The Deutsche Hochschulverband (DHV) has awarded the University of Bremen the seal of quality for fair and transparent appointment negotiations for a further five years: It was first granted the award in October, 2014. The University of Bremen has now successfully passed the re-audit procedure, which falls due every three years. “The fact that the DHV has repeatedly given us the seal of approval for fair and transparent appointment negotiations shows we are on the right track with our personnel policy,” commented Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, President of the University of Bremen. “As a family-friendly university, the University of Bremen is excellently positioned especially in questions of reconciling family and career.”
An atmosphere of mutual respect
The DHV has once more confirmed that the appointment negotiations at the University of Bremen continue to be characterized by a personal atmosphere reflecting mutual respect and esteem. The university's successful appointment policy manifests itself in the high rate of successful negotiations for new appointments and a very good rate of success in hold negotiations. In the past three years, for instance, the University of Bremen has been able to recruit new professors in 77 per cent of all cases placed at the top of shortlisted candidates, and achieved a successful outcome in 78 per cent of hold negotiations.
Attractive staffing and resources together with good working conditions
“Our appointment processes are the cornerstones of successful teaching and research,” explains Dr. Martin Mehrtens, the University’s Director of Finance and Administration. “Many members of our professorial staff choose our University because we offer them attractive staffing and resources together with good working conditions. Besides the excellent work and career prospects, the compatibility of family and career as well as permanent offers of personnel development are among our greatest strengths.”
Electronic monitoring of appointment procedures
Following a recommendation of the DHV, the University has introduced electronic monitoring of appointment processes, by means of which candidates can be informed about the status of the procedure. The various different offers of training and further education available to newcomers continue to reap nothing but praise. And the University of Bremen is a role model concerning issues surrounding the compatibility of family and career as well as the support of “dual career” opportunities. Nevertheless, the DHV still identifies room for improvement in the area of professional representation. For example, the comments referring to the course of negotiations made by candidates could be further elaborated.
The re-audit procedure
The re-audit process is based on the quality-seal procedure as well as on an additional questionnaire developed by the DHV based on its experience in appointment procedures. The DHV evaluation focuses on fairness, mutual esteem, transparency, and dependability. Statements made by the peer-reviewed institutions also flow into the evaluation. In addition to this, the DHV conducts interviews with newly appointed professors on their experiences made during the appointment process and consults its legal experts on their experiences. Besides the University of Bremen, the other institutions of higher education that have successfully passed the re-audit procedure for the DHV seal of approval for fair and transparent negotiations are the RWTH Aachen University, the University of Cologne, TU Kaiserslautern, the FernUniversität in Hagen, and the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Further information about the DHV seal of approval can be found at: http://www.hochschulverband.de/cms1/guetesiegel.html
University of Bremen
The Director of Finances and Administration
Dr. Martin Mehrtens
Phone: +49 421 218-60101
email: sekrkanzprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
