As part of our project, we conducted an anonymous survey of first-semester meteorology students in Germany. The aim was to find out more about their motivation, expectations and challenges in order to be able to address their needs in a more targeted way in future, reduce the drop-out rate and use their interests as topics for our best practice example.
At the beginning of the winter semester in October last year, we sent the survey to universities nationwide with meteorology courses - asking them to forward it to their first-year students. A total of 81 students completed the questionnaire in full, with most of the responses coming from Cologne, Leipzig, Bonn and Munich. The results were then analyzed by location using Python.
An initial focus was on the question of how students became aware of the subject of meteorology. The most common answer was independent research, but social media, university websites and current environmental events also played a role. The assessments of their own emotional state varied greatly - they ranged from happy and curious to stressed and overwhelmed.
In terms of expectations, the desire for practical content was emphasized above all. Many also cited this as an advantage over more theoretical subjects such as physics. Several points emerged with regard to the challenges mentioned: Some students had not yet found learning partners, others reported financial difficulties or a lack of accessibility. Barriers mentioned included limited mobility within the university buildings, the lack of lecture recordings and difficult-to-read blackboards.
In order to increase the visibility of the degree course, we should therefore try to expand our presence on websites and other platforms and use formats from our project, such as the “climate suitcase”, to approach students as a future target group in a more targeted manner. A mentoring programme, which we offer in Bonn in the first semesters, can be an important support against the initial overload - especially in organizational matters. The expansion of networking opportunities within the degree program and events such as the Freshers' Week are also essential to facilitate social connections. The lack of access to digital learning resources remains a key problem. This is where our project comes in with the development of OER content to provide all students with easy, barrier-free access to high-quality teaching materials.
We would now like to feed the results of the survey back to the participating universities so that we can provide individual, location-specific feedback. Just a few weeks after completing this first survey, we launched a second, follow-up survey. This is intended to provide insights into the further development of the students - in particular with regard to how many have already dropped out of their studies, what reasons were decisive for this, where the need for support is greatest and whether the expectations of the studies have been fulfilled so far.
