Facts and Figures

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On this page you will find an overview of different statistics and data about the FernUniversität, ranging from student and staff statistics to budget data.

  • 69,982 Students
  • 61,728 are enrolled in degree programs
  • 47% are women
  • 15% were admitted based on vocational qualifications
  • 7.3% live abroad
  • Average age 38.1 years
  • 13 regional and study centers
  • 7 of them abroad
  • 1,874 employees
  • 92 professors
  • €103.4 million revenue

(Date: December 2022)

  • Students
    Total students (including students on a leave of absence) 71,351
    Active students (not including students on a leave of absence) 69,982
    Students by Category
    Enrolled in a degree program 61,728
    Open Access students 5,575
    Continuing education students 2,679
    Students by Faculty
    Faculty of Business Administration and Economics 26.8%
    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 20.7%
    Faculty of Psychology 18.4%
    Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science 17.8%
    Faculty of Law 16.3%
    Gender
    male 53.00%
    female 46.82%
    other 0.04%
    not specified 0.14%
    Place of Residence
    Germany 64,878
    abroad (total, including Europe) 5,104
    abroad, in Europe 4,671
    Citizenship
    Germany 63,298
    other nationalities (total, including Europe and stateless) 6,684
    other European nationalities 5,579
    Average age (in years) 38.1
    Employed 75%
    Previously completed a university degree 51%

    Source: internal student statistics

  • University Staff (Date: 1 April 2022)1) Total number of employees2) Full-time equivalents7)
    Staff financed through the university budget and third-party funds Total Women Total Women
    President 1 1 1 1
    Head of Administration 1 1 1 1
    Total professors3) 96 26 95.98 26
    W2/3 non-tenured professorships
    		 1 1 1 1
    Junior professorships
    		 6 3 6 3
    Interim professorships
    		 2 2 2 2
    Academic Staff 586 283 505.10 234.71
    Academic and student assistants4) 256 159 66.48 40.1
    Tutors5) 257 105 40.46 23.14
    Administrative and technical staff6) 677 462 583.5 380.77
    Total university staff 1874 1037 1293.52 706.72

    1) Data from the BI (Basic data from April 2022).

    2) Not including staff on special leave in accordance with collective labor agreements and civil service law, those receiving temporary pensions, on parental leave, or on secondment. No employees are double-counted in these figures.

    3) Including W1 professorships.

    4) Includes academic assistants and student assistants.

    5) Includes academic online tutors and mentors.

    6) Including trainees.

    7) Full-time equivalents represent the relationship between employees’ individual working times and full-time employment as defined by law or collective labor agreements.

  • Budget 2021  
    Revenue €103.4 million
    including:  
    Ongoing state funding €77.7 million
    Revenue from fees and other income €19.8 million
    Third-party contributions / Continuing education €5.9 million
    Other temporary state funding
    (not included in revenue above)    		 €21.5 million
    Higher Education Pact1 €14.1 million
    Future fund “Strengthening Study & Teaching”2 €5.7 million
    Other funding3 €3.7 million

    1 Higher Education Pact III including compensation funds, master program, European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), building and investment funds, FernUni development plan

    2 Special higher education contract on the future fund “Strengthening Study and Teaching” (Zukunftsvertrag »Studium und Lehre stärken«, ZSL)

    3 Subsidies, funding for the “Collective Violence Project,” Digital University NRW, Digitalization Offensive NRW, Equal Opportunities University NRW

  • You will find a more detailed overview of the current semester, student statistics by semester, and graduation statistics over time at our in-depth statistics page (German).

Office for Communication and PR | 08.04.2024