Statements, objections, complaints and legal action

The German Accreditation Council is committed to the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The options for action described below comply with 2.7 ESG, according to which appeals and complaints procedures are part of external quality assurance and must be clearly defined. In accordance with 2.7 ESG, appeals are directed against the outcome of a procedure, whereas complaints concern purely procedural errors.

Review procedure at the Agency

The agencies have appeals and complaints procedures in accordance with 2.7 ESG. The agency is responsible for complaints against any procedural errors in its area of responsibility and appeals against decisions made by it (for example, objections can be raised against the composition of the expert groups in accordance with Section 25 (6) MRVO). The respective agency is responsible for more detailed information on this.

As the agencies are organized under private law, legal action against them can be taken under civil law.

Opportunity to comment on the accreditation report

In accordance with Art. 3 para. 4 of the Interstate Study Accreditation Treaty, higher education institutions can attach a statement to their accreditation application, which they submit to the German Accreditation Council. Higher education institutions should use this opportunity to submit a statement if they wish to raise objections to the resolution recommendations in the accreditation report.

If the Accreditation Council intends to make an accreditation decision that deviates significantly from the recommendation of the expert group, the higher education institution is given the opportunity to submit a (further) statement within one month in accordance with § 22 para. 3 MRVO.

Appeals and complaints to the Accreditation Council Foundation

Both higher education institutions and third parties have the opportunity to lodge an appeal with the Accreditation Council Foundation against decisions made by the Foundation or to complain to the Foundation about procedural errors.

In addition to internal university complaints procedures, deficiencies in internal accreditation procedures of system-accredited universities can be brought to the attention of the Accreditation Council Foundation.

The Accreditation Council Foundation appoints a Complaints and Appeals Commission to deal with appeals and complaints. This consists of three external members, i.e. members who do not belong to the Accreditation Council: one professorial member, one student member and one member from the agencies. Each member has a deputy.

The members of the Commission and their deputies are appointed by the Accreditation Council on the basis of proposals from the respective member group in the Accreditation Council.
Members of the Commission and their deputies must have sound knowledge of the regulations and criteria applicable in accreditation procedures.

The Complaints and Appeals Commission deliberates on appeals and complaints and submits a recommendation to the German Accreditation Council for a final decision.
The Foundation provides information on the manner in which the appeal or complaint was dealt with.

In many cases, these appeal and objection procedures can resolve discrepancies before a lawsuit is filed. However, the time limit of one month for legal action against decisions of the Accreditation Council Foundation (see § 74 of the Administrative Court Code – VwGO) is not extended by such an out-of-court settlement attempt.

Members of the Appeals and Objections Committee

Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Roth, University of Cologne (professorial member until 03/2029, renewable until 03/2032)
Lukas Hässner, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (student member until 09/2028, renewable until 09/2031)
Ph.D. Alexander Rudolph, ACQUIN (agency representative until 27 November)

Deputy members:

Prof. Dr. Panja Mücke, Mannheim State University of Music and Performing Arts (professorial member until 03/2029, renewable until 03/2032)
Florens Förster, RWTH Aachen University (student member until 06/2027, renewable until 06/2030) and
Ph.D. Iring Wasser, ASIIN (agency representative until November 2027)

The Commission can be contacted by e-mail at akr@akkreditierungsrat.de or at the postal address of the German Accreditation Council Head Office.

Appeals against decisions made by the Accreditation Council Foundation

Decisions made by the Accreditation Council Foundation may be appealed before the administrative court.

An objection or complaint to the Accreditation Council Foundation does not constitute an objection in accordance with § 68 VwGO and is therefore not a prerequisite for legal action. In fact, the extrajudicial preliminary proceedings in accordance with § 68 VwGO have been largely abolished in NRW (the state in which the Foundation is based), including in the area of accreditation (see § 110 of the NRW Judiciary Act).