Some questions about the Foundation University have already been asked in the past. You can find our answers on this page. General information on the foundation model can be found here.
From the Executive Board's point of view, the main advantages lie in the greater freedom to act due to the increased independence from the state of Lower Saxony. Important decisions by the Board of Trustees will thus be possible more quickly.
In concrete terms, this means
Independent creation and elevation of civil servant positions, in particular professorships, within the authorisation framework approved by the state parliament
Denominations and approvals of professorships without the authorisation of the MWK
Permanent right of appointment
Statutory secured capacity to plan, build and finance construction projects
More budgetary flexibility through in-house management rules
Year-round planning security in the financial area
More (long-term) potential in the utilisation of reserves, additions to the foundation's assets and interest on these assets
Examples:
Internally, the rights and possibilities of the Staff Council remain unrestricted.
Externally, employees would no longer be able to elect representatives to the main staff council of the MWK, as this only represents the universities under the auspices of the state. The conciliation body located there as an arbitration body for problems between the employer and the staff council would also no longer be directly responsible.
The staff councils of the foundation universities are represented in the state university staff council conference, which, however, has no statutory right of co-determination.
In order to enable external representation at staff council level, all foundation universities are obliged to join an employers' association under the auspices of the federal state, which belongs to the collective bargaining organisation of the federal states. The Executive Board of TU Braunschweig would be willing to do this immediately. However, the state has not yet established this employers' association in the 20 years since the first five foundation universities were founded.
The staff councils of the foundation universities, which have been in existence for 20 years, have confirmed to the staff council of LU Hannover that no disadvantages have arisen in practice since the foundation universities were established.
On the way to becoming a foundation, there is a risk that it will not be possible to negotiate the framework conditions sought by TU Braunschweig with the state. In this case, the Senate would reject the outcome of the negotiations.
Should a foundation be established, conversion into a foundation would be associated with risks in the following areas:
Yes, the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (§ 58 para. 4 NHG) stipulates that the applicable collective agreements and other provisions for employees of the state also apply to employees of the foundations.
In addition, the foundations are obliged to join an employers' organisation managed by the state of Lower Saxony, which is a member of the Collective Bargaining Association of German States.
All existing employment relationships would be transferred to the foundation by a legal act on a cut-off date and continued there in accordance with the existing contractual agreements.
As the change of ownership is carried out by a legal transfer on the part of the state (establishment ordinance in the law gazette), this step would take place automatically for all employees (employees, civil servants, lecturers, assistants, etc.) of TU Braunschweig on a set cut-off date. An individual objection is not provided for by law, as there is no transfer of operations/change of employer under private law, but rather a transfer under public law.
Terminations for operational reasons are excluded by TU Braunschweig and, in accordance with the state's agreement with the trade unions, are not envisaged.
No. The TU Braunschweig rules out redundancies for operational reasons. Furthermore, there is an agreement between the trade unions and the state government of Lower Saxony that redundancies for operational reasons are excluded in the foundation ordinances of foundation universities.
Your employment contract will continue to apply as before. The foundation takes the place of the state of Lower Saxony through the foundation ordinance and becomes an employer with employer status.
If the state government decides to transfer the TU Braunschweig to a foundation at the end of the committee process at the university, this will be done by a legal act of the state government (establishment ordinance, which will be published in the Official Gazette). The state will be replaced at the legal level as the university's sponsor by the foundation, without individual employment contracts being touched or changed. There is therefore no legal transfer of operations, but rather a transfer of all employees by virtue of statutory regulations.
All employees will remain public service employees, meaning that the corresponding private insurance rates (public service discount) etc. will remain unchanged.
All civil servants will be transferred to the Foundation as indirect state civil servants without any disadvantages. For persons who previously used the suffix "Regierungs-" (e.g. Regierungsinspektor*in) as part of their official title, this suffix could possibly change. Other foundation universities have made use of the legal options here to choose more specific additions (administrative, university or similar).
Most employees will not be affected by a transformation of TU Braunschweig into a foundation in their day-to-day work. There will be changes primarily in the areas of finance and property management, legal issues and committee support.
As experience from other foundation universities shows, the actual additional work will be manageable. The additional staffing requirements there amount to one to a few additional people. The Executive Board will create needs-based solutions in those areas where there will actually be a noticeable increase in workload.
The transformation of TU Braunschweig into a foundation is unlikely to bring any individual benefits. The university as a whole will become more capable of making decisions and taking action. This strengthens the university as a whole, making it more attractive both internally and externally.
If you switch from the state to the foundation, the time spent with the state will be fully recognised. State law also ensures that periods spent with the foundation are recognised as if they had been spent in the direct service of the state.
The foundation assumes all tasks and entitlements for additional retirement and surviving dependants' pensions on an equal footing and continues to pay into the Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL).
The fact that the foundation is under the legally binding sponsorship of the state means that a foundation cannot become insolvent as long as the state itself is not insolvent.
Under the provisions of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (Section 58 (4) sentence 2 no. 2 NHG), the foundation universities are obliged to continue and maintain the additional retirement and surviving dependants' pension scheme in the VBL. As long as and insofar as the corresponding mandatory employer contributions are regulated within the framework of the TV-L, these contributions will continue to be paid by the Foundation as employer.
The Executive Board would like to ensure that existing and future employees are treated equally. This would need to be defined in more detail, for example in the course of a service agreement with the Staff Council.
The NHG (Section 55a (1) to (6)) stipulates that the state can stipulate in the establishment ordinance that payroll accounting, including pension payments for retired civil servants, aid payments and supplementary insurance for retiring civil servants will continue to be handled by the NLBV in the name of and on behalf of the foundation. TU Braunschweig would make use of this option and - unlike the University of Göttingen, for example - would not want to set up its own payroll and remuneration centre.
The degrees and their recognition will remain unchanged. A change in the legal sponsorship of the university does not change its public mission as an educational and research institution.
The right to self-administration and co-determination also exists in the foundation model. This will not change for students or the committees in which they are represented.
There will be an advisory seat for an elected student representative on the newly established Foundation Board.
No. The change in TU Braunschweig's ownership does not result in any additional costs for students.
The range of courses on offer will continue to be determined by the state by means of target agreements on study programmes, so there is no difference for us as a university between the foundation model and the state operation.
The teaching and learning spaces are particularly important to TU Braunschweig, as can be seen from the new student centre that has just been opened. A decision to establish a foundation has no direct influence on the number and equipment of the university's teaching and learning spaces.
As a foundation, however, it is possible for a university to build up foundation assets, the income from which could be used to make additional investments in the university in the medium term.
All existing employment relationships would be transferred to the foundation by a legal act on a cut-off date and continued there in accordance with the contractual agreements.
The TV-L also applies in the foundation model by virtue of statutory provisions (Section 58 (4) NHG), meaning that the recently reached compromise between the parties to the collective agreement on minimum contract terms and hourly rates for student assistants would also apply there
Yes.
No. For more than 20 years, the state has been encouraging its universities to switch to foundation sponsorship in order to give them more room for maneuver. In taking this step, it actively forgoes the interest income that accrues to the foundation and not to the state in the foundation model.
Legally, the state remains obliged to maintain its universities financially (Art. 5 Para. 2 of the Lower Saxony state constitution). This includes both the maintenance and renewal of the building fabric. This means that no funds may be saved.
In practice, too, experience shows that since the introduction of the foundation model in Lower Saxony 20 years ago, there has been no deterioration in the position of foundation universities.
The Senate's tried and tested control mechanisms will continue to apply here:
A change in the university's sponsorship does not change the state's obligation to fund its universities, which is enshrined in the state constitution. The state remains legally obliged to fund all of its universities - regardless of whether they are directly sponsored by the state or by a state-owned foundation.
As a foundation could only become insolvent if the state sponsoring the foundation is itself insolvent, there is no change to the financial security of our university compared to the current situation.
Fundraising will not become a core business of the university in the future. Our operations will continue to be secured through basic state funding. In addition, third-party funding for research and teaching will continue as before.
The Transfer and Cooperation Centre, where our alumni management is being set up with the support of the state, has also been seeking private funding for a long time. This helps us to keep an eye on the career paths our graduates take and, if necessary, establish contacts with people who would like to support the university in its work.
The state is and remains legally obliged to ensure that TU Braunschweig is financed from state funds. In addition, TU Braunschweig already raises around 50% of its total budget from third-party funds (31.8%), special funds from the state (16.6%) and other income (1.5%).
The fact that the state is not reducing the basic funding of the foundation universities is also demonstrated by the experience of the five foundation universities in Lower Saxony that have been in existence for over 20 years, including the University of Göttingen, the largest university in the state, none of which have since experienced any financial disadvantages compared to state-funded universities.
This would continue to depend on the donor. For example, donations or legacies can be earmarked for a specific purpose - this would be no different in the foundation model than it is now.
All donations, legacies, etc. will be checked for any conditions and accepted or rejected in accordance with the rules of our university.
As the foundation's owner, the state remains responsible for providing the foundation with the necessary funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings. This has not happened adequately in recent years and the foundation model will not be able to change this in the short term.
However, there is a chance that, over time, the foundation's assets can be built up from income (donations, inheritances) and earnings (interest from investments, etc.), which in the long term will generate additional funds that can provide support. But that will take years.
According to Section 57 (7) NHG, the Foundation may in principle take out loans, provided the Foundation Board agrees (Section 60 (2) sentence 2 no. 2 NHG). However, above an amount determined by the MWK in agreement with the MF, borrowing also requires the approval of the MWK and MF (Section 57 (7) NHG).
The composition of the Foundation Council is similar to that of the University Council at state-run universities. It consists of five members appointed by the Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK), who are selected in consultation with the Senate. These persons are familiar with the university, but are not active members. The Board of Trustees also includes a university member elected by the Senate and a representative of the MWK. An elected student representative is represented as an advisory member.
Unlike the University Council, a term of office for the Foundation Board is not defined by statutory law, but must be regulated in the foundation statutes due to the requirements of foundation law. The universities that are already sponsored by a foundation have regulated terms of office of between three and five years. TU Braunschweig endeavours to continue the previous regulation of the term of office of the University Council (Section 10 (1) GrundO) as far as possible.
In actual fact, both manage the university together with the Executive Board, and this does not change fundamentally in a foundation university. The NHG regulates the fundamental matters of cooperation between these three bodies, while the corresponding university regulations govern their implementation.
Section 40 of the NHG and decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court stipulate that the members of the Executive Board and the Foundation Council can be voted out of office by the Senate if a corresponding majority in the Senate is in favor of this. In the future, too, elections and dismissals of members of the Executive Board, for example, will be linked to legitimized majorities and, if necessary, to correspondingly defined quorums.
The question: "Who actually controls the university?" depends not only on the regulations derived from the NHG but also on the specific regulations that TU Braunschweig and its committees negotiate with the state. And here - with a view to Hanover and the other foundation universities - there are opportunities to strengthen the power of legitimized bodies, such as the Senate. It is also negotiable how long the members of the Foundation Council, the Senate or the Executive Board remain in office.
Among other things, the Executive Board manages the day-to-day business of the foundation, prepares the resolutions of the Foundation Board and implements them. In negotiations with the state, it decides on the conclusion of target agreements, which replace the state decrees. The Executive Board informs the Foundation Board of all important matters.
After an internal review process, the Executive Board has spoken out in favour of proposing the foundation model to the university as an opportunity for further development. However, the Executive Board's opinion-forming process can neither replace the discourse within the university nor anticipate a decision process in the Senate. Only the University Senate can make decisions at this level and evaluate the results of negotiations with the MWK. The discourse therefore remains open-ended.
There are currently no plans to conduct an opinion poll among all of the almost 23,000 TU members or the approximately 3,700 employees. Every member of the university can obtain comprehensive information and contribute to the discussion. The Senate, as the democratically elected representative of all members of the university, will also do this during the information week. In one of the meetings after the information week, the Senate will probably decide whether the foundation model could offer relevant advantages and whether negotiations with the MWK are worthwhile. To this end, negotiations with the Staff Council would be conducted in parallel in order to secure all relevant points, e.g. the safeguarding of existing rights for future employees, by means of a service agreement.
Only on the basis of the results of these negotiations can the Senate then make a reliable assessment and decide whether becoming a foundation is the best way for TU Braunschweig to position itself for the future.
It is not yet supposed to happen - but it could, if the Senate commissions negotiations with the state and ultimately agrees to the outcome of the negotiations. Following a referral by the state government, TU Braunschweig could then be transferred to the sponsorship of a foundation in accordance with the NHG.
LU Hannover will be a foundation from January 2024 and began the negotiation process on the way there in July 2021.
The most important legal changes are as follows:
Yes.
After the transfer to the foundation, TU Braunschweig would no longer be a state organisation/office of the state of Lower Saxony, so it depends on the structure of the state framework agreements as to whether they continue to apply. During the negotiations with the state, the scope of application of the agreement and whether it also extends to indirect state institutions such as foundations, institutions, etc. would have to be examined framework agreement by framework agreement. If the scope of application of the agreement does not extend to indirect state institutions, it would be possible to enter into framework agreements of one's own or to negotiate with the state and the contractual partner that the foundation can join the state framework agreement.
However, nothing changes for framework agreements not concluded via the state, e.g. by LANIT (Lower Saxony State Working Group for Information Technology/Computing Centres) or DFN-Verein (German Research Network).
The transfer of buildings from the state to the foundation will also be negotiated in the course of the foundation's establishment. Some of these buildings will form part of the foundation's basic assets, while others may become part of the foundation's regular assets.
The CoLinvingCampus project will remain a central project for the future of TU Braunschweig. In the negotiations with the state, it would be an important element for the Executive Board to be able to continue to create the necessary conditions here. Becoming a foundation could offer significant advantages for the project, as the time-consuming coordination procedures with the state property fund, MWK and MF could be omitted once the land has been transferred to the foundation's ownership.
The change of ownership will not be able to solve the refurbishment backlog at the TU Braunschweig. As the foundation's sponsor, the state remains responsible for providing sufficient funds to maintain the infrastructure. At best, the foundation itself can finance additional measures with income from the foundation's assets. However, this would take years.
Yes, sections 55 to 63 of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act also apply. Further details on the structure of the establishment and organisation of the foundation would be regulated in a foundation charter and establishment ordinance to be negotiated with the state for TU Braunschweig.
The TU is and will remain a corporation under public law, but its sponsorship will be transferred from the state to a foundation under public law.
The Carolo Wilhelmina Foundation is a foundation under civil law (private law) established by TU Braunschweig in 2012; it is governed by the Lower Saxony Foundation Act, the foundation statutes and, in addition, Sections 80 to 88 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
In principle, the foundation is covered by the state's principle of self-insurance; the state settles corresponding damages in accordance with Section 55a (7) NHG in conjunction with the Establishment Ordinance by way of property damage reimbursement comparable to the regulations currently applicable in the state organisation.
Nevertheless, the Foundation's property could also be insured if this appears economically viable and sensible. The corresponding approval requirements of the MWK and MF for the conclusion of property insurance policies in accordance with the administrative regulations for the LHO do not apply to foundation universities, so that there may be room for manoeuvre in the context of the economical and efficient use of funds.
TU Braunschweig was granted the right to build by the responsible ministries in 2018. By becoming a foundation, TU Braunschweig's rights would be transferred permanently and on a statutory basis (Section 55a (8) NHG), meaning that they can no longer be withdrawn.
The right of appointment has so far only been transferred to TU Braunschweig for a limited period of three years. Even with the unlimited transfer possible for the first time since 2 February 2022 with the amended NHG (to be applied for for TU Braunschweig from 1 April 2024), the transfer is only possible subject to revocation at any time in accordance with Section 48 (2) sentence 5 NHG. In the context of an endowment, the TU Braunschweig's right of appointment would be transferred permanently and irrevocably (Section 58 (2) sentence 4 NHG), so that it can no longer be revoked.
The establishment ordinance of a foundation under public law is specially protected by foundation law and can only be amended in the event of far-reaching legal changes or changes to the content of the annexes to the establishment ordinance (foundation charter, list of properties). In the practice of the five foundation universities to date, the establishment ordinance has only been amended in a few cases due to changes in statutory regulations affecting the establishment ordinance or following amendments to the foundation statutes approved by the MWK.
TU Braunschweig wants to remain an attractive employer and become more attractive. This applies to all employees and anyone who might be interested in working at TU Braunschweig. The Executive Board therefore focuses on good and safe working conditions, modernisation and digitalisation of our processes and active marketing for our university.
As a foundation, our options for renovating our buildings or for employee benefits such as workplace health promotion would not increase by leaps and bounds - but we would by no means let up and work on making the university attractive for everyone.
To this end, the Foundation could, in consultation with the Staff Council, abolish the rule that certain salary groupings are linked to certain educational requirements (administrative courses). This would make it easier for people from the business world to apply for such positions, for example.
Whether and how the topics mentioned can be implemented to make TU Braunschweig more attractive as an employer does not depend on the foundation model.
The Executive Board and Staff Council must coordinate what is possible within the legal and financial framework. As the TV-L continues to apply, something could be done for the job bike. Initial discussions have been initiated with the Staff Council regarding the 4-day week (without pay compensation). Under the current flexitime regulations, it is already possible to spread the weekly working time over 4 days a week and to utilise flexitime credits on a 5th day; only for the permanent use of such a working time model would appropriate agreements (shift/changeover models etc.) have to be made. We are currently unable to provide any information on the other two points, but would subject these topics to in-depth consideration and realisation review independently of the discussion on the foundation model as part of the ongoing project on employer attractiveness.
The TV-L also continues to apply at the foundation university (Section 58 (4) sentence 1 NHG), although the foundation as employer gains the opportunity to utilise the collective agreement regulations for performance-related components without the previously required individual approval of the MWK and MF. Whether corresponding regulations can then be introduced and implemented for all tariff employees would have to be negotiated with the Staff Council in due course and regulated in the form of a service agreement.
Yes.
This is based on the relevant service agreement and the fact that the further training commission and the advisory board for quality development in personnel development appointed by the Senate continue to be in favour of the specific offers.
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