Professional Certification of Higher Education in Germany and Its Implications for Cross Disciplinary Evaluation in China

Abstract

With the development of the German higher education certification system, its certification standards and procedures are also improving day by day. In this context, a large number of institutions have emerged that provide certification services for higher education. This article mainly focuses on two cross-disciplinary certification bodies, the Professional Accreditation and Quality Assurance Agency （AQAS） and the Certification and Quality Assurance Institute （ACQUIN）, to analyze the commonalities and differences between the two certification bodies from the perspectives of standard formulation and expert review. The results indicate that in terms of standard formulation, ACQUIN emphasizes the improvement of the quality system of the profession itself, while AQAS focuses on the positioning and characteristics of a certain profession in relevant industry fields. In terms of expert evaluation, ACQUIN and AQAS have different focuses on ensuring program fairness and expert selection. ACQUIN values the evaluation ability of experts, while AQAS places greater emphasis on their academic background.