Opens in a new tab
Online Campus

We live work–life balance.

University & Family

Family. Career. Studies.

FERNFH creates the conditions that let staff, lecturers and students balance family, career and studies in the best possible way.

Life in balance.

Studying with a child – a challenge?

Here’s how to make a FERNFH degree work with a child.

As a university, we see it as our particular responsibility to create conditions that support both professional development and family needs. We pursue this goal professionally and have it certified regularly through the state “hochschuleundfamilie” quality seal.

Our goal: more balance for everyone

As a state-certified family-friendly university, we pursue a family-conscious university policy that takes different stages of life into account. Our aim is not just to make it possible to balance study, work and family, but to actively shape it. This includes:

  • Continuous support for students and staff with caring responsibilities
  • Creating family-friendly structures on campus and online
  • Further developing family-friendly ways of organising work and study
  • Making “University & Family” part of our teaching and research

“hochschuleundfamilie” certification

Gütesiegel Hochschule und Familie
FERNFH has held the state “hochschuleundfamilie” quality seal since 2017. Since then, we have introduced numerous measures, from setting up a family room and offering flexible working models to appointing a family officer. Re-certifications followed in 2020 and 2023, each with extensive target agreements.

In the 2023/24 academic year, FERNFH received the award for the third time. This is a visible sign of our continuous development. Our measures draw not only on current findings but also on the needs and everyday realities of our university community.

Measures so far

FERNFH has already put many family-friendly measures into practice.

  • A Study Life survey of students and lecturers

  • Compiling information on family services in the region (e.g. the leaflet “Family Programme at the On-Campus Weekend”)

  • Academic research on the topic of “University and Family”

  • Including the topics of balancing university and family, health and work ability in exit interviews

  • Organising various event formats on the topics of health and work–life balance (e.g. the panel discussion “Step Back – When Career Peaks and Family Happiness Coincide: Means, Paths & Strategies”)

  • Targeted public relations as a family-conscious university

  • Regular internal information sharing on the topic of university and family

  • Digital exchange formats for parents

  • A digital family room for everyone (students, lecturers and staff) on the Online Campus – as a platform for both knowledge and exchange (Course: “University & Family” | Online Campus)

 Awards & honours

Second place in the Lower Austria state competition “Family-Friendly Company 2026”
On 22 April 2026, the FERNFH Distance-Learning University of Applied Sciences was once again awarded second place in the Lower Austrian state competition “Family-Friendly Company” in the medium-sized business category.
Second place in the Lower Austria state competition “Family-Friendly Company 2024”
On 23 May 2024, the FERNFH Distance-Learning University of Applied Sciences was awarded second place in the Lower Austrian state competition “Family-Friendly Business 2024” in the medium-sized business category.
Best-practice example in the “Family & Career” State Prize (2024)
...with a focus on father-friendly HR policy. Despite FERNFH not winning the prize, it is listed as a best-practice example on the Familie und Beruf website under the initiative “Companies for Fathers – Balancing Better Together” and featured in the guide on “Father-Friendly Corporate Policy”.

Do you have questions about university and family?