100000 Prospective Students Participated in Self-Assessments

In June 2014, the 100,000th prospective students has completed one of RWTH self-assessment tests. Self-assessments are online tools which help pupils to realistically assess their abilities and the challenges posed by specific course of study. RWTH Aachen introduced self-assessments in June 2007, when it became mandatory for prospective mechanical engineering students to complete a self-assessment.   

 

German universities increasingly offer self-assessments which make it possible for prospective students to orient themselves on the choice of their future course of study. RWTH Aachen is a pioneer in the field, as it started developing self-assessments for its courses of study in 2001.

As Professor Aloys Krieg, Vice-Rector for Teaching at RWTH Aachen, explains: “It is very important to us to prepare prospective students for university study, also with the aim to reduce the number of students who withdraw from their studies before completion.” In the winter semester of 2012, it became mandatory for prospective students at RWTH Aachen to complete a self-assessment in their course of study of choice.

“This offer provides reliable guidance on identifying suitable courses of study,” said Professor Marold Wosnitza from the RWTH Institute of Educational Science, who is responsible for the development of self-assessments. He explains, “Participants who earnestly complete the self-assessment receive reliable feedback on their strengths and possible gaps in knowledge that need to be filled. The result may encourage students in their choice or think about possible alternatives.” Self-assessments, as studies by Wosnitza’s team have demonstrated, are better predictors of academic success than school grades.

The Aachen self-assessment expertise is in high demand: apart from developing self-assessment concepts for RWTH Aachen, Wosnitza’s team evaluates similar projects at the member universities of TU9, the alliance of the nine leading Universities of Technology in Germany. Furthermore, the team is currently evaluating the NRW-wide platform Studifinder, which gives an overview of all courses of study offered by NRW universities.