Foundations save Privatuni Witten / Herdecke.

The impending bankruptcy of the University of Witten / Herdecke has averted a crisis meeting. Now two foundations are negotiating on a partnership with the schlingernden university. The NRW is willing to further promote - but the structure of the university could be greatly changed.
  Hamburg - After a history of Germany's oldest and largest private university heftig kriselte, there is just before Christmas, some good news: The University of Witten / Herdecke entrinnt nearly insolvent. Their ability to pay will be from among the "potential strategic partners" of the year also secured, it was from the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Science - a new perspective for the university.
The potential partners come from the economy: There are Heidelberger health and education SRH Holding Group and the Darmstädter Software AG Foundation. They provide the necessary means to the millions of holes for the university to ending years initially to plug. By early 2009, independent auditors, the "necessary transparency on the financial situation of the university to produce", as it formulated the Science Ministry. "It goes further in Witten," said a negotiating participants after the meeting in Duesseldorf Ministry.
It said representatives of the university, the student council and service on the evening of 20 clock until midnight with the SRH holding company, Software AG Foundation, also Wittener mayor and the association for the development of community hospitals Herdecke. In the first step should be averted immediate bankruptcy. If the talks failed, needed before Christmas to be made bankrupt, had university spokesman said Ralf Hermersdorfer - so today Diestag.
Bureau away, Uni kopflos
The country recently had its annual grant of 4.5 million euros for 2008 and also stopped three million euros for the year 2007 recovered. It had already trudelnde University in a severe financial difficulties brought. Well, she won at least time. "We have a guarantee of three million euros, which at year-end to expire until the end of March 2009," said Walter Hiller, the Software AG Foundation on Tuesday in Darmstadt. That creates air, in order to search for sponsors.
The science ministry had the means deletion on the grounds that the university no proper management could prove more. The Uni-President had Birger Priddat vigorously disputed, but was nevertheless resigned from his position, as on Monday Nohroudi Maxim, the former vice president and managing director. Both said they wanted the university in new starts. Nohroudi also stressed he could be the "strategic options", the majority shareholders prefer not support - without further explanation.
What he meant was clear on Tuesday: the negotiations with new partners, so are not new - they already know from the previous year, as we also negotiated and separated again without result. Instead, the university's commitment to the consulting firm Droege, but the collaboration ended some months ago in the dispute.
The country is what the country is what
That brought the University of violent turmoil, the former president Priddat turned again to SRH and Software AG. As the Ministry of Science and then the interested parties were invited to a table to find a sustainable solution to seek, all pushed for a complete financial overview. A "real Kassensturz called the Nile Birschmann, spokesman for the SRH holding. The aim an external, independent auditing firm it, and as expeditiously as possible, because time is pressing.
The auditors will be "under pressure" start, it was of days rather than weeks or months, said a spokesman of the Ministry of Science. A finance and development planning for the university, there is only on the basis of transparency and reliability. If all conditions are right, could the university for the years 2009 and 2010, each country provided funding of 4.5 million - and also a one-time allocation of a further 4.5 million euros, signaled Science Minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) on Tuesday.
That, however, the hole would simply offset from 2008. For the 4.5 million for 2008, the university had not received it because the "legal position clear," said the ministry spokesman. Also, the recovery of three million for 2007 is still in space. The university must now use the situation for the course, including a professional management. This hastens the university apparently: Still on Tuesday should be a scientific and first appointed Commercial Director, said university spokesman Ralf Hermersdorfer.
In a statement, stressed the meeting all participants in the negotiations, there is a "strategic partnership". It is clear that above all the SRH holding much more than the role of a patron claimed the only money for a good cause and there are otherwise heraushält. "Only the liquidity to plug loopholes, and everything goes on as before, that would be patching up and comes to us not in question," said SRH spokesman Birschmann blogs ONLINE.
The SRH is a health and education group. The Foundation operates in Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg seven clinics, and 30 educational institutions, including six private colleges with a total of approximately 5000 students. The largest of them in Heidelberg has about 2000 students, almost twice as many as the University of Witten / Herdecke with approximately 1200 students.
SRH brings with clear ideas
Health and education - that seems to fit to the university in Ruhrpott, whose heart is the Faculty of Medicine. However, the SRH with ideas that are not necessarily compatible with the university and its special culture. So far form their self-willed members of the students to the professors a community, even with a strong culture debate outweighs the togetherness. In the SRH negotiations geraunt had students from a cultural break, the sell-off Wittener ideals, even of a "hostile takeover". The SRH has had among other things, to a significant increase in the number of students crowded - what Witten / Herdecke certainly not to make a Massenuni, but until now the heavenly care of the students would change.
ON TO ONLINE country medium blogs deleted: Witten Uni-President Resigns (18.12.2008) subsidies gone: Privatuni Witten / Herdecke threatens the Pleite (17.12.2008) Privatuni Witten / Herdecke: Farewell to the "white knight" (21.08.2008) Uni Witten and their sponsors: "The tablecloth is cut" (21.08.2008) University of Witten / Herdecke: Success through stall smell? (05.05.2008) Privatuni Witten / Herdecke: Students should fill financial hole (29.02.2008) Witten / Herdecke: lifebuoy for Privatuni (21.06.2007) Rostocker Privatuni: Shipwreck on the Baltic coast (21.08.2008) Witten / Herdecke: New turbulence at the Privatuni (08.02.2007) Wittener Another feature is the model for the study contributions. Students had used it himself as a "generational contract" reversed "in which they either immediately or only after the entry into professional life can pay. After initially moderate fees mid-nineties, the university management to Priddat earlier this year with the cooperation of t!
he students ended society. Now the university sets the fees, and she moved significantly - according to specialists, students pay 25,000 to 60,000 euros for their studies.
In the future, the contributions are expected to rise again. The students had already signaled in December that they are more willing to pay in order to save the university. And even with the "generational contract" can hardly expect new students. Nils Birschmann said clearly that from the perspective of the SRH of the students initially developed model does not work "because the university to secure and predictable revenue was instructed. Overall, they need "an entirely new business model," said Birschmann - and thus in the next few weeks go.