"At the breaking point"

Universities want to limit admission applications

Exterior view of the University of Vienna

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Universities want to limit the number of admission applications per person and semester. In practice, there are currently cases in which a single person submits up to 28 applications within one admission period. This brings the study administration "to its limits".

The University of Vienna also argues that the increasing digitalization and simplification of procedures makes the large number of applications possible in practice.

Administrative workload increases continuously
Many applicants are now submitting applications for a large number of degree courses, which on the one hand indicates a "less focused choice of degree course" and on the other hand drives up the administrative workload enormously. On average, three applications for admission are submitted per application deadline and person.

University of Vienna: only 3,000 out of 17,000 began their studies

In 2023, 17,151 applications for admission were submitted by people from third countries. Almost 7300 were formally incomplete - two thirds of these were also rejected in the improvement procedure. Of the more than 17,000 applications, only just under 3,000 actually started a full degree course or attended the preparatory course.

Student submitted applications for 28 different courses
The "record" is 28 applications from a single applicant in one admission period. The Network and the University of Vienna are therefore proposing a regulation according to which the rectorate of a university should be able to limit the number of possible admission applications per person and period. The many applications for admission from applicants from third countries also play a role.

For this reason, a regulation that has since been abolished is to be reintroduced, according to which applications must be received in full by the end of the deadline set for this purpose.

If they fail to do so, an incomplete application should be rejected immediately and without an order to rectify the deficiencies. For applicants, this would mean that they would not be able to submit a new (complete) application until the next admission deadline.