Accreditation for German universities and its importance

A sort of quality control procedure known as educational accreditation involves having an outside organisation assess the operations and services of higher education programs or institutions to make sure all applicable regulations are being fulfilled. Every organisation in the Federal Republic of Germany is required to abide by the guidelines established by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder to guarantee the quality of education. Today we are talking about the different accreditations for German universities and the importance of university accreditation.

Founded in 1948 by an agreement between the states of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (also known as the Kulturministerkonferenz or KMZ) guarantees the development and continuity of high-quality post-secondary education. Accreditation for bachelor's and master's degree programs must follow a Kultusministerkonferenz resolution.

Established in 1958, the German Counsil of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftshaftsrat or WR) oversees the institutional accreditation of non-state higher education institutions and provides reports on the proposal reviews that these institutions undergo at the request of individual states.

In 2004, a KMK resolution established the Foundation for the Accreditation of Study Programs in Germany or Accreditation Council (Akkreditierungsrat), to certify accrediting bodies and establish standards and requirements for program and system accreditation.

In Germany, state or state-recognised higher education institutions may be the focus of internal quality assurance system accreditation. A positive system accreditation attests to the suitability of the higher education institution's study and teaching quality management system for guaranteeing the accomplishment of its study programs' quality standards and qualification goals.

Program accreditation may also apply to bachelor's and master's degrees offered by state or state-recognised higher education institutions in Germany. It will bear the accrediting agency's seal of quality for the duration of its accreditation and obtain a limited certification, either with or without restrictions, if the accreditation process is successful.

Authorised by the Accreditation Council, these are the accreditation agencies in Germany.

• AAQ - Swiss Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance
• ACQUIN - Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute
• AHPGS - Accreditation Agency in Health and Social Sciences
• AKAST - Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Canonical Programs
• AQ Austria - Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria
• AQAS - Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programs
• ASIIN - Accreditation Agency for Study Programs in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• evalag - Evaluation Agency Baden-Württemberg
• FIBAA - Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation
• MusiQue - Music Quality Enhancement
• ZEvA - Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency

In higher education, accreditation has two purposes:

1. To ensure that post-secondary educational institutions and their units, schools, or programmes meet appropriate standards of quality and integrity.
2. To improve the quality of education these institutions offer.

University accreditation assures the public that individuals who have graduated from accredited schools or programmes have received a quality education. Moreover, it assures students that the accredited programmes meet the standards of the profession they seek to enter.

In 2007, PFH received institutional accreditation from the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA). At the end of 2018, PFH received institutional re-accreditation from the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftshaftsrat).

All programmes at PFH are accredited by the Accreditation Council (Akkreditierungsrat). All business administration programmes are accredited by FIBAA. All engineering programmes are accredited by ASIIN. All distance learning programmes are approved and certified by ZFU (Staatliche Zentralstelle für Fernunterricht der Länder der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). 

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog post on accreditation for German universities and its importance. Should you choose to start your studies here, take a look at the on-campus master’s degrees we offer.

At PFH we make sure you receive a high-quality education while fully experiencing being an international student!