EUR 11.7 million for teaching concept: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is successful in the national "Quality in Teaching" competition

JGU implements measures for staff and organizational development to further optimize teaching and learning processes at subject level

19.12.2011

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) impressed with its submission "Teaching, Organizing, Advising: Bologna Success Factors" to the federal/state program for improving study conditions and quality in teaching (Quality Pact for Teaching). Measures for structural and staff development geared towards students, the teaching staff, departmental advisors, and subject managers are the focus of the Mainz teaching concept. "We are delighted with this success, because this award marks another milestone in our innovative approach to learning and teaching. Back in 2010 we won the Rhineland-Palatinate Award for Teaching Excellence and at the beginning of 2011 we received the first successful system accreditation for a German university," states the President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Professor Dr. Georg Krausch, in light of the decision of the Joint Science Conference (GWK).

A total of 135 applications were submitted in the second round of the Quality Pact for Teaching, of which 72 were chosen for funding, including that of Mainz University. EUR 11.7 million will be available to JGU starting in the summer semester 2012 to implement the projects submitted.

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz convinced the experts with three measures for staff and organizational development:

  • Ensure professional and targeted subject-specific student advisory services and, at the same time, support students throughout their time at the university so they can purposefully plan and successfully complete their courses of study.
  • Professional administration of all study programs and examination procedures by student advising offices established throughout JGU as decentralized competence centers, thereby releasing teaching staff from the tasks of administration and allowing them to maximize the time devoted to teaching and research.
  • Further development of the teaching and examination competence of the teaching staff, establishing a culture of on-going peer group exchange and debate on matters pertaining to teaching and learning at subject level.

"The measures for optimizing teaching and course organization are based on the general operating standards JGU has established in its mission statement, its strategy concept, and its teaching strategy," states Vice President for Learning and Teaching, Professor Dr. Mechthild Dreyer.

With approximately 37,000 students from more than 130 countries, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is one of the largest German universities. "Our university is committed to the task of preparing young people to accept responsibility in society," states President Krausch. "We believe teaching to be the area in which we must impart sustainable knowledge and skills that will stand the test of time. To achieve this mission, Mainz University has been undertaking an intensive review of its commitment to teaching for years, and this has recently led to the adoption of an overall teaching strategy. The establishment of the Gutenberg Teaching Council in 2010 was another important step in this process." The JGU Center for Quality Assurance and Development (ZQ), with its many years of experience in quality assurance in research and teaching, will monitor this process with a broad range of quality assurance measures.

Teaching at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is distinguished by the breadth of disciplines offered, its interdisciplinary potential, its internationality, and the manner in which it incorporates research into teaching. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, as a comprehensive university, is therefore able to offer various forms of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Furthermore, by internationally orienting its courses and facilitating international teaching cooperation and student exchanges, JGU can offer its students various opportunities to experience international and cross-cultural exposure and interrelate with other cultures.