18.01 What is meant by 'essential changes'?

§ 28 of the specimen decree (state ordinances accordingly) reads:

“1) The higher education institution is obliged to notify the Accreditation Council immediately of any essential changes to the subject of accreditation during the validity period of the accreditation.

(2) The Accreditation Council shall decide whether the essential change is covered by the existing accreditation.”

The explanatory memorandum to this paragraph goes into more detail:

“As accreditation is a permanent administrative act and changes to the formal or academic criteria may occur during the validity period of the accreditation, essential changes must be reported to the Accreditation Council without delay. […]
The duty of disclosure enables the Accreditation Council to check whether its accreditation decision is up to date and – if necessary – to adapt it to the new circumstances in the event of essential changes (e.g. by issuing a subsequent condition or revoking the accreditation decision).”