04 - Austria - General Objectives

Colleges and other Training Institutions for Health Occupations

Paramedical Colleges (Medizinisch-technische Akademien)

Higher-level paramedical training is to convey all knowledge and skills required to exercise the profession in the given branch according to the state of the art.

Midwifery colleges (Hebammenakademien)

Midwifery training is to convey all knowledge and skills required to practice midwifery according to the state of the art of the profession.

Training for cardiology technicians

Objectives of training programmes for cardiology technicians: Training courses are to convey all knowledge and skills required to carry out the responsibilities of a certified cardiology technician. They are to endow prospective cardiology technicians with the knowledge about illnesses and the anatomy, development and functions of the human body they need for their work. Their training is also supposed to promote scientific research as well as communication and co-operation in personal, cardiology-related and other socially relevant areas, which is to foster quality assurance in cardiology technology and to promote further progress in the field through research-oriented approaches.

Universities

The first paragraph of the 2002 Universities Act outlines the objectives of Austrian universities as follows:

"The mission of the universities is to serve academic research and teaching, and the advancement, appreciation and teaching of the arts, and thereby to contribute to the personal development of the individual, and to the welfare of society and the environment. Universities are public educational institutions which, in their research and research based teaching, are directed towards the advancement of knowledge and new approaches to the arts. Through the common efforts of teachers and students, working in enlightened scholarly communities, they assist individuals in their striving for the education and autonomy conferred by scholarship. They promote the advancement of junior academics, which goes hand in hand with the acquisition of academic and artistic abilities and qualifications, and methodological skills, with the goal of helping a society in transition to master the challenges it faces in a humane and gender equal fashion. To enable them to respond to the constantly changing demands made on them in organisational, academic and personnel management terms, the universities and their governing bodies shall constitute themselves under conditions of the greatest possible autonomy and self-administration."

Fundamental principles laid down in the 2002 Universities Act  are freedom of scholarship and teaching, diversity of academic and art theory, methods and doctrines, student co-determination (particularly with respect to studies, teaching quality assurance and the use of university fees), national and international mobility for students, gender equality, equal opportunities for everyone and special attention to the needs of the disabled.

Higher-education legislation spells out the teaching mandate of universities in very general terms. Under the 2002 'Universitätsgesetz', universities are to fulfil their educational function by conveying a scientific, artistic and scientific-artistic grounding, professional qualifications for activities which require the application of scientific findings; they must provide for the training and career advancement of junior academics and young artists offering degree studies (bachelor's programmes, master's programmes, diploma programmes, doctoral programmes) and continuing education courses ("Universitätslehrgänge").

As mentioned above, one of the fundamental principles of the 2002 Universities Act gives special attention to the needs of the disabled (Universities Act sections 2, 11). Students who suffer from a permanent disability have the right to demand alternative examination methods. The universities autonomously decide how these provisions are to be implemented. It is generally assumed that the universities will build on existing support facilities and structures, using them as a basis for further progress. Disabled students particularly aim to create more awareness of their special needs among teaching and administrative staff.

Graduation does not automatically entail any professional qualifications. Whenever the law requires professional qualifications for an academic profession, these qualifications are – with the exception of veterinary surgeons – obtained in post-doctoral training (e.g. doctors, higher-level secondary school teachers, judges, etc.).

Fachhochschulen

The "Fachhochschul-Studiengesetz" (Federal Act on Fachhochschule Studies) outlines the general educational responsibilities of Fachhochschule programmes. According to the act, Fachhochschule programmes are to provide vocationally oriented education on a tertiary level. They are to endow students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the practical demands of their individual professional fields with scientifically grounded state-of-the-art methods. In addition, the Fachhochschule sector is supposed to aim at compatibility with different educational systems and to promote the professional flexibility of its graduates. The act also lays down some fundamental principles concerning the design of study programmes, e.g. the consideration of diverse academic opinions and methods. It also states that the principle of freedom of teaching should be incorporated into the thematic and methodological structures of classes within the framework of individual course objectives, the detailed design being left to the accreditation procedure. The curricula and examination regulations for the different study programmes become mandatory through the accreditation of the study programme by the Fachhochschule Council.

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