The FH sector is now hoping that Federal Minister Faßmann will also implement his plan for the necessary increase in funding rates in the federal government.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the universities of applied sciences have done everything in their power to enable their students to study as smoothly and on time as possible. Online teaching operations were ramped up within a very short space of time. This was associated with a high level of resource utilisation at all 21 universities of applied sciences.

"The special measure of around EUR 2.5 million that BM Faßmann is now implementing will help some universities of applied sciences to cushion the additional digitisation costs caused by the crisis and is welcomed by the FHK. We see this as positive, as this measure will benefit those that have seen a drop in the number of places filled compared to the winter semester. However, all universities of applied sciences are actually confronted with a crisis-related increase in the use of resources for digitalisation," said FHK President Raimund Ribitsch in an initial reaction to today's announcement by the Ministry of Science.
"We therefore now hope that BM Faßmann will implement the increase in funding rates for all universities of applied sciences that was already stipulated in the government programme. We need the increase of at least 10% NOW, because even before Covid-19, teaching, for which the federal government is responsible, was not fully funded," concludes the President.