Legal framework
Legal framework
The following legal bases are important for the recognition of competences acquired outside of higher education:
Fundamentals from 2002
Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs
Three resolutions of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs are particularly relevant for the recognition of academic appointments:
2002: Imputation decision I
"Knowledge and skills acquired outside the higher education system may be credited to a higher education course within the framework of a - possibly also flat-rate - classification if [...] they are equivalent in terms of content and level to the part of the course that is to be replaced [...]. Knowledge and skills acquired outside the higher education system can replace a maximum of 50% of a higher education programme."
from: Annex to the KMK resolution of 28 June 2002, Section 1.1.2, 2
2008: Imputation decision II
"However, this also obliges universities to make use of the existing possibilities for credit transfer and to develop procedures and criteria for the transfer of knowledge and skills acquired outside the higher education system in the respective examination regulations. In order to reduce the effort associated with individual case reviews, opportunities for co-operation with suitable vocational education and training institutions should also be used to enable generalised credit transfer for homogeneous applicant groups."
from: Annex to the KMK resolution of 18 September 2008, section 3.1.1
2010: Common structural guidelines for the accreditation of Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in the federal states
"Proven equivalent competences and skills acquired outside the higher education sector shall be credited up to half of the credit points provided for the degree programme."
from: Resolution of the KMK dated 04/02/2010, Section 1.3
Compared to the 2002 resolution, the implementation of crediting procedures became significantly more binding in the 2008 and 2010 resolutions.
Accreditation Council (AR)
With regard to the recognition of competences acquired outside of higher education, the Accreditation Council established new rules for accreditation in 2014 with the study accreditation agreement and announced conditions for procedures for recognition that were not (sufficiently) in place.
From the circular letter from the Accreditation Council to the accreditation agencies dated 19 December 2014
"[...] according to point A 1.3 of the "Common Structural Guidelines of the Länder for the Accreditation of Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programmes" (KMK resolution of 10.10.2003 in the version of 04.02.2010), proven equivalent competences and skills acquired outside the higher education sector are to be credited up to half of the credit points provided for the degree programme. This means that there is an obligation to recognise non-academic achievements if the relevant requirements are met.
I would hereby like to inform you that [...] the absence of regulations for the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired outside the university is to be mandated by the accreditation agencies. The same applies if there are regulations in place, but these exclude the possibility of half of the intended credit points being achieved via credit transfer."
from: Circular from the AR dated 19/12/2014
Further development from 2017
Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) and Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG)
The study accreditation agreement signed by all federal states on 1 June 2017 puts the recognition of non-university skills on a new legal footing. While the implementation of credit transfer procedures is only very vaguely defined in the model ordinance adopted by the KMK, it is now made binding at state level via the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act.
Excerpt from the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG) of 16 March 2021
"Examination regulations are to be designed in such a way that [...] the recognition of [...] competences acquired in academic appointments is guaranteed in accordance with equivalence".
from: NHG from 16.03.2021, §7(3)
Extract from the model ordinance of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of 7 December 2017
"Paragraph 1 sentence 2 emphasises that the higher education institutions, as guarantors of the quality of the higher education qualifications and degrees they award, are responsible for the quality assurance of the study programmes and the credit transfer procedures for competences acquired outside higher education. Only competences that are equivalent in terms of content and level to the part of the study programme that is to be replaced can be credited. In this context, such knowledge and skills acquired outside the higher education sector can replace a maximum of 50% of a higher education programme."
from: Explanatory memorandum to the KMK resolution of 07.12.2017, §9
Realisation at the University of Oldenburg
The examination regulations for the subject Bachelor's and two-subject Bachelor's degree programmes as well as the examination regulations for the Master's degree programmes contain regulations for the recognition of competences acquired outside of higher education. Credit is awarded on the basis of an assessment of the equivalence of the student's knowledge and skills with the competence objectives of the study module applied for. With the support of the PLAR service, students compile the evidence of competence acquisition required for the equivalence assessment in the form of a structured credit portfolio.
Excerpt from the examination regulations for the subject Bachelor's and two-subject Bachelor's degree programmes
"On proposal, knowledge, skills and competences acquired outside of university degree programmes can be credited, provided that they are sufficiently proven and are equivalent in terms of content and level to the competence objectives of the study modules for which they are to be credited. [...] Up to 50 percent of the credit points of each subject as well as professionalisation modules up to 15 credit points can be credited.
If the equivalence of the knowledge, skills and/or competences with the relevant competence objectives cannot be adequately determined on the basis of the evidence submitted, a review of the knowledge, skills and/or competences to be credited may be carried out by a module coordinator within an appropriate framework, usually lasting 15-20 minutes, with reference to the documents submitted. The review may relate to several modules if the crediting of several modules with related content has been applied for."
from: BPO of the University of Oldenburg dated 12/09/2018, §8(3)