We were also introduced to the Studentenwerk, an umbrella organization that oversees the economic and social welfare of university students, including the operation of student dining services and residence halls. The German educational system is a public one, where Germans and non-Germans do not pay tuition to attend university. While this might sound like an ideal situation for students, German university study is less structured than in the U.S., and German students shoulder the responsibility for making sure they complete the courses they need in order to earn a degree. As a result, many students are taking too long to graduate, and class sizes tend to be very large. There has been discussion about whether to begin collecting tuition from students to help alleviate some of the financial constraints that the universities are feeling, and as a way to limit the time students spend at university.
Internationalization is an important goal of the German university system.
In the works are changes that are designed to encourage student mobility. German institutions are creating B.A. and M.A. programs with some courses taught in English so students may earn a degree that might be more internationally compatible. Accreditation, evaluation, and deregulation are some other areas that are being addressed in German higher education. City tours provided us with some background on each city visited. Not only did we spend time in Berlin, where we witnessed the incredible construction occurring in response to the moving of the federal government and corporation headquarters from Bonn, but we also visited Dresden, which is being rebuilt after the devastation of World War II, and Leipzig, renowned as a cultural center.