With regard to the composition of the student body there is only valid data available concerning gender, age, nationality and university entrance qualification. According to the Staff Unit for Planning and Controlling 36,028 students were enrolled in the winter semester of 2013/14.
Gender:
male 14.893 (41,3%) female 21.135 (58,7%)
Age:
Male students have an average age of 26, female students of 25.
Nationality:
During the 2013/14 winter semester 4,008 students enrolled at JGU had a foreign nationality. This number includes both exchange and full-degree students. Together they account for 11.1%.
University Entrance Qualification:
When it comes to entrance qualifications, our student body proves to be heterogeneous. 27,777 (77.1%) of the students enrolled in the winter semester of 2013/14 acquired their university entrance qualification (UEQ) at a Gymnasium (college preparatory secondary school). Other sources were foreign university entrance qualifications (8.2 %), integrated schools (4.9%), specialized secondary schools (4.1%), intermediate or final examinations from a university of applied sciences (1%), preparatory colleges (1%), evening classes (0.6%), vocational qualifications (0.9%), full-time adult education colleges (0.9 %), higher vocational schools (0.8%) and others. 96.2% of students had a conventional UEQ/in the winter semester of 2013/14, 0,05% had a university of applied sciences entrance qualification and 3.7% had a subject-linked UEQ.
In the summer of 2014 we conducted an online survey among students to gather information on the composition of the student body. We asked all students via e-mail to participate. 2,796 students (8%) took the survey. The following results are based on frequency, correlation and regression analyses provided by the Center for Quality Assurance and Development (Lübbe, Holger: Diversity an der JGU, Mainz 2014).
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In the summer of 2014 we conducted an online survey among students to gather information on the composition of the student body. We asked all students via e-mail to participate. 2,796 students (8%) took the survey. The following results are based on frequency, correlation and regression analyses provided by the Center for Quality Assurance and Development (Lübbe, Holger: Diversity an der JGU, Mainz 2014).
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Financing:
23.2% of those surveyed receive BAFöG (state student loans). Between 50% and two-thirds of students work a part-time job during lecture periods which in fact makes them part-time students. However, the number of hours that students work varies between 5-10 hours per week (25.1%), 10-15 (27.7%), 15-20 (16.4%) and 20-25 (11.8%).)
Disability/ chronic conditions:
Among 2,796 participating students 0.8% have physical disabilities, 4.6 % have chronic conditions. In some cases, students suffer from both conditions. . 8.9 % suffer from mental illness. Students with mental illness reported that their condition affects their studying severely (41.9 %) or very severely (14.1 %). Those surveyed ranked the accessibility at JGU as mediocre (grade 3, scale: 1= very poor, 5= very good).
Educational background:
10.4% of those surveyed stated that their parents’ highest level of education is a doctorate or postdoctoral lecturing qualification (habilitation). 36.6% of parents have a university (of applied sciences) degree,17.8 % a higher education entrance qualification, 22.9 % a secondary school leaving certificate and 9.7 % a general secondary school leaving certificate. Especially the parents of medical students tend to have a university degree.
Sexual orientation:
4.4% of the respondents identify as homosexual, 5.2% as bisexual, 0.8% as queer. 1.8% identify as neither one of these options nor heterosexual.
Migrant background::
16.6% of students have at least one parent whose citizenship is other than German. 20.4% stated that at least one parent was born abroad.
Care:
4.7% of those surveyed have at least one child whom they take care of. 2% stated that they take care of other family members. A small percentage takes care of both children and other family members. The respondents rated the compatibility of studying and care work as rather poor or mediocre.
Experiences of discrimination:
Around 70 % of students said to have never experienced or witnessed discrimination at JGU with regard to the given categories. Those who did experience discrimination were discriminated against on multiple grounds: looks, gender, age, non-academic background, poverty (in that order). Other significant aspects that affect the frequency of discriminating experiences include lack of time for studying, disabilities/ chronic conditions and a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality..
Appreciation:
The students were also asked to what extent they feel their teachers, fellow students and staff acknowledge, tolerate/accept, appreciate, support, reject and expose them. We now present the results for the category “appreciate”. The results show a quite varied pattern with respect to teachers, students and staff as well as regarding particular faculties. There are at least three faculties where only 50% of students feel that the teaching staff appreciates and acknowledges them. Among fellow students, the respondents generally feel more appreciated. However, there are again significant differences between particular faculties. Students feel least appreciated by administrative staff.
Academic success/ certainty to successfully graduate:
The respondents rate their performance so far mostly positively. The percentage of those who evaluate their performance as poor or very poor never exceeds 10 % in all faculties. The vast majority of those surveyed is sure that they will graduate successfully. However, students from a foreign background or different cultural background, vocationally qualified students, students from educationally deprived strata, students with caring responsibilities and singles are less optimistic about their graduation. The time spent for studying highly affects the students’ evaluation of their own performance.