Germany to review university accreditation system in 2027 amid calls to cut bureaucracy

Germany is set to evaluate its higher education accreditation system in 2027, with university leaders calling for a reduction in administrative requirements and greater institutional autonomy in quality assurance.

The evaluation will examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall accreditation framework and its impact on higher education institutions. Its findings are expected to inform the further development of the system, which is responsible for safeguarding and improving the quality of university teaching and study programmes.

The planned review was highlighted in an announcement by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) and the Accreditation Council ahead of a joint conference scheduled for November 5 and 6 at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Nearly 300 representatives from universities, accreditation agencies, science policy and administration are expected to attend the conference. Discussions will cover the relationship between external accreditation procedures and universities' internal quality-management systems, the limits of national regulation within the European Higher Education Area, and the protection of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

The use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in accreditation will also be on the agenda.

Universities seek fewer procedural requirements

University representatives want the evaluation to address what they describe as excessive procedural requirements and documentation obligations.

Ulrich Bartosch, HRK vice-president for teaching, studies and teacher education, said universities expected a noticeable reduction in detailed procedural specifications and documentation duties. He argued that institutions with effective internal quality-management systems should have greater scope to develop these independently, while continuing to work with accreditation bodies and agencies.

The objective, according to the HRK, is to maintain clear and reliable quality standards without restricting innovation, academic freedom and institutional autonomy through unnecessary administrative requirements.

Hans-Joachim Bargstädt, chair of the Accreditation Council, also called for existing procedures to be reconsidered in response to changes in higher education. These include the growing influence of artificial intelligence, international developments affecting academic freedom and fatigue among institutions facing recurring re-accreditation exercises.

How Germany's accreditation system works

Germany's accreditation framework is based on the Study Accreditation State Treaty, which came into force in January 2018. It provides for quality checks of individual degree programmes as well as reviews of universities' internal quality-management systems.

Under programme accreditation, individual courses of study are assessed against formal and academic standards. System accreditation, meanwhile, evaluates whether a university's internal quality-management arrangements can reliably ensure that its bachelor's and master's programmes meet the required standards.

Universities that receive system accreditation can conduct their own internal accreditation procedures for degree programmes, subject to the requirements of the framework.

The planned 2027 evaluation will therefore examine not only how external reviews operate but also how the overall system affects universities and their internal quality processes.

The November conference is expected to provide recommendations and discussion points for the evaluation. No changes to Germany's accreditation rules have been announced so far.