Governance structures and actors at central level
Equal opportunities and diversity are enshrined as part of the diversity strategy, as well as in the profile and objective of the University of Göttingen. They form a key element of the work of the Vice-President for Professorial Appointments and Equal Opportunities. The Central Committee for Gender Equality and Diversity expanded its activities to include diversity at the start of 2016; the Diversity steering committee, which is coordinated by the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Office, has advised the Presidential Board on diversity-related matters since January 2014 and from 2016 to 2019 also assumed the role of steering group for the Diversity Audit. The university’s Equal Opportunities Representative is invited to attend meetings of all corporate bodies, boards and committees (with the exception of the Presidential Board) in the same way as members, and – as regulated in the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act – has the right to submit motions. Development of a research-based and oriented diversity strategy is based on the work of the Institute for Diversity Research.
The university has explicitly established diversity-related roles both at the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Unit (coordination of the university’s diversity policy and work, as well as diversity-related organisational development, gender and diversity in teaching and learning) and in Student and Academic Services (Student and Academic Services diversity management, representative for students with disabilities and chronic diseases).
The Equal Opportunities and Diversity Unit offers advice and support for teachers and students in relation to teaching and learning as well as consultancy services for faculties, central institutions, committees, departments and units as well as specialists and managers on many aspects of equal opportunities and diversity:
In the Gender Equality division, the Equality Innovation Fund supports decentralised projects where faculties develop innovative approaches to career development for women – from studying through graduation to an academic position. There are pilot projects in response to the need for action, depending on their specific contexts, e.g. where the ratio of women on a degree programme is too low or there is a high number of drop-outs. All the projects are evaluated and developed in a quality-controlled way. Where they prove successful, the projects are transformed into structural measures funded from capital. Until now, in relation to the study phase this has specifically funded projects to attract female students to subjects in which they are under-represented (esp. MINT degree programmes), with the aim of improving study conditions and creating an equality-focused organisational culture.
In the area of compatibility, the Family Service is the central counselling service for issues relating to the compatibility of degree studies with caring responsibilities. The Family Service offers advice and support to students applying for compensation for disadvantages to help with studies and examinations on account of parenting or caring responsibilities. Advice is given to the faculties and central institutions on measures to enable combining study and childcare/caring. Faculties and central institutions are advised with regard to compatibility-friendly measures.
The Diversity division coordinates the diversity-oriented development of organisations at the university. Organisational units, department heads and management are advised and supported with regard to the development and implementation of diversity-oriented strategies, projects and measures, as well as information and continuing education services. These services cover such topics as collecting data on diversity and discrimination, gender diversity, inclusive writing, and accessible researching, teaching and working.
The division organises training events for teachers, advisors and supervisors on gender and diversity in teaching and learning in cooperation with the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education section. Current information and guides for gender and diversity-reflective teaching can be found centrally at the Portal Gender and Diversity in Teaching and Studying.
The pilot project ‘Anti-discrimination advice for students’, which ran at the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Unit from 10/2017 - 08/2021 gave rise to two guides for different target groups: ‘Signpost: Dealing with discrimination at the University of Göttingen’ offers a tool designed to help those who are affected by discrimination, as well as witnesses, advisors and teaching staff.
The guide ‘O-Phase für alle’, developed by students for students, is intended to help students (and tutors) through the process of the orientation phase (aka freshers’ week), making it (more) inclusive and accessible for all.
The Equal Opportunities and Diversity Office provides additional information and advice on the subjects of sexism and safety. She regularly organises assertiveness courses and provides safety tips and the “Safety on the Campus” (PDF, German, 3,5 MB) foldout plan. The university’s equal opportunities representative and the decentralised equal opportunities representatives of the faculties and central institutions offer university members and associates advice on coping with and preventing sexual harassment and violence.
Student and Academic Services develops and implements projects and initiatives tailored to the situation of different student groups in various phases of studies:
The Diversity Management post was established for the study orientation phase, as part of the Göttingen Campus QPLUS project. This framework will allow for the different studies and life situations of potential and current students by expanding advisory services and developing individual and structural measures. The goal is to (further) develop approaches to dealing with the diversity of students in an aware and respectful way. The work focuses on conceiving, coordinating and implementing approaches to the issues of opening up higher education and barrier-free study.
The role of the representative for students with disabilities and chronic diseases includes providing individual advice and support to potential and current students. A key aspect of the work is advising on how to make use of compensation for disadvantages in relation to admission to a degree programme, organisation of studies, and performance during studies and examinations; individual disadvantages should be offset with support for the enforcement of rights. Institutional effects of the advice lie in recognising and identifying existing rules that present structural disadvantages. Accordingly, tasks include the initiation of and support for structural changes in higher education, with the aim of realising conditions for participation on an equal footing. To this end, the representative works closely with individuals and institutions both inside and outside the university.
The information and advice services of the Central Student Advisory Service (ZSb) in Student and Academic Services are designed for potential and current students, and multipliers. The aim is to support decisions on choice of studies as well as the planning and organising of studies with reference to interests and inclinations, in particular for problematic or critical learning paths. The central focus is the unprejudiced guidance of orientation and decision-making processes.
As the general study guidance office, the ZSb advises on all transdisciplinary questions concerning degree studies. Different diversity parameters, such as gender and disability/chronic diseases, are also involved. However, the issues of educational history and social background have special significance in the work. Therefore, the ZSb offers a range of specific services in the area of “educational equity”.
This involves deliberately opening up access paths to information about studies to potential students. Possible institutional barriers to taking up a degree should be counteracted by inclusive communication about offerings. The schools services and the work of student ambassadors deliberately address schools that have a large diversity of educational and social backgrounds with special concepts.
As the first point of contact, the ZSb informs and advises on questions about university admission and studying without university admission qualification. About 20% of enquiries from potential students relate to this issue. The ZSb also bears responsibility for the content of the portal about higher education access paths on the university website.
Aside from personal advice, provision is also deliberately made for individual education trajectories. Study workshops have been developed as a service designed for the “first generation” target group.
The ZSb also coordinates university admission by examination for individuals with professional experience on behalf of the university.
There are clear procedures for providing maternity leave to pregnant students. A leaflet offers pregnant students information on the process and a list of sources of advice and support. Pregnant or nursing students should write to mutterschutz(at)uni-goettingen.de to register, or visit the Office of Student Affairs, which coordinates the formal process, in person. Every faculty has appointed contacts for pregnant or nursing students, and they can guide the process of jointly producing individual risk assessments. Students can obtain more information and advice from the Studying Parents information portal run by the FamilyService in the Compatibility division of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Unit, as well as from the in-house medical service.
Students who suffer crises during their studies and who have psychological difficulties can obtain advice and support from the Psychotherapeutic Outpatient Clinic for Students of the University of Göttingen (PAS) and the psychological counselling service of the Studentenwerk (PSB). The group-counselling service of the PSB, HOPES, run during the semester for students with mental illnesses, is also explicitly designed for students who need practical, study-related assistance (possibly in combination with in-patient or day-care) to cope with studying.
In addition, there are decentralised services offered by the faculties, e.g. the Student Counselling with Emphasis on Diversity or the mentoring services of the Faculty of Humanities, e.g. student mentoring and moveMento.