What does the PULS service center actually do?

The faculty advisors for teaching and students have their workplace in the faculties with a connection to the deans (of studies), but are also employed across faculties with a connection to the vice president for teaching and students. For the individual faculties these are:

But what exactly do you do when you work in the team at the PULS service center? UBTaktuell has asked Dr. Pia Kaul, Faculty VII, and Anke Nissels, Faculty IV.

UBTaktuell: What are the goals of PULS?

Anke Nissels: The goal of our work is to further develop the quality of studies and support students. We are active both directly at the faculties and in university-wide projects.

What sets PULS apart?

Dr. Pia Kaul: We are very well connected with all UBT service and advice centers. This means we act as an interface between and within the faculties, their students as well as the staff departments, service centers, central institutions, committees, etc. That's why we can definitely help if students or employees are looking for information or the right contact persons. Through our close exchange, we ensure a constant flow of information on current topics in the areas of teaching and studying - both between the faculties and within them. 

What are your tasks as faculty advisors?

Anke Nissels: At the faculties, PULS Study Support is a direct and independent contact point for students with all questions and problems relating to their studies. In addition to individual advice, we regularly hold introductory events for first-year students as well as workshops on study-relevant skills. We offer support on topics such as starting your studies, preparing for exams and career orientation and provide inspiration on aspects such as exam anxiety, procrastination and self-doubt.

Dr. Pia Kaul: We are there for teachers if they have questions about the organization of teaching and examinations. We also take care of quality assurance in the areas of teaching and studies at the faculties, for example we coordinate the regular evaluations of courses and study programs. We also support the course moderators with the introduction and further development as well as the internal accreditation of the courses. We also work on university-wide projects to optimize the teaching and study situation. For example, we supported the introduction of CAMPUSonline, the relaunch of the faculty homepages, the introduction of digital distance examinations, the development of Faculty VII and the introduction of new study programs.

What specific projects are currently underway?

Dr. Pia Kaul: We are currently working with the QS service center on the further development of quality assurance instruments and incorporating the concerns of the faculties. This concerns, for example, a standardization of the teaching report and the corresponding student key figures. We want to achieve better comparability between the faculties and promote exchange on structural problems, but also on best practice examples. This also creates synergies, for example for accreditation reports, which can make the work of deans of studies and course moderators much easier.

Wasn’t your name even “EduCare”?

Anke Nissels: That's right! The renaming took place as part of the restructuring of the service and staff departments last year. The establishment of the PULS service point and the uniform job title of the PULS employees (faculty officers for teaching and students) now makes it clearer what has already been practiced: We use ImPULSe to shape the quality of studies and are imPULS providers for the students at the University of Bayreuth. We not only support the students, but also work on cross-faculty projects and are networked across the entire campus.

We are therefore looking forward to everyone with whom we start talking, to stay in touch and to new projects that we can launch together!