University of Hohenheim appointments are fair and transparent: DHV confirms seal of approval for another five years  [12.08.24]

The German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV) attests to a “strong service orientation,” “high procedural transparency,” and a “welcoming culture” that is put into practice

The DHV has awarded the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart the seal of approval for fair and transparent appointment negotiations for a further five years. This is the second time that the University of Hohenheim has successfully passed the re-audit procedure, which is due after five years. It has held the DHV seal of approval since 1 July 2016. This makes her the only holder of the seal of approval in Baden-Württemberg to date.

According to the DHV, the University of Hohenheim once again earned very good marks for how it organizes appointment negotiations and appointment procedures. Thanks to the universally praised constructive climate of discussion, researchers felt respected and welcome. According to the DHV, an approachable university management and prudent appointment management with a strong service orientation contribute significantly to this.

In particular, the DHV acknowledged the fact that the University of Hohenheim has continuously increased the transparency of the process by further developing its digital appointment portal. The university also knows how to convince potential professors to accept offers with good salary and resources. The structured further education and training program, which, among other things, offers all new appointees free, individual coaching with experienced coaches, was highlighted as a positive aspect. The “welcoming culture” also includes the offer of organizational support for applicants who are offered an appointment even though they do not know any German. Part of that support is with language acquisition. It is also exemplary that the University of Hohenheim endeavors to make daycare places available on for appointments. Finally, the DHV praised the Chancellor for conducting critical and constructive feedback discussions with all those appointed.

“Appreciation is an essential prerequisite for attracting and retaining outstanding junior staff and established personalities,” stated the President of the University of Hohenheim, Professor Dr. Stephan Dabbert. “The strict requirements and feedback from the DHV seal of approval audit are important to us and provide us with valuable pointers as to where we can further optimize and improve our appointment procedures.”

The DHV seal of approval is based on a weighted questionnaire with 42 questions, which the DHV has developed on the basis of its consulting experience in appointment procedures. The DHV advises academics in two-thirds of all appointment and retention negotiations in Germany. The evaluation focuses on fairness, appreciation, transparency, and reliability in the appointment and retention negotiations. Comments from the universities under review are also included in the assessment. In addition, there are interviews with professors appointed to the respective university about their experiences in the appointment process as well as the experience of the DHV legal advisors.

In addition to the University of Hohenheim, the RWTH Aachen, the University of Cologne, the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, the FernUniversität in Hagen, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the University of Bremen, the University of Siegen, the Universität der Bundeswehr München, Leibniz University Hannover, the University of Münster, the University of Bayreuth, the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, the University of Wuppertal, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Chemnitz University of Technology, the University of Passau, the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Technische Universität Ilmenau, and Paderborn University as well as the TH Köln have been awarded the DHV seal of approval for transparent and fair appointment negotiations. In addition, the Faculty of Medicine at Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt University Hospital, and the University Medical Center Mainz have been awarded the DHV seal of approval for fair and transparent appointment procedures in university medicine.

The German Association of University Professors and Lecturers is a professional association of researchers with over 33,500 members in Germany.


Additional information
DHV award for professorial appointment procedures