According to the 3rd Saxon Graduate Study, the HSZG achieved top marks for study conditions, adherence to the standard period of study and job entry.
Peggy Sommer is delighted. Responsible for quality management at the HSZG, she is holding the latest results of the 3rd Saxon Graduate Study in her hands. "Since 2008, the HSZG has been participating in the graduate studies of Saxon universities, which are carried out every five years under the leadership of the Competence Center for Education and Higher Education Research at TU Dresden ," she explains.
The study, which is funded by the SMWK, surveyed alumni of Bachelor's, Master's and diploma degree courses at the HSZG and other Saxon HAWs and universities between August 2018 and May 2019. A total of 466 graduates from the 2015 and 2016 graduation years took part. "This may sound like a long time ago, but it should be noted that the time of the survey was chosen so that the majority of respondents had graduated at least two years ago," says Peggy Sommer.
In the graduate study, it is important that the alumni have already been able to gain some professional experience. This allows them to give a retrospective assessment of their studies. An assessment that is impressive.
For example, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences achieved top marks for the study conditions experienced when looking back on their studies in comparison with the Saxon universities of applied sciences/universities (overall), particularly with regard to the following topics: Examination organization (90.9 percent compared to 71.7 percent overall), study organization (92.4 percent compared to 78.1 percent overall), social climate (91.8 percent compared to 87.2 percent overall) and academic support and advice (83.8 percent compared to 73.3 percent overall).
In addition, of all alumni surveyed at Saxon universities, HSZG alumni were the most likely to have completed the standard period of study (38.4 percent compared to 29.2 percent overall).
The proportion of graduates who found a job in the first few months after graduation is pleasingly high: At least one in two graduates was already in employment in the month following graduation. Unemployment is correspondingly low, at a maximum of three percent one year after graduation at the latest.
The main region of origin of HSZG students is the Free State of Saxony. According to the study, the main region of first employment for HSZG alumni is also the Free State of Saxony. "This shows that the HSZG is proving itself as a regional provider, in line with the motto: In the region - From the region - For the region," summarizes Peggy Sommer.
The Rector of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, takes a similar view:
"In the Free State of Saxony, graduates meet innovative companies and organizations that give them the certainty and freedom to realize themselves and get things moving in a region that is worth living and loving, but also hungry for development."
”The results of the 3rd Saxon Graduate Study allow the HSZG to draw conclusions about improvements to the degree programs and the study environment as well as the success of the career entry of its graduates. The aim is to derive and implement measures for the further development of the degree programs and the study environment.
The complete graduate study entitled "Career entry of the 2015/16 graduating cohort. Results of the initial survey as part of the third Saxon graduate study" is available here.
