Changes in the German Accreditation System - A new equilibrium between universities, agencies and the German Accreditation Council
Caused by a ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, the German accreditation system underwent considerable changes in 2018, which assigned new roles to the German Accreditation Council (GAC), agencies and universities along with new tasks, duties and responsibilities.
The GAC is now the accrediting body while agencies carry out the procedures, requiring universities to deal with the GAC directly, without the agencies as arbitrators. These now have to be listed in EQAR, integrating the German QA system closer into the EHEA. In addition to changes in the legal basis, the role of academics in accreditation procedures and decisions has been strengthened.
Expectations have thus been raised, which will eventually lead to new ways of cooperation and communication. The developing relationship between the GAC, universities and agencies, as well as viewpoints on how a new equilibrium between them may be found will be discussed in this paper.
This paper was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.
ISSN: 1375-3797
