Hochschulen als Orte der Erwachsenenbildung

The opening up of higher education and the development of higher education insti-tutions as institutionalized and organized settings for lifelong learning has been focused in educational policy and scientific discourse for more than ten years. Consequently, research at the interface between further education and higher education research at international, European and national levels has been intensified in order to disclose framework conditions, forms and challenges regarding current and expectable development of higher education institutions within the context of lifelong learning. The article highlights main topics and empirical research result with an ensuing discussion and recommendations for further topic-related research.

One aim of the European Commission is to improve the number of graduates between 30 and 34 years to 40?% for 2020. This requirement provides the university with new material for the promotion of this target group. Current university didactic concepts, such as mentoring programs, can be used to address these challenges. The following article gives an overview of mentoring in higher education and reports on first experiences of participants in the mentoring program “MEwiSA” at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The intention of this article is to provide preliminary recommendations on how these experiences can be used to reduce inhibitions of “non-traditional students” and to facilitate their study entry.

This article examines learning at the university, which is located in the institutional context of the university with its structural conditions. The analysis of learning at universities opens research perspectives, to which the adult education science can deliver substantial contributions.

Participation in continuing higher education has various perspectives particularly with regard to lifelong learning. By arrangements in the field of continuing higher education, universities need to react to changing learning and educational biographies as well as to enable prospects in the context of lifelong learning. An important aspect belonging to this is the transfer of knowledge. Based on the definition of influencing factors on transfer of knowledge by von Krogh and Köhne, the system of reciprocity will be subject of discussion. Based on data out of a context-specific requirement analysis among potential students (N?=?154) and companies (N?=?31), it will be shown that the continuing higher education is not only challenged with the influencing factors on the knowledge transfer but also with the three stakeholders (university, students, companies). The different views of universities, students and companies have a significant impact on the reciprocity of the transfer of knowledge. As a conclusion a multidimensional approach is claimed which will be described in a pattern of multidimensionality.

Lifelong Learning, being one of the key issues of the Bologna Process, aims at horizontal and vertical permeability of interdependent education systems in order to be accessible to many target groups. Hence, the recognition and crediting of qualifications achieved outside of the academic realm has become increasingly more important. Despite numerous efforts within the past 10 years national standards regarding this issue are not sufficiently developed at this point.

The comparison of the different procedures of France and Germany in this matter is followed by an attempt to answer the question in what ways the French system of recognition and crediting of qualifications achieved outside of the academic realm can serve as a model for Germany. There will be an analysis at two levels. On the one hand, the paper will focus on admission requirements and examine the possibilities of admission without an official university entrance qualification and whether additional non-academic competencies are recognized. On the other hand, the different ways of reducing the required workload by acknowledging previously obtained competencies will be compared. As a result possible adaptations will be inferred from the presented procedures and analyses.