Brown-bag lunch: Higher education funding in Germany over time: Explanations for the change between stagnation and growth

Higher education funding in Germany over time: Explanatory approaches for the change between stagnation and growth

Dr. Nicolas Winterhager (Education and Science, Group Leader Science System, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH, Berlin)

The funding of higher education institutions in Germany has been subject to periodic fluctuations over time. Since 1975, phases of stagnation have alternated with phases of growth. This presentation deals with the question of which factors explain the development of higher education funding over time. It is based on data from the higher education statistics (income and expenditure for higher education institutions) and the annual accounts statistics (expenditure for higher education institutions). The results show that higher education funding - after phases of stagnation - always increases significantly when federal funding increases proportionally compared to the federal states. In each case, the increases are brought about by complementary federal and state programs, which on the one hand are aimed at admitting additional first-year students (HSP1, Higher Education Pact 2020) and on the other hand are intended to maintain the performance of universities in research (HSP 2, HEP, Excellence Initiative).The presentation ties in with the "Investigation of the effects of the Higher Education Pact 2020", which was carried out at VDI/VDE-IT in 2017. In his presentation, Mr. Winterhager will also briefly outline the background to this study and present other projects and topics at VDI/VDE-IT (Education and Science division).