Graduate Survey
In the University of Siegen’s graduate survey, all graduates from the previous academic year are surveyed annually about their completed degree program at the University of Siegen and their (professional) career paths.
It provides insights into our graduates’ experiences regarding their studies and their transition into employment or further studies. We use the results to further develop our degree programs and improve study conditions.
The graduate survey is part of the nationwide “Cooperative Project on Graduate Studies” (KOAB Project) and is coordinated by the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT).
Link to the survey
More Information
The initial survey of the 2024 graduating class (Winter Semester 2023/2024 and Summer Semester 2024) has been completed. A total of 33% of graduates participated in the survey, and we would like to express our sincere thanks to you for your participation.
Below is an overview of the response rate for the Class of 2024:
In the Cooperative Project on Graduate Surveys (KOAB), universities are working together to establish a system of graduate surveys that support decision-making and are intended to contribute to the quality development of higher education (program development, quality management, reaccreditation).
Many universities in Germany are currently exploring ways to introduce a system of graduate surveys—prompted in particular by reaccreditation and quality assurance requirements. In doing so, they often attempt to “reinvent the wheel.” This leads to a significant workload and unnecessary costs. Furthermore, there is a risk that surveys developed on an ad hoc basis will not adequately adhere to scientific standards and will often not allow for comparisons between degree programs and universities.
ISTAT coordinates the project and advises institutions of higher education on study design, questionnaire development, and the analysis of results. Furthermore, ISTAT conducts the online survey, integrates the individual university surveys into a single dataset, and provides the universities with print-ready tabular analyses of the survey results. Furthermore, ISTAT conducts a detailed analysis of the impact of academic conditions and programs on graduates’ future life paths and professional success.
All universities participating in the KOAB use a set of standardized core questions, which allow for the comparison of results across individual universities. In addition, each university can select from a pool of optional questions those that are relevant to its specific institution. It is also possible to include university-specific questions.
Conducting the Survey
All graduates of the 2025 graduating class (winter semester 2024/2025 and summer semester 2025) at the University of Siegen will receive an invitation to participate in the graduate survey approximately 1.5 years after successfully completing their degree.
The project will be in the field phase between October 2026 and February 2027. During this period, the relevant graduates from the relevant graduating classes will be invited by mail and/or email to participate in the graduate survey. The University of Siegen aims to make up to four attempts to contact each graduate during this time.
The survey will be conducted exclusively online. Using a personalized access code, invited graduates can log in to the questionnaire and complete it. The survey can be paused at any time and resumed later.
The University of Siegen is very interested in learning about the experiences graduates have had during and after their studies.
Your responses play a major role in improving academic programs and teaching. Only through your feedback can academic programs be evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted.
Prospective students can also benefit from your experiences.
All graduates from the relevant graduating class are eligible to participate. For example, if the class of 2024 is invited to participate in the alumni survey, only those graduates who successfully completed their studies at the University of Siegen in the winter semester of 2024/2025 or the summer semester of 2025 are eligible to participate.
Graduates will receive an invitation by mail and/or email.
ISTAT generates a six-digit access code consisting of numbers and letters for all participating graduates. You can only participate in the graduate survey using this access code. You can pause the survey at any time and resume it later.
In addition, the University of Siegen uses the access code to exclude graduates who have already participated in the survey from future contact.
The access code is linked to certain data relevant to the survey, which was provided to ISTAT in advance for the generation of the questionnaires. Specifically, this includes the following data:
- PIN
- Personal data: gender, year of birth, German or foreign citizenship (without specifying the country)
- Exam data: Degree type (Bachelor’s, Master’s, etc.; partially aggregated), field of study (partially aggregated), grade (if available), graduation semester
Using this submitted data, you will be directly assigned to the correct questionnaire. You only need to confirm the information regarding your degree. The personal data is relevant for the analysis of the graduate survey.
You can participate in the graduate survey exclusively via an online questionnaire. The online questionnaire is prepared and provided by ISTAT. All data is transmitted in encrypted form.
At no time does the University of Siegen know which answers were provided by which access code. It only knows which access code was used to log in and that it should not be contacted again thereafter. Your personal data and your answers are not linked in any way. The results are published in aggregate form. If there is a possibility that individual respondents could be identified due to an insufficient sample size, the responses provided will not be included in the analysis.
Once the survey is complete, the University of Siegen will delete the data necessary for conducting the survey.
ISTAT coordinates the project and advises the universities on the design of the study, the development of the questionnaire, and the evaluation of the results. In addition, ISTAT conducts the online survey, integrates the individual university surveys into a single dataset, and provides the universities with print-ready tabular analyses of the survey results. Furthermore, ISTAT conducts a detailed analysis of the impact of academic conditions and programs on graduates’ future life paths and professional success.
The results of the graduate survey are published on the University of Siegen’s website. You will also be asked at the end of the questionnaire whether you would like to receive a report. If you wish to do so, the report will be sent to you.
Your address information is retrieved from the University of Siegen’s campus management system (unisono). If we are unable to reach graduates at the provided address, we will attempt to locate them through local government offices and online searches.
How is data protection ensured?
There is a contractually stipulated and legally binding agreement between the University of Siegen and ISTAT regarding how the survey results will be handled. Furthermore, the University of Siegen ensures compliance with data protection regulations.
Contact
Julia Marx
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