GAC • German Accreditation Council

GAC is a joint institution of the German states for quality assurance in teaching and learning at German universities. Its tasks are laid down in the Interstate Study Accreditation Treaty of 2017. As a major innovation within that Treaty, GAC now has the task of deciding on the accreditation of study programmes (programme accreditation) and the accreditation of quality management systems (system accreditation) on the basis of expert opinions. The implementation of the so-called “alternative procedures”, with which new paths in quality enhancement are to be tested, also requires the approval of the Accreditation Council. While responsibility for the accreditation decisions has now passed to GAC, the assessments in programme and system accreditation will still be conducted by the accreditation agencies authorised for this purpose by GAC. Their authorisation is based on EQAR registration of the agency. GAC assumes its overall responsibility for the accreditation system by ensuring the consistency and coherence of its accreditation decisions, supporting the states in the further development of the German quality assurance system, promoting international cooperation in the field of accreditation and quality assurance and thus contributing to the realisation of a common European Higher Education Area. The Interstate Study Accreditation Treaty explicitly states that the German accreditation system is based on the guiding principle that the whole system is compatible with the ESG.

GAC’s most recent external review report can be found here.