Each semester, approximately 30,000 to 40,000 guest auditors nationwide attend a lecture at a university in Germany to get an insight into their desired course of study or to further educate themselves. The same is possible with an academy study at FernUni Hagen. An academy study enables interested parties to have a flexible, cost-effective, and practical further education.

In this article, I will address who is suitable for such an academy study at FernUni Hagen, which courses of study you can choose from, and whether you can catch up on or acquire ECTS credits with this study. Furthermore, I will discuss the costs and answer the question of whether it is possible to switch from an academy study to a bachelor's or master's degree programme.

Who is the academy study suitable for?

The academy study at FernUniversität in Hagen is equivalent to the guest auditor study at on-site universities. As an interested party, you can attend online events at the FU Hagen regardless of age and place of residence to gain a realistic idea of your desired course of study or to further educate yourself in specific areas. Proof of general higher education entrance qualification or a similar degree is not required since you are not enrolled in a degree programme and therefore do not obtain a university degree.

You can use an academy study for yourself in the following ways:

• as individual further education: The academy study at FernUni helps you with personal or professional further education. You can select individual modules from the course offerings of FernUniversität and further qualify yourself.
• as a trial study: Test in advance whether a distance learning programme corresponds to your ideas and possibilities by studying selected modules from bachelor's degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences and completing them with examinations.
• to catch up on certain modules: Do you still need individual modules to be admitted to a master's programme? You can selectively attend many courses and modules within the framework of the academy study and complete them with examination performances.
• as a school student study: Interested school students can orient themselves at FernUniversität even before their Abitur, test study subjects, or even start a bachelor's programme as gifted students.

Fernuni Hagen recommends a school student study,

• if you are a student in the upper level and need guidance in choosing your studies. You can test study subjects, gather information for your final study decision, and get to know distance education. Fernuni Hagen recommends taking modules or courses from the first semester. You can even complete the modules of the first semester with examinations, which will be credited to you when you later enroll.
• if you are particularly gifted. You work on the courses of a bachelor's degree and, in individual cases, are admitted as young students for studies. In the academy study, you study the contents provided by the faculty (modules/courses). You can find a list of recommended courses and further information here.

Which courses can I test in the academy study?

In the academy study, you can enroll in almost all courses offered by the FernUni Hagen in the faculties of Cultural and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Economics, or the Faculty of Law. Due to capacity reasons, academy students are usually unable to participate in restricted courses such as internships and seminars.

Furthermore, the following exceptions apply:

At the Faculty of Law, academy students can generally enroll in all modules, except for the modules of the First Legal Examination study. Modules of this degree program can only be taken by students enrolled in the Law First Legal Examination degree program. Participation in the module final exams is limited to individual modules, such as Labor Contract Law, Introduction to Criminal Law, or Civil Procedure Law.

Can I catch up on and earn ECTS points with the academy study?

Those applying for a master's program must not only have a total of 180 or 210 ECTS from the bachelor's program, but also usually have acquired a certain number of credit points in predefined areas. Students are often unsure if they lack this admission requirement. With the academy study, you can make up for missing ECTS points. You have the opportunity to take further training courses and obtain a so-called university certificate through them. A university certificate is associated with ECTS points.

But even if you do not complete an entire degree and instead want to further educate yourself in specific areas of a field, you can use the certificate programs offered by the FernUni Hagen. These consist of thematically related modules from the basic degree programs and have a scope of 60 to 75 ECTS points within a bachelor's degree program or 30 ECTS points within a master's degree program. In order to obtain such a university certificate, you must be regularly enrolled in the degree program in which you want to obtain the certificate. Therefore, the admission requirements and all other principles of the examination regulations of the respective degree program apply to you.

What does the academy study cost?

The costs of an academy study are generally cheaper than certificate courses at a private distance-learning university. For the academy study, a basic fee of 60 euros per semester and a fee of 11 euros per ECTS apply. A complete module that runs over a whole semester costs between 110 and 165 euros depending on the course of study.

Examples:

• Mathematics/Computer Science, Law, Economics: 110 euros per module
• Cultural and Social Sciences: 110 to 165 euros per module

Can I switch from the academy study to a regular study programme?

If you want to switch from the academy study to a Bachelor's degree programme, you can make this change with a written re-registration request with a change at the next due re-registration. This requires a signed application and sending the documents about your university entrance qualification to the student secretariat. If you do not have a university entrance qualification such as a high school diploma, there is the possibility, under certain conditions, such as a relevant professional qualification, to complete a trial study or an entrance examination to complete the bachelor's degree programme. Information on the desired listener status (full-time, part-time student or second-course student) and course of study is particularly required for the change.

The advantages at a glance

To make it easier for you to decide whether to take up an academy study at FernUni Hagen, I would like to highlight the advantages of such a study.

• Orientation: If you are currently in the final phase of your school time and have to decide what comes next for you, the academy study offers a good opportunity to test individual courses from different degree programmes to find out if studying is right for you and if so, which course of study could be of interest for your future career.
• Lifelong Learning for Everyone: The academy study is further education at an academic level. Because there are no admission requirements for the academy study, this form of further education is open to everyone, completely independent of age, prior education or professional experience.
• Flexibility and Low Costs: The costs of the academy study at Fernuni Hagen are much cheaper than, for example, certificate courses at private distance-learning universities. In addition, you can study flexibly in terms of time and are not tied to a fixed location.
• Recognition of Examination Results: Although you do not receive a degree with the academy study, some modules can be completed with examination results. The completed study and examination achievements are confirmed with a certificate.
• Transition to Bachelor's or Master's Studies: The certificates you receive can serve as proof of scientific further education or be credited when transitioning to the corresponding degree programme. Additionally, you can easily switch to the corresponding degree programme at your next re-registration.

If you decide on an academy study at FernUni Hagen after reading this article, I wish you lots of fun and success on your journey!