System Accreditation
The University of Bonn has launched a dedicated system accreditation project to develop and test out its internal, closed-loop quality management (QM) system. The QM system is expected to share the same values and standards as the University’s mission statement for teaching, which is already reflected in the curricula for its various degree programs. The system is geared toward continuous improvements in study quality and is underpinned on several levels by a closed control loop (“plan, do, check, act,” or PDCA cycle) for continuous quality improvement. This loop provides basic guidance by identifying various stakeholders and formats and specifying (minimum) cycles for activities at the various levels.
Structured internal specifications and processes and efforts to expand the scope afforded to the University and the individual subjects to make their own decisions help to conserve resources and simplify processes. A conscious effort is made to maintain existing elements, and all faculties with their respective unique features are taken into account. Thus, for example, the evaluation officers and evaluation project groups for the various subjects play a key role in the ongoing evaluation and continued development of courses, modules and whole degree programs. They discuss and recommend ways of improving their curricula further based on the results of various evaluation methods and are supported in their work by the Bonn Center for Higher Education, the Center for Evaluation and Methodology and Division 9—Studying, Teaching, Academic Planning.
The University has set itself the task and mission of reflecting on the quality of its own teaching and the overall conditions that it provides for studying and working to improve them further in a targeted way. The University of Bonn has devised a quality management system for teaching and learning based on the premises of closed operational loops and communication regarding teaching and learning that is designed in a participatory and dialogue-based way. It is underpinned by values and standards that have been harmonized across the University, that are expressed in its mission statement for teaching and in the Guiding Principles in Studying and Teaching, and that are fleshed out as identifying characteristics in order to inject momentum into operations.
Formulated in a collaborative process, these principles give everyone involved in learning and teaching guidance in identifying measures for continued development. This establishes a culture of continuous reflection on their study programs from a curriculum, quality and organizational point of view, which lays the foundation for subject-specific quality assurance in teaching while taking account of overarching external and internal requirements.
Excellent. Diverse. Interconnected.
Excellent. The University of Bonn both encourages and requires the systematic development of research- and skills-based teaching and thus the provision of an education to its students that meets the needs of the present day. Curricula are designed with transparent objectives and targets in mind that are devised specifically for each degree program. These reflect the University’s mission to train the best-qualified young people for the world of science, the modern knowledge society and the academic professions. The University is establishing a culture of continuous reflection on its study programs from a curriculum, quality and organizational point of view, which lays the foundation for subject-specific quality assurance in teaching while taking account of overarching external and internal requirements.
Diverse. The diversity of our range of degree programs and the diverse makeup of our student body are our strengths. Educational justice and participation are key to the University of Bonn, including in its teaching and learning: by offering flexible curricula and profile-building, we allow all prospective students to tailor a study program to their own needs and preferences and thus secure them career opportunities. An approach to diversity that is based on appreciation and the provision and continuous enhancement of family-friendly study conditions are entirely in keeping with our mission.
Interconnected. Internationality and interdisciplinarity are not an end in themselves at the University of Bonn. On the contrary, they ensure that our students are able to play an active role in helping to shape debates in the international academic system and a world of work that spans national borders. Interdisciplinary degree programs are key to generating and teaching new insights of great relevance to society. Across a range of formats, students are given the opportunity to tackle overarching themes in an interdisciplinary and highly practical way and thus to play an in-depth role in sharing knowledge with society and fostering comprehensive debate across subject boundaries. Issues of sustainability and sustainability research form visible, integral parts of their study programs. The city of Bonn’s status as a “federal city” and home to several UN institutions has given the University deep roots in the region and numerous partnerships with the professional sector.
Ten Guiding Principles in Studying and Teaching govern the University’s overall approach to teaching and learning.
When the University of Bonn came to formulate its mission statement for teaching, it identified a total of six quality objectives for teaching and learning to set as priority emphases for the Guiding Principles. The aim is for these emphases to be reflected in the curricula for the various degree programs offered at the University of Bonn, not least as defining characteristics of studying here.
- Focus on research
- Inter- and transdisciplinary acquisition of skills
- Internationality and interculturality
- Sustainability
- Equal opportunity
- Focus on skills
This approach means that, although the diverse range of degree programs at the University of Bonn and the individual profiles carved out for them can result in a very heterogeneous makeup of the degree programs overall, the QM system at the University of Bonn helps to communicate the values and standards enshrined in the mission statement for teaching and the continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
The University has devised a set of Evaluation and Accreditation Regulations for Learning and Teaching (EvAO) to flesh out the procedural principles underlying its internal QM system for teaching and learning in respect of how it evaluates teaching and learning and accredits degree programs internally. Acting as closed operational loops, these regulations govern the procedures for systematically analyzing teaching and learning and for ensuring and improving its quality. The specific timing of the internal accreditation procedures in particular serves as a visual illustration of the accreditation cycle that is coordinated University-wide. This renders the impact of the QM system transparent for all members of the University as well as for anyone else who might be interested.
The quality assurance and quality improvement tools and methods used as part of the QM system are outlined and described in more detail in a Quality Manual, which serves to ensure procedural reliability and transparency within the University for everyone involved. It also allows anyone at the University of Bonn to gain a systematic introduction to QM in its teaching and learning.
Evaluation project groups for the various subjects organize the implementation of the procedures for their degree programs in accordance with the rules and as requirements dictate. They discuss and recommend corrective measures to develop their curricula further based on the results of student surveys and evaluations of study progression data.
Study programs must meet certain standards in terms of their structure and objectives. These standards are set by the German states via ordinances (e.g. the Study Accreditation Ordinance of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – Studienakkreditierungsverordnung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) based on a joint treaty governing the accreditation of study programs (the Interstate Study Accreditation Treaty – Studienakkreditierungsstaatsvertrag). The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the University’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
The University of Bonn is assuming responsibility for accrediting its own degree programs from winter semester 2023/2024 onward. Its successful system accreditation entitles it to review its degree programs itself. Its internal accreditation procedures are thus replacing external program accreditation and are embedding quality assurance and quality improvement tools in a closed control loop. Once an internal accreditation procedure is complete, the German Accreditation Council seal will be awarded provided that system accreditation has been successfully obtained. Besides relevant information in ELIAS , you can also find evidence from internal accreditation procedures and the audit reports and expert’s reports underlying the respective internal accreditation decisions on the sub-pages listed below.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Catholic Theology’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Protestant Theology’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Law and Economics’ degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Medicine’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Arts’ degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences’ degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Faculty of Agriculture’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
No evidence from internal accreditation procedures is available as things stand.
The German Accreditation Council’s central database of accredited degree programs and system-accredited universities, known as ELIAS, records the accreditation status of all degree programs and universities in the country. It can be used if required to check the accreditation status of the Bonn Center for Teacher Education’s degree programs for the years 2003–2023.
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Quality Management and Digitalization Unit for Teaching and Learning
The Quality Management and Digitalization Unit for Teaching and Learning (SQDSL) is responsible for guiding the University of Bonn toward formal system accreditation and coordinating the overarching project. Following the University of Bonn’s certification as a system-accredited university, the SQDSL will serve as the first port of call for all questions relating to the accreditation of its degree programs as well as its internal quality loop.