01.07.2022

Reaccreditation and changes (as of WS 2023/24)

The regular internal accreditation represents an opportunity for improvement of the School's study programs.

Background

Study programs at the University of Tübingen must be accredited at regular intervals. This means that they undergo a quality development process. Since the University of Tübingen itself is system-accredited by the agency AQUIN, it is also responsible for the quality assurance of its study programs. Therefore, the study programs are accredited internally instead of by an external agency. The School of Business and Economics last went through the process in 2017. There are specifications that each study program must meet, such as modules with sizes between 6 and 15 ECTS credits or a module examination concept that generally provides for one exam per module. The reaccreditation process is now underway again at the School of Business and Economics. This process always offers the opportunity to make changes to study programs and to consider where something can be improved. To this end, the course evaluations were already conducted in January/February 2022, during which students provided valuable written feedback on their courses. This was then discussed in the RoundTable discussions that just ended with the students in the program and the program chairs. Many discussions are currently underway in the School board, with students, and in the Academic Affairs Committee. External reviews from academics, graduates in the field, and students from other universities are also being sought. The goal is to pass the changes this winter semester in the School's and faculty committees, and in the spring in the Senate Commission for Studies and Teaching, so that the changed study programs can start for the first time in the winter semester 2023/24.

What is to be changed now?

B.Sc. degree programs: The main changes concern the economics areas of the B.Sc. degree programs. In the first semester, an introduction to economics will be offered, which will be taught by the new professor of economics with a focus on macroeconomics (Prof. Dr. Ralph Lütticke). It will include elements from both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Therefore, the introduction to microeconomics will be reduced to 6 ECTS credits. At the suggestion of the student council, the areas of advanced undergraduate studies will be differentiated to include meaningful areas of emphasis in economics. For example, in the future there should be focus areas such as Economic History and Development Economics as well as Public Economics. A Data Science emphasis area, which should be selectable for both Economics and Business Administration majors, will also be introduced. In addition to the Economics and Business Administration profiles, the B.Sc. Economics and Business Administration will in future offer the option of an economics concentration. Language training in the two international degree programs will also be adapted; coordination discussions are still underway here.

M.Sc. programs: The M.Sc. Economics program will be combined with the M.Sc. International Economics program to form the M.Sc. Economics program. Here, students will be able to choose profiles in the future: Economic History and Development, Empirical Methods and Data Analysis, International Economics, Public Policy. In the M.Sc. General Management/ M.Sc. European Management and M.Sc. International Business programs, minor changes in the structure will make the choices more intuitive. In other M.Sc. programs, there will be follow-up adjustments. Major changes are not planned here.

Transition

Students who started their studies before the winter semester 2023/24 will have the option of remaining in the old examination regulations and completing their studies as planned. However, those who wish to do so can also switch to the new examination regulations. The Academic Advisory Service will provide detailed information on this in due course.