The universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia welcome the state’s decision, announced today by the Minister for Science, Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, not to introduce tuition fees for international students (non-EU nationals).
“Waiving these fees is a reasonable and correct decision that makes life easier for us as universities,” explains Prof. Dr Marcus Baumann, Rector of Aachen University of Applied Sciences and Chair of the State Rectors’ Conference of Universities of Applied Sciences. “We had always been concerned that, on the one hand, such fees would entail a considerable administrative burden and that the cost would therefore be disproportionate to the benefit. Our concerns have been borne out by experiences in Baden-Württemberg. On the other hand, we saw the risk that introducing such fees could run counter to our universities’ internationalisation efforts, which are also being driven by political pressure,” says Baumann, explaining the position of the universities of applied sciences.
“We are delighted that these fees are now off the table, whilst at the same time the state is increasing funding for quality improvement at universities by more than 50 million euros. This money will directly benefit students at our universities through improvements to teaching and study conditions. This is very good news for universities in North Rhine-Westphalia,” said Baumann. Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, also welcomes this decision. “For us as an international university, this is of particular significance and offers scope for future development,” emphasised Locker-Grütjen.
