Stiftung zur Akkreditierung von Studiengängen in Deutschland

The Stiftung Akkreditierungsrat (formerly Stiftung zur Akkreditierung von Studiengängen in Deutschland) is a public-law foundation based in Bonn, Germany. It is a joint institution of the German federal states (Länder) for quality assurance in teaching and learning at German higher education institutions. Its legal mandate is to organise the system of quality assurance through the accreditation of study programmes, thereby ensuring the equivalence of study and examination achievements and degrees and facilitating student mobility between institutions. The foundation's central decision-making body is the Akkreditierungsrat (Accreditation Council), which decides on the accreditation and reaccreditation of study programmes, university-internal quality assurance systems, and alternative procedures. The foundation also maintains a foundation council (Stiftungsrat) that oversees the legality and economic efficiency of the foundation's business, and an executive board (Vorstand) that implements the council's decisions and manages ongoing operations. A permanent office supports the work. The foundation's work is grounded in the Studienakkreditierungsstaatsvertrag (State Treaty on Study Accreditation) and the Musterrechtsverordnung (model legal ordinance), which were adopted following the German Federal Constitutional Court's ruling of 17 February 2016 on academic freedom. Under the reformed system, accreditation agencies continue to carry out external evaluations, but the Akkreditierungsrat itself now makes the accreditation decisions for study programmes in Germany. The foundation also accredits the agencies themselves; currently eleven agencies are accredited. Beyond its national role, the Stiftung Akkreditierungsrat is active internationally. It is a long-standing member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), and is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). It promotes the development of comparable criteria, methods and standards of quality assurance to improve transparency and the mutual recognition of qualifications, in line with the Bologna Process and the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The foundation reports to the Länder on the state of quality development and supports them in further developing the German quality assurance system. It also sets the conditions for the recognition of foreign accreditations. Its work is sometimes criticised for focusing too strongly on minimum criteria rather than fostering a culture of continuous quality improvement.

The Stiftung zur Akkreditierung von Studiengängen in Deutschland was established as a public-law foundation by the German federal states to organise the accreditation of study programmes. Its origins lie in the Bologna Process, initiated in 1999 by European education ministers, which created the framework for comparable and compatible study programmes and degrees across Europe and marked the start of the two-tier Bachelor/Master system. The development of the German accreditation system is closely tied to these European developments. Initially, the German accreditation system was decentralised: accreditation agencies themselves made the decisions on the certification of study programmes and internal quality assurance systems. This changed fundamentally following the ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court on 17 February 2016, which emphasised academic freedom. As a consequence, the Studienakkreditierungsstaatsvertrag (State Treaty on Study Accreditation) was concluded, fundamentally reorganising the accreditation system. Under the new law, decision-making authority shifted from the agencies to the Akkreditierungsrat (Accreditation Council). The criteria that study programmes and university management systems must fulfil are set out in the Musterrechtsverordnung (model legal ordinance) and the corresponding legal ordinances of the federal states. The foundation is a joint institution of the Länder and has its seat in Bonn. It has three organs: the Akkreditierungsrat as the central decision-making body, the Vorstand (executive board) as the implementing body, and the Stiftungsrat (foundation council) which oversees the legality and economic efficiency of the foundation's business. The Akkreditierungsrat consists of 22 honorary members: eight for the universities, one for the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (German Rectors' Conference), four for the federal states, five for professional practice (including one from the state ministry responsible for civil service and collective bargaining law), two students, and two foreign members with accreditation experience; plus one advisory vote for the agencies. Members are appointed for four-year terms by the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, certain state ministries, the Standing Conference of Interior Ministers and Senators of the Länder, the Student Accreditation Pool, the agencies, and the Kultusministerkonferenz (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs), and are jointly appointed by the Kultusministerkonferenz and the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz. The foundation's tasks include accrediting and reaccrediting study programmes (programme accreditation) and university-internal quality assurance systems (system accreditation). It reports to the Länder on the state of quality development and supports them in further developing the German quality assurance system. It promotes international cooperation in accreditation and quality assurance and sets the conditions for the recognition of foreign accreditations. It also carries out the accreditation of accreditation agencies in Germany; currently eleven agencies are accredited: AAQ, ACQUIN, AHPGS, AKAST, AQ Austria, AQAS, ASIIN, evalag, FIBAA, MusiQuE, and ZEvA. Internationally, the foundation is a long-standing active member of ENQA and INQAAHE, and is listed in EQAR. It works to promote mutual understanding of quality assurance systems, develop comparable criteria, methods and standards, and improve transparency of study offerings to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and student mobility. The foundation has been criticised for a system that focuses too strongly on checking minimum criteria and provides little incentive for continuous quality development and a quality culture at universities; moreover, the ESG criteria are not fully reflected in the Musterrechtsverordnung.

• Bologna Process initiated by European education ministers, creating the framework for comparable study programmes and degrees and marking the start of the German accreditation system's development.

• German Federal Constitutional Court ruling on academic freedom, leading to the conclusion of the Studienakkreditierungsstaatsvertrag and a fundamental reorganisation of the accreditation system.

• Statement of the Executive Board of the Accreditation Council on AI published.

Central public-law body for quality assurance in German higher education, ensuring comparability and transparency of study programmes.

• Programme accreditation

  Accreditation and reaccreditation of study programmes based on external expert evaluations.

• System accreditation

  Accreditation of university-internal quality assurance systems.

• Accreditation of alternative procedures

  Accreditation of alternative procedures for quality assurance.

• Accreditation of agencies

  The foundation accredits the agencies that carry out external evaluations; currently eleven agencies are accredited.

1. 1Stiftung Akkreditierungsrat - Einrichtung der Länder für Qualitätssicherung in Studium und Lehreakkreditierungsrat.de
2. 2Was macht die Stiftung Akkreditierungsrat?akkreditierungsrat.de
3. 3Gremien - Stiftung Akkreditierungsratakkreditierungsrat.de
4. 4Internationales - Stiftung Akkreditierungsratakkreditierungsrat.de
5. 5Stiftung Akkreditierungsrat - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
6. 6Wikidata Q1521523wikidata.org