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FAQ

The following frequently asked questions relate primarily to data protection aspects.

  • How does the university obtain my address details?

    The addresses of graduates available at the time of completion of their studies were collected and stored in electronic form at the university in accordance with the statutes on the collection and processing of personal data. This address data is compiled exclusively for the purpose of conducting the graduate survey and is handed over to the responsible project coordinators.

    Since the addresses of graduates stored at the university are not always up to date one year after graduation, the addresses are updated if necessary, primarily with the help of the residents' registration offices, the Deutsche Post relocation database, and the Internet.

  • Why is the university allowed to use my address details for the graduate survey?

    Address data may only be transmitted and used within the university if it serves the fulfillment of scientific tasks and/or the fulfillment of the university's tasks. Both conditions are met in the context of this graduate study:

    • The graduate study at the university is part of a nationwide scientific research project involving approximately 80 universities coordinated by ISTAT. ISTAT is creating a cross-university data set and a scientific use file (research data set) containing the details of all graduates from the universities participating in the project and is evaluating the anonymized data for scientific purposes within the framework of university and graduate research.

    • The results of the study will be used for research and quality assurance purposes in teaching and studies within the university.

    Address data will be processed exclusively by university employees. All employees who have access to personal data within the scope of the project are subject to the applicable data protection law. In this context, the disclosure of address data to third parties is strictly prohibited, and this also applies if the employees no longer work at the university.

  • What is ISTAT?

    The Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT), based in Kassel, was founded in 2016 as a spin-off of the International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER) and, with its former INCHER employees, safeguards the expertise and standards gained in the INCHER project. INCHER is an interdisciplinary research institution at the University of Kassel that has been active in higher education research for 30 years and enjoys a high level of recognition in this field worldwide.

    Information about ISTAT and INCHER can be found at:

    Further information on the graduate studies project can also be found on the ISTAT project homepage: https://istat.de/service/projekte/kooperationsprojekt-absolventenstudien-koab.

    All ISTAT employees are also subject to the applicable data protection law. This means that these employees are also strictly prohibited from passing on address data to third parties.

  • What is the access code used for?

    All graduates are assigned a randomly generated access code. With the help of this code, respondents can participate in the online survey (this provides sufficient protection against so-called “third-party completers”). Secondly, by checking the access codes used, it is possible to find out who has already responded. These graduates are then not contacted again (a total of up to four contacts are made during the survey phase).
    In addition, the use of the code allows previous answers to be saved temporarily and the survey to be continued at a later date.

  • What happens during the online survey?

    When participating in the online survey, you will log in with your access code on the Internet to participate in the anonymous online survey. Your answers will be stored on the ISTAT server in Kassel during the survey phase.

    At the end of the online questionnaire, you will be asked

    • whether you are willing to participate in the follow-up study in 3 to 4 years and
    • whether you are interested in receiving the overall results report from the University of Marburg.


    If you are willing to participate in the follow-up survey and/or would like to receive a short summary, you will be asked to enter your address details.
    This address data will never be stored in a file together with your survey data. In this respect, the survey data is completely anonymous at all times during the survey.

    After completion of the survey phase, the survey data will be processed by ISTAT and statistically evaluated as part of university and graduate research. In addition, the University of Marburg will receive the anonymous survey data (i.e., without names and addresses) for its own evaluations.

    The universities will use your addresses exclusively for the purpose specified by the respondents (e.g., participation in the repeat survey, sending a brief summary).

  • In what form will the data be published?

    ISTAT compiles a comprehensive dataset covering all universities and a scientific use file (research dataset) containing the responses from the questionnaires completed by all graduates of the universities participating in the project. Addresses are not included in this dataset. Furthermore, neither individuals nor individual universities can be identified. The anonymous information from the survey is evaluated and published by ISTAT for scientific purposes in the context of university and graduate research. None of ISTAT's publications allow any conclusions to be drawn about individual universities or individuals.

    The Philipps University Marburg uses its university-specific data set for quality assurance purposes. The resulting reports also do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about individual persons.

If you believe that important points are missing from our FAQ, please feel free to let us know by sending an email to .

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