Teaching, Organization, and Personal Problems - Evidence from Reforming Tertiary Education in Germany Teaching, Organization, and Personal Problems - Evidence from Reforming Tertiary Education in Germany Teaching, Organization, and Personal Problems -Evid

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar. Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server: ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp10040.pdf Non Technical Summary Germany has made extensive reforms in its tertiary education system since 1999 as part of the European Bologna process. The traditional tertiary academic degree programs are being replaced by internationally comparable Bachelor and Master degree programs. During the period of transition from the traditional degrees to these new tertiary programs, different degree types co-existed. In this study, I am interested in quantifying whether and how much the choice of a new Bachelor vs. a traditional degree program affected first year students' satisfaction with their study program. I draw on recent survey data containing detailed information on how the students judge their respective study programs with respect to teaching and organization. I also use a score that aggregates information on personal problems which the students experience in the academic context. In addition, self-reported grades are observed for a subsample of the students. Students' selection of the different programs is taken into account. The data allow controlling for prior performance, attitudes, and family background as well as inclusion of fixed effects on the level of subjects and the specific institution. In light of the present skepticism towards the reforms, some of this paper's results are encouraging: I demonstrate that most of the considered outcomes improved since the beginning of the Bologna process. However, the changes are very modest. Also, according to students' self-reported problems, their situation hardly differs between traditional and new degree programs. Furthermore, the results imply no evidence that the new programs specifically attract students from a less advantaged family background. In other words: I do not observe that the new programs increase (or decrease) social mobility. Abstract: Germany has recently made extensive reforms in its tertiary education system. Traditional degrees are being replaced by Bachelor and Master programs. This study examines the question of how the choice of a new Bachelor program as opposed to a traditional degree program has affected first-year students' satisfaction. Three dimensions of student satisfaction are focused upon: Student satisfaction with teaching, student satisfaction with the organization of the study programs, as well as an indicator for students' personal problems within the academic context. The selection into the type of program is taken into account as I control for individual performance at secondary school, motivation and family background and try different robustness checks. The main specification includes fixed effects on the level of institutions and subjects. Results robustly point to minor differences between the programs. The outcomes are slightly more favorable for students in the new programs compared to the traditional programs in recent years. Das Wichtigste in Kürz