Aarhus University has made the necessary adjustments, and as a consequence, the university has now been recommended for a positive institutional accreditation.

The positive evaluation comes from the panel that has been reviewing AU’s quality assurance system over the past year to assess whether the university has taken steps to rectify the deficiencies that were identified in the first accreditation process in 2017.

Pro-rector Berit Eika, who is in charge of the accreditation process, is very pleased with the news:

“Of course, we have not across the finish line until the Accreditation Council has approved the recommendation, but this is a very important milestone. In all modesty, I believe that we have acted quickly and efficiently to address the issues that the first panel found problematic in our system, and the positive recommendation is a testimony to the efforts that managers, employees and students have made all round.”

The challenges have been solved

Aarhus University’s quality assurance system – and not least the efforts of employees and students to comply with it – has received praise from the beginning, but in the first accreditation process, the panel noted that the system had deficiencies in relation to monitoring the research base of the degree programmes and in the rules for appointing external members to degree programme evaluations.

These deficiencies have been corrected, and the panel notes in the draft of the decision sent to the university for comment that AU has “implemented initiatives that can solve these challenges”.

“We have for example introduced reports by the heads of the departments/schools which provide a stronger basis for degree programme evaluations, just as we have ensured that the external experts meet both students and teachers in connection with the evaluations. These are good solutions, and I am pleased that the panel has acknowledged our adjustments. Now, we are looking forward to the council’s decision, which will hopefully be in line with the panel’s recommendation,” states Berit Eika.

The Accreditation Council is expected to make the final decision by the end of November.