Universities in a German state benefit from an unusual pact with the government

The nine universities in the German state of Baden-Wurtemberg agreed in 1996 to cut 10% of their staff if the state government promised, in turn, to continue their funding at 1996 levels. The pact has worked out well for the universities as the costs of German reunification and shrinking tax revenues have caused substantial cuts in higher education spending by other German states. The University of Mannheim and the Ruprecht-Karls Heidelberg University in Baden-Wurtemberg have also forged an innovative joint resource-sharing agreement that expands their curricula while minimizing course duplication.