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"Auch das ist Hochschule?!". Neue Herausforderungen erfordern einen offenen Hochschulbegriff
In Germany as well as worldwide, the ideal of the „World Class Research University“ dominates the very idea of higher education. In its one-sidedness it ignores the needs of many stakeholders such as students, the labor market or the local community. Although much lip-service is being paid to the importance of diverse institutional missions and “multiple excellences” in Germany, remarkably little is done to support a differentiation of higher education institutions. Internationally, new types of universities often develop at the fringes of higher education systems. This paper portrays eight innovative universities, analyses the conditions under which they can thrive and discusses the legal and cultural barriers to diversification, currently in place in Germany. On this basis, recommendations are made on how universities, Federal States and the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) can make “multiple excellences” a reality.