Universities in Dortmund, Wuppertal and Aachen Develop Virtual “Semester Zero”

Knowledge levels among young people starting university often vary – for example due to different educational biographies or pathways into higher education or because of a break between school and university. To study successfully, however, sound school knowledge is an essential prerequisite. This is where the beVinuS.NRW project comes in: The three participating universities will together develop a program of digitally supported, self-study phases that enable students to close knowledge gaps in parallel to their studies and refresh the skills required for the respective degree program – at precisely the moment when they need their school knowledge for their studies.

Although universities already offer a wide spectrum of support services for new students, including preliminary courses, for example, the contents are covered in a very short space of time before the start of the lecture period and not tailored to individual requirements. In addition, participation is usually fixed to a specific time and place. beVinuS.NRW counters these disadvantages: Students can make use of the digital self-study courses flexibly in terms of time and location and repeat precisely those topics where they still have gaps. In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the participating universities are striving to develop a reform model so that participation in such supplementary courses can also be funded via the Federal Training Assistance Act. The aim is for the courses to be credited as additional academic achievements and, if they are on an appropriate scale, to lengthen the standard period of study eligible for funding. The program to be developed is understood as a supplement in support of supervision formats that already address students individually, such as mentoring, work in small groups or workshops; it is not intended to replace them.

“Important contribution to more educational equity”

The project lies directly with the university management at the participating universities. Professor Wiebke Möhring, Vice President Academic Affairs at TU Dortmund University, is pleased about the project funding from the state: “We have observed for some time that our students partly have very different levels of prior knowledge from school. With beVinuS.NRW, we are therefore also making an important contribution to more educational equity because successful studies should not depend on the educational path and the point in time at which students came to the university.”

Up until September 2025, the three universities will develop concepts in the area of subject and media didactics for diagnosing as well as refreshing and expanding prior school knowledge as needed. On this basis, the universities will systematically make instruments available to students with which they can test themselves, along with options for digital self-study in all the courses of their degree program where prior school knowledge is required. Initially, the mathematics, physics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering departments as well as the Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS) at TU Dortmund University will be involved. To study how the structure and content of beVinuS.NRW needs to be designed in order to give participants a concrete advantage, TU Dortmund University will additionally accompany the project from the perspective of learning and motivation science.

After the end of the project, the documented reference process will be made available to other universities in NRW. These can then draw on the previous experience of the University of Wuppertal, RWTH Aachen University and TU Dortmund University when introducing their own “Parallel Virtual Semester Zero”.

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