Initial accreditation of programmes

Application

Basically, education in Fachhochschulen is not offered by transforming existing courses, but by accrediting new degree programmes.

In this context, the course-providing bodies or applicants take the initiative to set up new FH degree programmes (bottom up). New FH degree programmes are designed on behalf of the applying course providing body by development teams who have the relevant academic and professional qualifications. At least two team members need to have the relevant post-doctoral lecturing qualification (Habilitation), and two team members must prove that they have worked in a relevant field.
If the accreditation is granted, at least four members of the development team with the required academic qualifications and professional experience have to teach in the degree programme.

The applying course-providing body (applicant) submits the applications for setting up new FH degree programmes to the FH Council for accreditation.

Initial accreditation

The FH Council sees accreditation as a formal and independent decision, indicating that FH degree programmes offered meet certain standards. This definition covers some quality procedures. Accreditation ends with a positive or negative decision, whereby a request by the FH Council to take certain measures to increase the quality of the programme accounts for a substantial part of this procedure. The (initial) accreditation procedure ends - in a positive case - with the FH Council recognising the institution by issuing an administrative decision, which is to guarantee students, sponsors, the business community and the society that the courses offered have been through a positive (ex-ante) quality assurance procedure prior to their approval.

The question that needs to be answered during the accreditation procedure is whether the submitted application can guarantee the implementation of the educational mandate in a reliable, transparent and reasonable way.

If an FH degree programme meets the legal and quality-related requirements, it will be accredited for a limited time not exceeding a period of five years by means of an administrative decision. The applications thus accredited by the FH Council for a maximum of five years constitute the legal and qualitative basis for implementing and organising the courses.