06.2 What regulations apply to system accreditation procedures with contracts concluded up to and including 31.12.2017 and to completed system accreditations based on such old contracts?

According to Clause 6.2 of the “Rules for the Accreditation of Study Programmes and for System Accreditation” (resolution of the Accreditation Council in the version dated 20.02.2013), compliance with the applicable Law is mandatory for such system accreditation or system accreditation procedures. This means that the higher education institution, by means of its internal quality management systems, must in principle only observe the formal and academic criteria for study programmes contained in the MRVO. It is obvious that any changes will take a certain amount of time; every system-accredited higher education institution should check the effects on the internal QM system immediately after the new rules have been issued and, if changes are required, initiate implementation with a timetable. In the subsequent system accreditation, it should be discussed whether the QM system has proven to be sufficiently adaptable to new framework conditions.

The rules of procedure contained in Part 4 of the MRVO and the criteria for internal quality management systems standardized in § 17 and § 18 MRVO themselves are not to be taken into account in such old cases. In this respect, the previous resolutions, handouts and circulars of the Accreditation Council continue to apply. See also FAQ 02.1.

However, since according to the new legal situation, proof of an interim evaluation in the previous accreditation period is no longer required to apply for system accreditation, this is also no longer necessary for system accreditations under previous law. This is clarified in the explanatory memorandum to § 37 of the specimen decree.