Audit as a Family-Friendly University

Copyright: Andrea Borowski

Since receiving the basic certificate as family-friendly university in the summer of 2009 and passing the re-audit in the summer of 2012 and 2015, RWTH Aachen has successfully performed a variety of activities to help students and employees balance their studies, career and family.

In particular, this includes flexible organization of work and study, with a focus on working and studying hours and the work and study location. In addition, there have been numerous service and advising offerings in place for many years; these are offered through the Family Services of the Equal Opportunities Office. Other core activities involve providing information and communication about the offerings, addressing and sensitizing management employees, and establishing HR development and academic qualification processes that are oriented towards equal opportunity.

2015 “Consolidation” Re-audit

RWTH Aachen University has been re-certified within the so-called "consolidation" in Summer 2015, since we still see room to manoeuvre and potential for development as a comprehensive family-friendly university.

For the next three years overarching objectives focus on approaches for quality assurance of all work life balance activities as well as fostering equal opportunity and family-conscious attitudes off all university members. Finally, this should result in family-friendly work and study conditions as an inherent part of a diversity-oriented university culture.

Organizational Change is a Community Concern for Us

• The Rector’s Office is a driver of family-friendly university development.
• Within the central and local university structures, university members are supported with their family obligations in a variety of ways, and there is a great deal of support for creating a family-friendly university.
• Outside the University, RWTH Aachen University is often cited as a good example. It belongs to numerous cooperations and networks.