BAföG - your suitability assessor
What is a suitability assessor? ("Eignungsgutachter")
Suitability assessors are appointed by the respective university. Usually, they are full-time members of the teaching staff, e.g. professors, doctors, lecturers.
What are the tasks of suitability assessors?
Their task is to check the eligibility of BAföG recipients and to issue Form 05 - Certificate of Academic Achievement (Leistungsbescheinigung) according to Section 48 BAföG - for this purpose.
You can download it here as a PDF file.
The suitability assessment is the responsibility of the competent suitability assessor. It is based on the performances achieved up to the time of the assessment (such as course attendance and tutorial certificates, examinations, etc.). Each suitability assessor decides independently what the suitability assessor wants to be submitted for assessment. However, if a suitability assessor is ever reluctant to confirm the evidence (i.e., positive confirmation of the student's normal academic achievements), he or she does not necessarily mean you any harm personally. What suitability assessor know: Those who at the end of their studies do not complete their studies within the maximum period of support must be able to give an important reason for the delay. Once the certificate of achievement has been issued, it is logically no longer possible to invoke possible reasons for delay prior to the issue.
When must the Certificate of Academic Achievement according to § 48 BAföG be submitted?
The law states that from the fifth semester onwards, student financial aid is only provided from the time when the student has submitted a certificate issued by the educational institution after the beginning of the fourth semester stating that he/she has achieved the usual performance in the orderly course of his/her education up to the end of the respective semester. In other words, student financial aid is awarded for the first four semesters of study without the need to present the Certificate of Academic Achievement. But with the BAföG application for the fifth semester, the Certificate of Academic Achievement must usually be submitted. Please note, however, that there are exceptions, e.g. due to the Corona pandemic.
What are your duties as a student?
Of course, towards the end of the fourth semester you have to contact the responsible suitability assessor yourself. Those who have not achieved the usual performance at that time lose their entitlement to support until they can prove by a positive suitability assessment that they have made up for their performance deficit.
For each main subject (e.g. teaching profession with 2 subjects, Bachelor's programme with 2 main subjects) a suitability assessment must be submitted (certificate of achievement).
Please note the special provisions governing the pandemic semesters (2020 Spring Term, 2020/2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term and 2021/2022 Fall Term)!
As a general rule, no student financial aid will be granted after the 5th major-specific semester unless the student has provided evidence attesting to achievement of his/her normal academic proficiency level by that date. The exact provisions are set forth in Section 48 subsection (1) BAföG (German Student Financial Assistance Program). Evidence attesting to normal academic performance is provided by Form 5, which is issued by the BAföG eligibility reviser (a full-time faculty member). Presentation of this FORM IS MANDATORY to be considered eligible for BAföG student assistance beginning in the 5th major-specific semester.
For each pandemic semester (2020 Spring Term, 2020/2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term and 2021/2022 Fall Term) which coincided with any of your program's first four semesters, the submission deadline for your academic achievement records will be postponed by one semester (in analogous application of Art. 99 para. (2) of the Bavarian University and College Act (BayHSchG)). However, this provision only applies as long as you were enrolled in a degree program at one of our universities and were not on leave of absence during any of these semesters.
Example: Students for whom the 2020 Spring Term was their fourth major-specific semester are actually required to submit your academic achievement records attesting to having achieved the normal academic proficiency level for four semesters by the end of their 4th semester in order to be considered eligible for BAföG funding in their 5th semester, i.e., the 2020/2021 Fall Term. However, it is now possible to postpone submission of their Certificate of Academic Achievement (Leistungsbescheinigung) by four semesters. Hence, it is sufficient for students to prove that they have achieved their normal academic proficiency level required in four semesters by the end of the 2022 Spring Term, even though in our example case the 2022 Spring Term is already the 8th semester. This means that students are granted an additional four semesters to achieve their normal academic proficiency level expected for four semesters.
So what to do if the certificate of achievement is not issued?
There is also a recipe for this: Apply to the Office for Education and Training Assistance for postponement of the certificate of achievement for a reasonable period of time and state the reason for the delay. If the reason is serious, your application can be granted. Otherwise, you have to make up the performance deficit as quickly as possible, as hard as that may be.
The legal basis and possible reasons for postponing the certificate of achievement are described on the back of Form 5.
Background: BAföG offers students the possibility of postponing submission of their academic achievement records, i.e., in justified exceptional cases students may be granted extra time for submitting evidence of their normal academic proficiency level, Section 48 subsection (2) in conjunction with Section 15 subsection (3) BAföG (German Student Financial Assistance Program). This means that unavoidable interruptions of a student's university studies through no fault of the student may constitute good cause within the meaning of Section 15 subsection (3), number (1) BAföG (German Student Financial Assistance Program). According to Section 48 subsection (2) BAföG (German Student Financial Assistance Program), the submission deadline for academic achievement records may also be postponed accordingly.
Please note the special provisions governing the pandemic semesters (2020 Spring Term, 2020/2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term and 2021/2022 Fall Term)!
For students who were enrolled in a degree program at a state or state-recognized higher education institution during the 2020 Spring Term and who were not on leave of absence, the submission deadline for their academic achievement records will be postponed by between one and four semesters (in analogous application of Art. 99 of the Bavarian University and College Act (BayHSchG)) - see previous question.
Example: Students for whom the 2020 Spring Term was their fourth major-specific semester are actually required to submit their academic achievement records attesting to having achieved the normal academic proficiency level for four semesters by the end of their 4th semester in order to be considered eligible for BAföG funding in their 5th semester, i.e., the 2020/2021 Fall Term. However, it is now possible to postpone submission of their Certificate of Academic Achievement (Leistungsbescheinigung) by up to four semesters. Hence, it is sufficient for students to prove that they have achieved their normal academic performance level required in four semesters by the end of the 2022 Spring Term, even though in our example case the 2022 Spring Term is already the 8th semester. This means that students are granted an additional four semesters to achieve their normal academic proficiency level expected in four semesters.
In that case, however, no further reasons of delay arising from the 2020 Spring Term, the 2020/2021 Fall Term, the 2021 Spring Term or the 2021/2022 Fall Term will be, in general, accepted as all delays will be deemed compensated in full by the above postponement option.
However, where delays have already occurred prior to the pandemic, BAföG (German Student Financial Assistance Program) offers the possibility of further postponing the submission of students' academic achievement records in these cases.
The Amt für Ausbildungsförderung will check the causality based on academic progress (overview of the student's academic achievements in the individual semesters - passed and failed examinations) and based on the student's declaration.
Deadlines that you must observe?
As a first step when applying for BAföG after the 5th semester, please take note of the application deadlines for further BAföG funding. They must always be submitted two months before the end of the current approval period. If your approval expires in September of a year and your fifth semester is therefore the winter semester, you must submit your application for further support by 31 July of the year. If your approval expires in March of a year and your fifth semester is therefore the summer semester, you must submit your application for further support by 31 January of the year.
If you submit your certificate of achievement (form 5) to us at the same time as your application for further support within the above deadlines, the suitability assessor must confirm the usual performance status by the end of your third semester. As soon as you submit the certificate of achievement later, e.g. on 15 August of the year, you will be required to confirm your usual performances for four semesters.
Note: Make sure that you submit the certificate of achievement (Form 5) in good time.
Please note the special provisions governing the pandemic semesters (2020 Spring Term, 2020/2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term and 2021/2022 Fall Term)!
Example:
| 3rd | 4th semester | 5th semester | 6th | ||||||||||
| Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| Presentation of the certificate of achievement to the Office for Education and Training Assistance by 31 July; Confirmation of performances of 3 semesters achieved until the end of March. | If the certificate of achievement is presented in the period from 1 August to 31 January, the performances of 4 semesters must be confirmed which were achieved by the end of September. | If the certificate of achievement is presented as of 1 February, confirmation of the performances of 5 semesters achieved by March is necessary. | |||||||||||
| This means that if you submit your application for further support for the 5th semester in good time by 31 July, the performance level of 3 semesters is sufficient. | If you submit your application during this period, payment may be interrupted between the 4th and 5th semester. If the application is received by the end of October, for example, but the certificate of achievement is not submitted until January, for example, retroactive approval can be granted from October. | Even if the application was already submitted in October, support can only be awarded from the time of submission of the certificate of achievement. | |||||||||||
Suitability assessors, structured according to universities and fields of education
Technische Hochschule Deggendorf (THD)
| All faculties | Prof. Dr. phil. Dipl.-Geogr. Marcus Herntrei (Please submit applications to the Study Center) Prof. Dr. Martina Heigl-Murauer Substitute: Prof. Berg |
The following suitability assessors have been appointed for degree programs at the Pfarrkirchen site of Deggendorf Institute of Technology (TH Deggendorf):
| All faculties | Prof. Dr. Georg Steckenbauer |
The following suitability assessors have been appointed for degree programs at the Cham site of Deggendorf Institute of Technology (TH Deggendorf):
| All faculties | Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wittmann |
Hochschule Landshut
| Betriebswirtschaft Internationale Betriebswirtschaft Digitalisierung & Unternehmensgründung Digitalisierung, Prozessoptimierung & Management Steuerberatung Wirtschaftspsychologie | Prof. Dr. Michael Weisensee |
| Elektro- und Informationstechnik Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen Internationales Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen Automobilwirtschaft und –technik Biomedizinische Technik Intelligente Systeme und Smart Factory Sustainable Industrial Operations and Business | Prof. Dr. Tippmann-Krayer (Dean) Prof. Dr. Jaud (Vice Dean) |
| Informatik Automobilinformatik Wirtschaftsinformatik Digitales Verwaltungsmanagement Künstliche Intelligenz | Prof. Dr. Scholz (Dean) |
| Maschinenbau Automobil- u. Nutzfahrzeugtechnik Additive Fertigung – Werkstoffe, Entwicklung und Leichtbau Automobiltechnik Bauingenieurwesen | Prof. Dr. Klaus (Chairman of the examination committee) |
| Soziale Arbeit Kinder- und Jugendhilfe | Prof. Dr. Laub (Chairman of the examination committee) |
| Ingenieurpädagogik Ingenieurpsychologie Hebamme weiterqualifizierend Hebamme primärqualifizierend Gebärdensprachdolmetschen Neue Medien und interkulturelle Kommunikation Physician Assisteant/ Arztassistenz | Prof. Dr. Jörg (Dean) |
Universität Passau
| Juristische Fakultät | |
| Rechtswissenschaft | Prof. Dr. Markus Würdinger (BAföG commissioner of the faculty) |
| Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät | |
| B. Sc. Business Administration and Economics (BWL/VWL) | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| B.Sc. Digital Transformation in Business and Society | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| B. Sc. Wirtschaftsinformatik (Information Systems) | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| M.Sc. Business Administration | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| M.Sc. International Economics and Business | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| M.Sc. Wirtschaftsinformatik | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krautheim (Dean of Studies) |
| Fakultät für Informatik und Mathematik | |
| B.Sc. Informatik | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| B.Sc. Internet Computing | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| B.Sc. Mathematik | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| M.Sc. Artificial Intelligence Engineering | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| M.Sc. Informatik | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| M.Sc. Computational Mathematics | Dr. Hans-Joachim Röder (until 30.09.2024) |
| Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät | |
| Caritaswissenschaft und werteorientiertes Management (M.A.) | Dr. Manuel Stinglhammer |
| European Studies (B.A./M.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| European Studies Major (B.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Historische Wissenschaften (B.A./M.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Geschichte und Gesellschaft (M.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Kulturwirtschaft / International Cultural and Business Studies (B.A./M.A.) | Dr. Christian Dölle |
| Medien und Kommunikation (B.A./M.A.) | Dr. Christian Dölle |
| Sprach- und Textwissenschaften (B.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Text- und Kultursemiotik (M.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät | |
| Bildungs- und Erziehungsprozesse (M.A.) | Matthias Fuchs, Isabella Karasek |
| Development Studies (M.A.) | Dr. Christian Dölle |
| Geographie: Kultur, Umwelt und Tourismus (M.A.) | Dr. Christian Dölle |
| Governance and Public Policy – Staatswissenschaften (B.A./M.A.) | Dr. Christian Dölle |
| Journalistik und Strategische Kommunikation (B.A.) | Dr. Michael Harnischmacher |
| Kommunikation in der digitalen Gesellschaft (M.A.) | Lisei Martin |
| Lehramtsbezogener Bachelorstudiengang Realschule (B.Ed.) | Matthias Fuchs, Isabella Karasek |
| Lehramt (Staatsexamen: Grundschule, Mittelschule, Realschule und Gymnasium) | Matthias Fuchs, Isabella Karasek |
Universität Regensburg
| Katholische Theologie | Prof. Dr. Andreas Merkt Substitute: Prof. Dr. Ute Leimgruber |
| Rechtswissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Henning Müller Substitute: Prof. Dr. Tonio Walter |
| Wirtschaftswissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Fabian Kindermann Substitute: Prof. Dr. Lea Cassar Form 5 and the proof of studies must be submitted in advance to the office of the aptitude assessor. |
| Fakultät für Philosophie, Kunst-, Geschichts- und Gesellschaftswissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Jenny Oesterle-El Nabbout (Dean) Substitute: Prof. Dr. Eva Helene Odzuck (Vice Dean) Form 5 and the study certificates must be submitted to the respective institutes. |
| Institut für Evangelische Theologie | PD Dr. Stefan Schulz |
| Institut für Geschichte (Südosteuropastudien) | Dr. Georg Köglmeier |
| Institut für Geographie | Prof. Dr. Klein |
| Institut für Klassische Archäologie | Tobias Wild |
| Institut für Kunsterziehung | Dr. Susanne Starzinger |
| Institut für Kunstgeschichte | Prof. Dr. Christoph Wagner |
| Institut für Musikwissenschaften | Dr. Katelijne Schiltz (Musikwissenschaften) Prof. Dr. Magnus Gaul (Musikpädagogik) |
| Institut für Philosophie | Prof. Dr. Hans Rott |
| Institut für Politikwissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Stephan Bierling |
| Institut für Soziologie | Dr. Gabriele Griese-Heindl |
| Fakultät für Humanwissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Gesine Dreisbach (Dean) Prof. Dr. Sven Hilbert (Vice Dean) Form 5 and the study certificates must be submitted to the respective institutes. |
| Institut für Psychologie | Prof. Dr. Stefan Wüst |
| Institut für Pädagogik | Barbara Hrabetz (Allgemeine Pädagogik) PD Dr. Suggate (Schulpädagogik) n.n. (Grundschulpädagogik) n.n. (Sonderpädagogik) |
| Institut für Sportwissenschaften | Dr. Stefanie Pietsch |
| Fakultät für Sprach- und Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaften | Prof. Dr. Maria Selig (Dean) Substitute: Prof. Dr. Gunther Hirschfelder (Vice Dean) Form 5 and the study certificates must be submitted to the respective institutes. |
| Institut für Romanistik | Laura Cano Caraballo |
| Bohemicum | Prof. Dr. Marek Nekula |
| Institut für Information und Medien, Sprache und Kultur (IMSK) | Dr. Bruno Olsson (allg. und vergl. Sprachwissenschaft) PD Dr. Jürgen Reischer (Informationswissenschaft) Dr. Raphael Wimmer (Medieninformatik) Dr. Solveig Ottmann (Medienwissenschaft) Dr. Manuel Trummer (vergl. Kulturwissenschaft) |
| Institut für klassische Philologie (Latein) | Prof. Dr. Jan-Wilhelm Beck (Latein) Dr. Andreas Hagmaier Dr. Rainer Held |
| Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik | Dr. Birgit Hebel-Bauridl (Amerikanistik) Dr. Martin Decker (Anglistik) Dr. Florian Schleburg (engl. Sprachwissenschaft) |
| Institut Germanistik | Prof. Dr. Regine Weber (ÄdL) Andreas Legner (deutsche Sprachwissenschaft) Prof. Ernst Rohmer (NdL) Dr. Christian Steltz (NdL) Prof. Dr. Maria Thurmair (DaF) |
| Institut für Slavische Philologie (Slavistik) | Dr. Natalie Brüggemann |
| Institiut für Klassische Philologie (Griechisch) | Dr. Markus Gruber |
| Mathematik | Prof. Dr. Walter Gubler Substitute: Prof. Dr. Felix Finster |
| Physik | Prof. Dr. Vladimir Braun Substitute: Prof. Dr. Christian Schüller |
| Chemie | Prof. Dr. Enrico Tapavicza Substitute: Prof. Dr. Jens Schlossmann |
| Pharmazie | Prof. Dr. Jens Schlossmann Substitute: Prof. Dr. Enrico Tapavicza |
| Biologie u. Vorklinikum Medizin | Prof. Dr. Frank Sprenger (Biologie, Biochemie, Lehrämter) Substitute: Prof. Dr. Ralph Witzgall (medizinische Fächer) |
| Human Medizin | Prof. Dr. Arne Kandulski Substitute: Prof. Dr. Ernst-Michael Jung |
| Zahnmedizin | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hahnel Substitute: Prof. Dr. Dr. Tobias Ettl |
Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg (OTH)
| All faculties | Prof. Dr. Birgit Rösel Substitute: Prof. Dr. Oliver Steffens Please submit Form 5 and the study certificates to the Service Office of the Department of Studies (Prüfeninger Str. 58), before the suitability assessor has signed them. |
Hochschule für katholische Kirchenmusik
| All degree courses | Prof. Martin Kellhuber (Vice Dean) |
TUM Campus Straubing
| All degree courses | Prof. Bastian Blombach and Elke Nothaft |