Audit Teams

Review or Audit Teams are formed by the relevant Technical Committee(s) and nominated by the ASIIN Accreditation Commission to evaluate one or more degree programmes.

The subject-related accuracy of fit of the Audit Team is a major concern of ASIIN e. V. and part of the agency’s quality principles.

Each Higher Education Institution (HEI) is therefore requested to communicate the desired ideal subject-related profile of the Audit Team when submitting the accreditation request. This will facilitate the work of the Technical Committees when determining the Audit Teams.

The Audit Team is usually composed of professors from universities and universities of applied sciences, representatives of professional practice/industry and students.

The Technical Committees and the Accreditation Commission have agreed upon a set of principles guiding the composition of the Audit Team and the selection of its members.

The Audit Team should

• Be composed of members that are able to gain a specialist overview of the degree programme(s) evaluated within the procedure
• Be composed of members that are able to review the interests of the stakeholders affected by a specific educational offercourse and to include them in its evaluation
• Be composed, where possible, of both auditors with accreditation experience and auditors new to this procedure.

Auditors from academia should

• Possess proven specialist expertise
• Possess proven practical experience in the pertinent specialist field
• Desirable: experience in accreditation and evaluation, didactic competences at university level, international experience, experience in university administration
• And participate in training and vocational adjustment courses on accreditation issues.

Auditors from industry should

• Possess proven specialist expertise
• Possess experience in human resources and in placing university graduates
• Desirable: experience in accreditation and evaluation, didactic competences at university level, international experience, experience in university administration
• And participate in training and vocational adjustment course on accreditation issues.

Students acting as auditors should

• Be enrolled in a subject relevant to the accreditation procedure
• Have experience as a student without clearly exceeding the nominal period of study
• Have experience related to Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes
• And participate in training and vocational adjustment courses on accreditation issues.

Each ASIIN auditor is required to sign a confidentiality agreement and declaration of impartiality prior to the commencement of the audit.

The HEI may request the replacement of auditors in the case of suspicion of bias.

The auditors:

• Review the accreditation application and self assessment report of the university
• Conduct the audit (on-site visit) at the university
• Prepare the accreditation report based on the review of the accreditation application and the result of the audit with support from the ASIIN Office
• Provide the Technical Committee(s) and the Accreditation Commission with a final evaluation and recommended decision
• Review the documentation submitted by the HEI, in the case that conditions were issued within an accreditation procedure, and submit corresponding recommendation to the Technical Committees and the Accreditation Commission.

The auditors conduct their review based on the ASIIN General Criteria and concomitant auxiliary material, available to all Audit Teams prior to the on-site visit.