18th Social Survey (2006) 

The 18th Social Survey is part of the series of studies on the economic and social condition of student life in Germany, which exists since 1951. It is a cross-sectional survey that is usually conducted every three years. The core of the Social Survey includes questions on access to higher education, structural characteristics of studies and the course of studies, the social and economic situation (financing of studies, cost of living, gainful employment, housing situation), topics relating to the fields of activity of the Studentenwerke as well as socio-demographic characteristics. The data from the 18th Social Survey provide a snapshot within the process of the Bologna reforms, which, for the students, was primarily associated with the introduction of a tiered study structure. At the same time, the legal conditions for the reintroduction of general tuition fees had been created in seven federal states ("Bundesländer"). A supplementary questionnaire for students with children was used to examine their particular life and study situation and, for the first time since 1991, to present it in a special report.