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Formed in 1990 following the merger of several schools of education in Rhineland-Palatinate, the university was unique in Germany in that it had two campi that were on opposite ends of the state and essentially functioned as two separate universities, complete with their own staff, administration and student culture, with little to no interaction with its counterpart. To not privilege one campus, the president's office and central administration were located in the state capital Mainz.
After years of criticism of this convoluted, inefficient and expensive structure, the state restructured its universities, leading to the university to formally disband in 2023. The Koblenz campus was repurposed as the University of Koblenz, while the Landau campus was merged with the much closer Technical University of Kaiserslautern to form the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.
History
University Library at Koblenz Campus
Predecessor organisations (1903-1990)
Despite being one of the youngest universities in Germany even when it was closed, the University of Koblenz and Landau traced its legacy back to the early 20th century. As early as 1903, the government of Prussia founded the Königlich Preußisches Lehrerinnenseminar Koblenz [de], a facility to train female teachers located in the suburb of Koblenz-Oberwerth [de]. With the fall of Prussia following World War I, the institution was closed in 1925 and reopened as a school of education (Pädagogische Akademie) in 1937, where teachers of both genders were trained until 1960, when it was upgraded to the rank of a college (Pädagogische Hochschule). In 1969, six of these institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate, located in Koblenz, Landau, Mainz, Neuwied, Kaiserslautern, and Worms, were merged to form the Erziehungswissenschaftliche Hochschule Rheinland-Pfalz (EWH).[3] in 1978, the latter three locations were closed, while the Mainz location for special education was merged into the University of Mainz.
Formation, expansion and closure (1990-2023)
In October 1990, the EWH was closed and restructured as the University of Koblenz and Landau.[3] Still primarily focussing on teacher education, the university also added psychology and computer science, while the institute for special education was again relocated from Mainz to Landau. In total, the university featured eight faculties: pedagogy, philology and cultural studies, mathematics und natural science, as well as computer science were located in Koblenz, while in Landau special education, cultural and social studies, natural science and environmental studies and psychology were taught.[4] To not privilege one campus, the president's office and central administration were located in the state capital of Mainz. This led to a structure unique in Germany,[3] where the two campi, located at opposing ends of the state and roughly a two-hour drive apart, essentially functioned as two separate universities, complete with their own staff, administration and student culture, with little to no interaction with its counterpart.
Since 1990 the number of students had more than quadrupled.[3] There were almost 18,000 students[2] registered by the time the university was closed, making it the second largest university in Rhineland-Palatinate after the University of Mainz.[3] To accommodate them, the Koblenz campus left its established location in Oberwerth and relocated to the premises of the now-closed Pionier-Kaserne (Metternich) [de] in Koblenz-Metternich [de] in 2002, while the Landau campus also saw the addition of multiple new buildings in 2004.[3] Both campi were further expanded in the 2010s.[3] Most students focused on teacher education, making up roughly two thirds of all students, while most others attended computer science, psychology and biogeology.
After years of criticism of the convoluted, inefficient and expensive structure with three separate locations, the state decided to again restructure the university in 2019. On January 1, 2023, the Koblenz campus was formally repurposed as the University of Koblenz, while the Landau campus was merged with the much closer Technical University of Kaiserslautern to form the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Mainz office was closed, officially disbanding the university. According to a spokesperson of the university, both new institutions would profit by getting more funds, staff and faculties, making them more capable of competing with universities from neighboring states.[5]
