University departments with a small number of applicants per year, even fewer graduates each year, a low admission base, questionable professional rights and headquarters far from the country’s metropolitan areas. They are shown on the map of Greek higher education next to the “most requested” central universities. Until now, only on the basis of their numerical data, they could be classified as “academic junk.”

However, some departments study subjects that are in demand on the labor market, bye, as the students of the university in “K” say, the minimum import base will improve both their quantitative and qualitative indicators. “The change in the distribution of admission places from central to regional universities, adopted by the leadership of the Ministry of Education in 2022, brought us more and better students,” noted Mr. Theodoros Theodoulidis, Rector of the University of Western Macedonia, referring to “K” which “suffers” because of vacancies due to VBE.

In particular, the general Greek examinations for graduates of secondary vocational schools begin next Thursday, and on Friday for the largest group of graduates – general secondary schools. The number of registered people is approaching 100,000. However, about 75,000 applicants are expected to pass the minimum entry threshold and be accepted into the school. Many of them will face the dilemma of declaring departments they don’t really want to study in, while many have learning disabilities from secondary education. These factors affect the teaching and research work of these departments, combined with the lack of teaching staff.

It is characteristic that in 2019, with the simultaneous “university” of universities, some departments were created, which were not a continuation of one or several universities, but were created “from scratch”. Based on departmental websites, as of 2019, 22 faculties currently have minimal teaching and research staff. Five out of nineteen have double-digit teaching staff. The rest have three to nine teachers. In many of them, a great burden of educational work falls on the shoulders of scientific associates, a kind of assistant professors.

Only seven members!

What is the impression on candidates and their families of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Management in Karpenissi, for which the candidate received a ticket three years ago by writing under the unit? In 2020, the department had a base of only 625 units out of 20,000, and there were only four of its graduates in the same year. However, since the establishment of the EBE, nine of its teachers have received 9,500 units and above. Unfortunately, EBE has attracted applicants with higher scores but fewer applicants as there were only seven applicants in the faculty in 2022. A recent decree granted the professional rights of a forester and agronomist to this department and all others created in 2019 as a development of universities.

The Department of Mineral Engineering in Kozani, thanks to its headquarters and facility, has all the conditions to be a development pole in the region, offering its graduates professional opportunities. However, by 2020 the import base was very low – 1,350 units in 2020 – and the segment fell victim to its remote headquarters. The fact that young people from nearby areas do not study in the regional departments confirms that these departments do not attract local residents. EBE has increased its base to 9,280 units, but has limited admission. In 2022, half of its seats remained vacant (35 out of 69).

3/4… empty

One hundred thousand candidates have registered for the Panhellenic Examinations, however it is estimated that 25% will be excluded due to the minimum admission base.

The Departments of Materials Science and Technology are concerned with understanding the basic science of both the building blocks of matter and the mechanics of their application. According to Orientum’s “Let’s Go to University 2023” Study Guide – Career Advisors, Materials Science graduates can work in energy and telecommunications organizations where the research and development of new advanced materials is necessary to progress in any activity, production and distribution of energy and telecommunications, companies, who are engaged in the preparation of studies for the installation, certification and verification of material quality assurance systems.

However, the Department of Materials Science and Technology in Heraklion has few graduates annually – 42 in 2020. Efforts for high academic performance are persistent, but until 2020, the rate of many admissions was low, according to faculty members. Then the import base was 4175 points. And although the EVO contributed to the growth of the admissions base in 2022 to 9645 points, it deprived the admissions department (36 out of 48 places remained vacant).

The Department of History, Archeology and Cultural Property Management in Kalamata was founded in the shadow of the history and archeology departments of the central higher education institutions, from which, based on the academic profile, he wanted to distinguish himself by adding the management of cultural property. Ultimately, its graduates look forward to finding jobs in schools and educational institutions. In 2020, he had 44 graduates and an admission base of 8625 units, and in 2022 the base increased to 9450 units, but the presence of vacancies (61 out of 103) indicates a low demand for the department.

This is the only faculty in the country where you can study oceanography. Its name is “Oceanography and Marine Sciences”, however its headquarters (in Mytilini) and its subject, which can also be a postgraduate study subject, prevent many 18-year-olds from choosing it. Its enrollment base was 6,400 by 2020, and had only 30 graduates that year. Thanks to the UBE, the base of the department reached 9460 points in 2022, but the department had 67 vacancies out of 105.

Despite generally good career prospects in antiquities, the shutdown of the public sector tap seems to have affected demand for antiquities and arts positions, even though it is located in Attica, in Egaleo. In 2020, the faculty had only 23 graduates when its admission base was 5585 units. The institutionalization of the UBE improved the base (up to 8980 units in 2022), but deprived it of a significant number of students, since last year there were 44 vacancies out of 59 at the department.

Demand decides

The basis of the department is determined by the demand for training in the department. As the mathematician Stratos Stratigakis points out in K, “Demand is determined by several factors. Originally from the headquarters of the department. The farther it is from Athens and Thessaloniki, the lower its base. Also from the scientific subject of the department. Most candidates don’t look for it and certainly don’t know departments with “weird” names that can still have great career prospects.

It is also problematic that there are still departments in the computerized certificate that award degrees without professional rights. At the same time, the prospects of each segment in the labor market are measured. Of course, they change depending on the evolution of our economy. In other words, it is an unpredictable factor. An important factor in choosing a department by a candidate is the possibility of his transfer. If a faculty is not equivalent to others in Athens and Thessaloniki, it will be in less demand than others equivalent to the central university faculty.”

However, in faculties with a low enrollment base, educational work suffers. And this is because most of their students have a low cognitive level, which makes it difficult for them to follow the curriculum, and departments have a low percentage of graduates. “Some students move to these departments because they don’t have the grades they need to get into the departments they prefer,” says Mr. Stratigakis. As a result, they drop out of school, and the pursuit of a university degree comes to a standstill.