FAQ

Before the Master's program that you are currently completing, you probably obtained a Bachelor's degree at Osnabrück University in the examination year that is currently being surveyed. In the invitation you received for the survey, specific reference is made to the degree for which you are being interviewed.
The Bachelor's degree is a fully-fledged degree, even if your degree program is consecutive and the Master's degree is ultimately the rule. We will only ask you specifically about your Bachelor's degree at Osnabrück University.

If you have not completed a Bachelor's degree (or, if applicable, another Master's degree) in the current examination year surveyed or if there are any other unanswered questions, please contact the project manager Dr. Judith Rickers ( email).

Both the initial survey and the repeat survey of graduates are carried out in strict compliance with data protection regulations and in close coordination with the data protection officers of Osnabrück University. The addresses collected are used solely for purposes within the graduate project and are stored separately from the answers in the questionnaire. They will not be passed on to third parties. For more detailed information on the course of the project and related data protection issues, please see the FAQ here.

The legal basis for the electronic collection and storage of the addresses of graduates at the time of completion of their studies is the "Regulations for the collection of personal data from applicants and from members and affiliates of Osnabrück University who are not in a service or employment relationship" (Erhebungsordnung - ErhO). The address data of the graduates in the survey population will be compiled exclusively for the purpose of conducting the graduate survey and handed over to the responsible coordinator of the project in encrypted form. Since the addresses of graduates stored at the university are not always up to date one year after graduation, the addresses are updated if necessary, primarily with the help of the residents' registration offices and the Internet.

Address data may only be transmitted and used within the university if it serves the fulfillment of scientific tasks and/or the fulfillment of the university's tasks. Both conditions are fulfilled in the context of this graduate study:

1. The graduate study at Osnabrück University is part of a nationwide scientific research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and now involving around 75 universities under the coordination of the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT) in Kassel. As part of the nationwide cooperation project "Study Conditions and Career Success", ISTAT compiles a cross-university dataset containing the data of all graduates of the universities participating in the project and evaluates the anonymized data exclusively for scientific purposes in the context of university and graduate research.
2. The results of the study are to be used for research purposes as well as for quality management and degree program development within Osnabrück University. The stored address data will not be used for any other purposes than for invitations and reminders to participate in the graduate survey. The address data is processed exclusively by employees of Osnabrück University. All employees who have access to personal data as part of the project are subject to the applicable data protection law. In this context, the disclosure of address data to third parties is strictly prohibited, and this still applies even if the employees no longer work at Osnabrück University. All ISTAT employees are also subject to the applicable data protection law. This means that these employees are also strictly prohibited from passing on address data to third parties.

The personal data will be stored in encrypted form for the duration of the invitation process and the field phase
(June 1 of the first project year to October of the second project year). Afterwards, it will be deleted within three months (by the end of December of the second survey year).

Each graduate is allocated a randomly generated access code. With the help of this code, the respondents can take part in the online survey (protection against so-called "external fillers" is thus sufficiently guaranteed). On the other hand, by checking the access codes used, it is possible to find out who has already responded. These graduates are then not contacted again (a total of up to four contacts are made during the survey phase).

When taking part in the online survey, you register for participation in the anonymous online survey on the Internet using your access code. During the survey phase, your answers will initially be stored on a server of the University Computer Center of the University of Kassel. The survey data is transmitted via an encrypted connection. In this respect, the survey data is completely anonymous at all times during the survey. After completion of the survey phase, the survey data is processed by ISTAT and statistically analyzed as part of university and graduate research. In addition, your university will receive the anonymous survey data (i.e. without name and address) for its own evaluations via the project's exchange platform.

At the end of the online questionnaire, you will be asked whether you are interested in receiving a short summary of the research report. If you are, you will be asked to enter your address details. This address data will not be stored on the ISTAT server like the survey data, but on a server directly at Osnabrück University via an encrypted connection. Your address data will never be stored together with your survey data in a file. The universities use your addresses exclusively for the purpose stated by the respondents (e.g. sending a short summary).

The  Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT) carries out both scientific research projects and contract research projects. It is a spin-off from the International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER), an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Kassel, which coordinated the KOAB graduate survey until 2016.

Under the leadership of ISTAT, around 75 German universities are currently participating in the project "Study conditions and career success - cooperation between German universities in the development and implementation of graduate studies". ISTAT is responsible for coordinating the various universities and offers support with data collection and analysis. In addition, ISTAT evaluates the anonymized overall data set of all universities participating in the project. The aim is to analyze in detail the impact of study conditions and offers on the further course of life and career success in a comparison of universities.

ISTAT creates a cross-university dataset that contains the answers from the questionnaire of all graduates of the universities involved in the project. The addresses are not included in this dataset. The anonymous information from the survey is evaluated exclusively for scientific purposes in the context of university and graduate research and the corresponding results are published. In all ISTAT publications, no conclusions can be drawn about individual universities or persons.

Osnabrück University produces its own  results reports and volumes of tables. In addition to overall reports, for example by type of degree or gender, reports are also made available for the individual teaching units.

The next field phase of the surveys of the graduating classes of 2023 (first survey) and 2020 (repeat survey) has started on October 9, 2024. If you are part of this target cohort, you will be contacted by us by post and email. We will send you your access code in the letters. As part of the repeat survey, you will be contacted by ISTAT if you gave your consent during the initial survey (WS 21/22).

Participants in the study can receive a short summary of the research report and the complete report by email on request. To do so, please complete the corresponding form at the end of the online questionnaire.

You have the right to obtain information about the storage and erasure of personal data, as well as the right to rectification, erasure or restriction of processing and the right to object to processing. If your assertion of the aforementioned rights relates to processing by ISTAT as part of the survey process, your request will be forwarded to ISTAT without delay. Further information from ISTAT on data protection can be found  here.

You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data. You may also contact the State Commissioner for Data Protection of Lower Saxony, Prinzenstraße 5, 30159 Hanover, tel. 0511/120-4500,  email with complaints.

If you have any questions, please contact the project manager Dr. Judith Rickers ( email). Information on the KOAB Graduate Studies project can also be found on the  ISTAT project homepage.