ABSTRACT
Student demands for reform of the German university during the 1960s were based on specific grievances. Students charged that conditions within institutions of higher learning were unsatisfactory because: the traditional notion of a scholarly community of teachers and students had become obsolete owing to overcrowding. The number of students entering universities rose from about 25,000 in 1950 to almost 65,000 in 1970 -from 3·5 per cent to just over 8·5 per cent of the relevant age group. The universities were organized as hierarchical, authoritarian structures in which full professors were all-powerful. An average faculty-student ratio of 1:60 made personal contact between the student and his professor impractical. 1 The teaching-learning situation was becoming increasingly depersonalized while the examination structure remained subjective and personal. ‘nowledg’ was not evaluation according to certain objective or formal criteria, but was assessed impressionistically by the professor. Certain course structures and curricula were deemed ‘rrelevan’ and the amount of time necessary to finish course requirements was considered unduly long. These and other negative aspects of university education were leading to high dropout rates, one-third of the men and one-half of the women students.
