ABSTRACT

This article addresses the formalisation of support structures for refugee students at German higher education organisations. After the refugee influx in 2015 and 2016, early support for refugees was characterised by often voluntary, informal, spontaneous activities by pioneers. Subsequently, the situation changed as higher education organisations adjusted to the new challenge and restructured their way of dealing with study-interested refugees. Based on 18 interviews with heads of international offices and with the holders of so-called first contact positions for refugees at eight German higher education organisations, we investigate – drawing on organisation sociology – these organisational responses to (prospective) refugee students. In a second step, we focus on the first contact positions as the smallest organisational units in this field of action and describe their tasks, their placement in the hierarchy, and the procedures for staffing. Our analysis shows that in response to the growing number of refugee applicants and the availability of external funding, support structures for refugees were formalised by creating and/or expanding existing organisational structures, including the establishment of first contacts as specific boundary positions and of new internal and external communication channels.

摘要

本文介绍了德国高等教育组织为难民学生提供的支持结构的正式化。在2015年和2016年难民大量涌入之后，先驱者往往以自愿，非正式和自发的活动为难民提供早期支持。随后，情况发生了变化，因为高等教育组织适应了新的挑战，并调整了与有学习兴趣的难民打交道的方式。根据对8个德国高等教育机构的国际办公室负责人和所谓的难民第一联络位持有人的18次访谈，我们根据组织社会学调查了这些组织对（预期的）难民学生的反应。第二步 我们将重点放在作为该行动领域中最小组织单位的第一联系人职位上，并描述他们的任务，他们在层次结构中的位置以及人员配备程序。我们的分析表明，为响应难民申请人数量的增加和外部资金的提供，通过建立和/或扩大现有的组织结构，包括建立第一批接触者作为特定的边界职位，以及建立新的内部机构，使难民的支持结构正式化。和外部沟通渠道。