Germany - ASIIN

Training Assessors

All accreditation agencies need numerous qualified assessors to carry out accreditations, in the framework of which high levels of quality, diversity and transparency of the study programs under review are guaranteed. In pursuit of this goal, the ASIIN since its founding has been used to cooperate intensively with the faculties of German universities and universities of applied sciences. Our Partners are the 'Conferences of the Faculties' on the national level. These conferences are meetings of all faculties/departments - represented by the deans - in the same discipline and related fields and take place several times per year. The conferences are not only divided into the different disciplines but also along the binary structure of universities and universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) in the German higher education system. These "Conferences of the Faculties" assists the ASIIN by recruiting qualified peers in sufficient numbers for all potential fields of study on which the ASIIN can relay in conducting accreditations. For the past four years, when the German accreditation system was to build from scratch on, the training of highly motivated assessors, frequently occured via "learning by doing" and by relying primary on experienced auditors represented in our meanwhile 13 technical committes. The ASIIN pursues a policy of always including one or two new assessors in the audit teams to learn from the experienced members and to get accustomed with the procedures. Furthermore we have started to systemize assessor training. Therefore the ASIIN is presently about to prepare a training centre for assessors.


Recruitment for the panels

The professional bodies of the ASIIN are: the accreditation commissions, the technical committees and the peergroups. They have successively been installed since 2000 and almost all members are appointed at present. Nevertheless these honorary bodies constantly need fresh support and therefore the ASIIN and its professional staff are always pleased to get in contact with experts interested in sharing their knowledge and experience. Support at present is especially required for the creation of interdisciplinary teams in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, economics and agrarian sciences. Experts with some experience in the evaluation of higher education institutions are particularly welcome within the ASIIN audit teams. The peers taking part in an audit are appointed for each single accreditation procedure. The technical committees propose the formation of the peer group for each audit along professional criteria and the combination of expertise needed. The appointement as member of an audit team is possible at any time and depending on the accreditation procedures taking place. Those interested in supporting the ASIIN as a peer, are kindly asked to complete the presentation form (“Vorstellungsbogen”) and send it to mailto:"info@asii.de". By sending the compiled form, a peer declares his or her consent to be asked for support when his or her expertise is needed in an accreditation procedure. The form facilitates the work of the ASIIN decision bodies by presenting the key personal information in a comparable way. The data is treated confidentially, of course, and not given to third parties outside the ASIIN.

< back >