Admission competencies assessment procedure

a) AAV-A:
The admission competencies assessment for admission to CP, AE and Master (completion of first tertiary education – i.e. for applicants with completed tertiary education - minimum Bachelor degree) is based on formal qualifications and transcripts that must be submitted by the student with the application documents (application portfolio.) These include certificates of formal education awards (general qualification for university entrance, e.g. baccalaureate, matriculation certificate, college or high school leaving diplomas, academic degree) and proof of work experience (employers’ testimonial and/or social security statements). These formal documents aim to assess if the candidates fulfill the curriculum’s admission requirements. The Letter of Intent (student’s letter of motivation) and CV, as well as the admission interview, merely serve as an informal, complementary part of the procedure. If, however, it transpires that the student’s expectations and needs do not coincide with the course goals and the intended learning results, the student’s attention will be drawn to this prior to admission to the course, and suitable alternatives suggested. 
In the event that the curriculum calls for special admission requirements (above and beyond those of Danube University Krems’ minimum standards, such as proven completion of a particular field of study, positive conclusion of the admission interview/procedure, language skills) these are indicated with the course description on the respective web page and any particular assessment procedures required will be stated.

b) AAV-B: Master (equivalent qualification):
candidates who have not completed their first tertiary studies i.e. without at least a Bachelor degree and applying for admission to a Master Program will be assessed based on whether or not they have proof of competencies acquired equivalent to Bachelor level. For these cases, the university-wide General Assessment Procedure (a) was expanded to include process steps and required transcripts to determine whether Bachelor competencies exist that can be evaluated (descriptors in accordance with EQR/NQR.) The EQR/NQR descriptors are applied as the assessment criteria. This expanded General Assessment Procedure (b) is called „Individual admission based on equivalent qualifications” and is the generally applicable minimum assessment procedure for admitting candidates on the basis of “equivalent qualifications.” 

This is described as follows: the procedure begins the same way as a) with the submission of application documents (applicant portfolio) whereby students are asked to pay particular attention to highlighting the acquisition of non-formal and informal competencies in their CVs and Letter of Intent. The first stage of the Admission Competencies Assessment focuses on assessing formal qualifications and transcripts students are required to submit with their application documents (application portfolio.) These include certificates of formal education awards (general qualification for university entrance, e.g. baccalaureate, matriculation certificate, college or high school leaving diplomas, certificates of other educational institutions) and proof of work experience (employers’ testimonial and/or social security statements.) In addition to these, the assessment criteria are based on other evidence such as education, continuing education, project description etc. to establish if Bachelor competencies exist in accordance with the EQR/NQR descriptors. If this is the case, and a Bachelor equivalent is deemed, the candidates are invited to an admission interview.

This admission interview (application interview) is conducted by the course director with to round off the impression made of the applicants’ skills and interests as presented by them in the application portfolio, and particularly to clarify these if not adequately presented. An interview guideline is used for the admission interview covering areas such as motivation, goals, knowledge, skills and competencies (NQR Level VI), requirements and self-organization. A resume of all the formal documents and the admission interview is compiled in a Statement by the Course Director with respect to whether or not the qualifications are equivalent to a Bachelor in accordance with the NQR criteria. At the last stage, the students’ entire file (i.e. application portfolio, Course Director Statement, the SCS’s check note confirming that the documents provided are formally correct) is presented to the Vice-Rector for Academic Teaching / Scientific Continuing Education on a four-eye principle for final evaluation and approval.