The HSZG faces up to system accreditation

On January 8 and 9, as well as on June 26 of this year, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) welcomed a five-member review panel—consisting of three university faculty members from Germany and abroad, a representative from the professional field, and a student representative —and one male and one female representative from the administrative office of the accreditation agency ASIIN e.V.—at its Zittau and Görlitz campuses. As part of the formal review process for so-called “system accreditation,” the evaluators are tasked with determining whether the HSZG has an effective quality management system (QM system) in place in the core areas of academic programs and teaching. The review is based, on the one hand, on a detailed self-assessment of the university’s specific structures, tools, and procedures and, on the other hand, on a series of discussions with the university leadership as well as with the leadership and individual staff members of the faculties, the administration, selected central units, and students.

The discussions held in January 2019 at the Zittau Campus focused on the structure of the overall system for the qualitative development of degree programmes, teaching, and the organization of studies and examinations. The topics ranged from strategic aspects—such as shaping the profile of the HSZG and its degree programmes—to the individual procedures for internal and external evaluation involving students, graduates, and professionals in the field, etc., to tools for ensuring high-quality teaching (continuing education in higher education pedagogy, etc.) and needs-based support and advisory services for students.

The discussions in June 2019 at the Görlitz Campus focused on selected degree programmes from the six faculties of the HSZG and on the degree programme review process for internal university assessment and accreditation of the degree programmes. In addition, conceptual, structural, and procedural developments since the first on-site visit in January of this year were discussed and acknowledged.

As the system accreditation process continues, the HSZG expects to receive the written accreditation report from the review panel in mid-August 2019. The ASIIN e.V. Accreditation Commission for Quality Management Systems is expected to make its accreditation decision in mid-October 2019, based on the evaluators’ report and a corresponding statement from the HSZG. The goal is to receive the Accreditation Council’s quality seal “System-Accredited University.”