Panel survey

The University of Münster participates in the Germany-wide ‘Joint Project on Graduate Studies’ (KOAB) and, in connection with this, invites its graduates and doctoral students to take part in a survey once a year.

The aim of KOAB is to analyse the impact of study programmes and conditions at universities. This information is then used to systematically determine the relevance of various factors in transitioning to working life and further professional development in the first few years after graduation.

The second stage of the KOAB graduate surveys, i.e. the introduction of follow-up surveys, is necessary for several reasons:

• It usually takes three to five years after graduation for graduates in Germany to attain professional positions that are considered ‘normal’. Only a panel survey can accurately analyse the professional relevance of the skills acquired under ‘normal conditions’.
• In the first one to two years, special professional on-boarding phases are widespread in Germany (legal clerkships, practical years, traineeships etc.). Especially for graduate cohorts that enter the profession in this way, only panel surveys allow one to analyse the employment situation and professional work as well as the use of skills under ‘normal conditions’.
• Only in the second stage can one record and analyse the advanced academic and career paths of bachelor’s graduates with respect to higher education.
• For graduates who hold a master’s or doctoral degree, the longitudinal study accompanying individuals provides interesting insights into their continued academic and career paths.
• The survey’s design as an individual longitudinal study allows one to track the responses from the two rounds. This makes it possible to answer questions that focus on the consequences of the transition experience to the first job after graduation, such as ‘Does a problematic transition have consequences for one’s future career path?’

Those who agree to participate in the follow-up survey during the initial survey are contacted approximately three years later and invited to participate in this survey. This process is no longer the responsibility of the University of Münster, but rather the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT), which is providing scientific and technical support for the initial survey.

The follow-up survey of the 2015 examination cohort has been running since mid-February 2023. Once the survey is completed, ISTAT will make the results available to the University of Münster for further use. Evaluations (including those of older surveys) can be requested at absolventenbefragung@uni-muenster.de should there be interest or necessity.