Between Evaluation and Accreditation. Polish Perception of German Experience in the Context of Public Policies

Abstract

The article attempts to present key aspects of evaluation and accreditation in German higher education, which emerged during the implementation of accreditation procedures and building a nationwide system of supervision over higher education. The essence of considerations was to demonstrate the relationship between evaluation and accreditation from the point of view of public policies, for which – obviously with a certain simplification – accreditation is an external appraisal implement, and evaluation is – as a rule – an internal implement. The content of the article does not refer to the essence of the evaluation model, nor the types of accreditation, procedures, and the specifics of accreditation agencies. It has been assumed that accreditation and evaluation exist both at the university and on the German accreditation market without specifying their properties. The author focused on the specifics of German solutions, including on references to Polish realities.