Die Orientierung der Reformen im deutschen Hochschulsystem - seit 1998 - am Vorbild des amerikanischen Hochschulwesens

In this dissertation the reforms in the German system of higher
education since 1998 are examined under the aspect of their
relation to American higher education as an internationally
successful frame of reference. The author hereby makes an important
contribution to the current discussion on higher education policy
in Germany. In a first step, the most important structural and
cultural characteristics of existing German and American higher
education are presented in respect to their historical development.
The subsequent structural and cultural comparison of higher
education in the two countries is conducted along the dimensions of
the role of the state and the conception of education. In addition,
advantages and disadvantages of higher education in Germany and the
USA are compared. Within this frame of reference, it is now
possible to make statements about the possibilities and limits, the
chances and risks of introducing American structural elements into
the German system of higher education. At the same, time cultural
changes concerning developments in German higher education policy
can be included in the examination. The analysis of the legal and
practical implementation of the reform elements shows that German
higher education is undergoing considerable alteration. Its general
direction can be determined with the help of American higher
education as a basis for comparison. One of the most important
premises for the success of the most recent reforms in the German
system of higher education, besides sufficient funding, is the
creation of conditions in which the disadvantages which are taken
on simultaneously with the advantages of the respective reform
elements can be attenuated. As a result, American higher education
can only conditionally serve as an example for modernizing German
higher education. Idiosyncrasies of German higher education and
their strengths should therefore be taken into account and retained
where appropriate.