the university's tasks.

Both are fulfilled within the framework of the graduate study:

  • The graduate study at Hochschule Offenburg is part of a nationwide scientific research project coordinated by ISTAT. ISTAT evaluates data from graduates in anonymised form for scientific purposes.

  • The results of the study are used for research and quality assurance of teaching and studies within the university.

The legal basis for the processing of personal data within the scope of the graduate survey at the Hochschule Offenburg is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e. EU-DSGVO. The processing is carried out within the framework of the university's task fulfilment in accordance with § 5 of the Baden-Württemberg State University Act (LHG).

In addition, there is a data protection agreement between ISTAT and Hochschule Offenburg. This regulates the handling of the survey results.

What are my rights?

As a data subject, you can exercise the rights granted by the EU GDPR at any time:

  • Right to information, correction and deletion of your personal data (Art. 15-17 EU-DSGVO)

  • Right to restrict the processing of your data (Art. 18 EU-DSGVO)

  • Right to object to future processing of data concerning you (Art. 21 EU GDPR)

  • Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority under data protection law (Art. 77 EU-DSGVO)

What about anonymity?

All information will be recorded anonymously and treated confidentially in accordance with data protection regulations.

Even if you have an individual access code, your information in the online survey and the access code are not connected and no conclusions can be drawn about you on the basis of your information.

The results are evaluated and published collectively. In case of possible conclusions about individual persons (due to a too small number of cases), the answers given will not be included in the evaluation.

After completion of the survey, the data necessary for conducting the survey will be deleted by Hochschule Offenburg.

What role does ISTAT play?

The Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT) coordinates the overall project (Kooperationsprojekt Absolventenstudien, KOAB). It has an advisory function in the development of the questionnaire, controls the process of further development of the survey instrument and coordinates the network of universities participating in the KOAB project.

ISTAT conducts the online survey and provides the evaluations to the universities. In addition, ISTAT analyses the data of all cooperating higher education institutions and produces scientific evaluations, which in turn form the basis for publicly accessible research results (without reference to individual higher education institutions).

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