Student surveys are a valuable tool for helping our university better understand the circumstances under which our students live and study. Between June and November 2023, we carried out a comprehensive survey of our students. The results were presented for the first time in the winter semester 2024/25. Thanks to the 1,900 students who responded to the survey, we were able to put together a detailed picture of their situations.
What matters to our students?
Compared to the survey in 2019, in which the focus was on diversity as well as social and academic integration, the 2023 survey looked in particular at support services and personality development. Of special interest were our School of Personal Development and Education (ScoPE) and the StudyCompass project.
Here is an overview of some of the key findings:
- 56% of students grew up in a family that only spoke German, while 44% of our students were raised speaking at least one other language or only another language at home.
- Growing number of students who are the first in their family to study at a university: 54% of students at Frankfurt UAS are the first in their family to study at a university, putting our university above the national average of 44% for all universities of applied sciences.
- Students with care tasks: 15% of our students are responsible for relatives in need of care.
- Jobs and volunteer work: 72% of our students work in addition to their studies, and around 31% do volunteer work.
Challenges in everyday student life: Around 25% of students do not have a quiet place to study at home, and 58% only spend time on campus when they must (+7% compared to 2019). Particularly noteworthy: 72% of students who are in at least the third semester of their program are behind in their studies. This is often due to heavy workloads, a lot of examinations in a short period of time, and the challenges of working while studying.
Insights into support services
- The university’s support services are used by around 25% of students.
- The reason students do not use the services is rarely that they are not aware of them but instead that they do not have time or they feel they don’t have the headspace to go through the process of getting support. 40% feel they do not have any need for the support services.
Courses and study conditions
- At least 60% of students gave a positive overall assessment of the quality of the content in their courses, the number of course participants, and the teaching staff’s supervision (“good” or “very good”).
- Criticism focused on the availability of places to study (around 25%) and the equipment in the seminar rooms and laboratories (around 35%).
Summary and outlook
- The results of the student survey are a valuable tool for directing our work in the future. They show us where we need to improve: further developing support services, increasing their visibility, and increasing the number of places to study to the extent possible.