Course entry surveys for Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz (JGU) are carried out in regular intervals for the Bachelor's and Master's degree courses. Freshman surveys are carried out, in agreement with the organizers of the relevant degree courses, during central first semester events which take place around six to eight weeks after the start of the lecture period.
The surveys focus upon: the students' previous career history; the matching of the skills acquired in school to those required for academic studies; their motivation and objectives for academic studies; the reasons for their choice of higher education institute's location; their satisfaction with the current study situation, with a particular focus on the course entry phase; and their future plans for studying.
After completion of the surveys, the departments involved receive a summary report detailing the results. The results from the surveys can be used on the one hand for further developing the Bachelor's and Master's degree courses offered by the departments; on the other hand they form the basis for continuing study progress analyses in the higher education institute.