Function

The establishment and composition of the Accreditation Committee is defined in Section 8b of the Constitution of the University of Cologne. The Accreditation Committee is an independent committee appointed by the Rectorate and made up of representatives from all status groups. It is responsible for preparing the Rectorate’s decision as part of the internal initial and re-accreditation proceduresthat the University of Cologne carries out to ensure the quality of its degree programmes. The Rectorate makes the accreditation decision based on the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee. The Accreditation Committee is supported by the central Q³ team – Evaluation, Development & Accreditation and the accreditation committee’s office.

Members

With voting rights:

• one representative per Faculty from the group pursuant to Section 11 subsection 1 no. 1 of the Higher Education Act,
• two representatives from the group pursuant to Section 11 subsection 1 no. 2 of the Higher Education Act,
• three representatives from the group pursuant to Section 11 subsection 1 no. 4 of the Higher Education Act, of which one representative should be enrolled in teacher education and two representatives in a subject-related degree programme.

Without voting rights:

• one representative of the student union,
• one representative from the group pursuant to Section 11 subsection 1 no. 3 of the Higher Education Act,
• one representative from the Center for Teacher Education.

A deputy is appointed for each member.

The terms of office are three years for staff and two years for students.