Science Council confirms high quality standards
Quadriga University Berlin has once again achieved an excellent result as a result of its institutional accreditation. The German Science Council, an institution supported by the Federal Government and the German states, regularly examines the university as a whole as part of a comprehensive process. This means that Quadriga University Berlin once again fully meets the high institutional demands placed on a university. At the end of the one-and-a-half-year review process, the university is awarded excellent grades in the various areas of examination.
“The result of the institutional accreditation is a success for all members of our university,” says a delighted president Prof. Dr. René Seidenglanz. “The Science Council thus repeatedly attests to the high standard of our joint work. People with great professionalism and passion are involved here, and the external reviewers were also impressed by this”.
According to this, the mission statement, structure and governance have reached an excellent level. Management and decision-making processes are clearly regulated in a manner appropriate to the university and are implemented transparently. Academic freedoms are guaranteed throughout.
The Council of Science and Humanities expressly praises the coordinated profile, which is equally reflected in studies, continuing education and research. In the opinion of the examiners, the university has undergone a positive development in recent years by expanding its range of subjects and by sensibly combining the new subjects with the existing range of courses. The university is thus fully keeping its central promise of offering a course of study with a strong and varied practical orientation.
The mature, comprehensive and effective quality assurance instruments are also particularly appreciated. The evaluators also praise the high transparency of internal decision-making processes.
The high level of student satisfaction is also emphasised. In the opinion of the reviewers, the professors, but also the teaching staff, were particularly committed to teaching and provided very good individual support for the students. The administration showed a high degree of professionalism in terms of organisation and service orientation.
Within the university, too, the reviewers found an open and goal-oriented university culture, which is characterised by direct and unbureaucratic decision-making processes and flat hierarchies that are lived out in practice and which gives the university a high degree of flexibility despite the stabilising degree of formalisation. This culture is also held in high esteem by the members of the university.
The Council of Science and Humanities was impressed by the broad network of leaders from business, politics and the media, who showed a high level of identification with the university. This is a decisive contribution to the positive public perception, important strategic impulses are received and the connection of teaching and research to practice and the networking of students in the professional world is supported.
The evaluators attest to a high degree of coherence in the university’s research concept and assess the research output and the diverse international cooperations positively. The transfer and research projects were strongly oriented towards the problems of the relevant professional fields as well as the companies and organisations of the network. The comparatively low teaching load means that researchers at Quadriga University have time resources available for research. In this context, special recognition is given to research management in terms of transparency and communication.
The Science Council has once again determined that the university’s financing is secure in the long term and is based on a sustainable model. It expressly praised the high level of professionalism with regard to business management standards.
Background
The institutional accreditation by the German Science Council is intended to verify the quality of private higher education institutions with regard to recognized scientific standards. These are essentially the institutional claim, profile and development goals, the management structure, organization and quality management, personnel, concept and implementation of studies and teaching, research concept, output and cooperation, equipment and financing.
The institutional accreditation is a prerequisite for the state recognition of a university, which, upon successful completion of the procedure, also receives a scientifically-guided verdict validated by external experts, which is an official seal of approval.
The Science Council advises the Federal Government and the governments of the German states on all questions of the development of science, research and higher education in terms of content and structure. On behalf of the German states, it conducts the procedure for the institutional accreditation of non-governmental universities.