All existing programmes must still be accredited individually at education institutions which have not yet been awarded positive institutional accreditation or commenced the process.
Until 2017 the accreditation of existing programmes and local provision of programmes took place according to a rota plan laid down by the Accreditation Council. From 2018 individual plans have been drawn up for the relevans institutions.
Programme accreditation of existing programmes and local provision of programmes is based on the five criteria laid down in the ministerial order on accreditation:
- Demand and relevance
- Knowledge base
- Goals for learning outcomes
- Organisation and completion
- Internal quality assurance and development
For each programme accreditation, the Danish Accreditation Institution sets up an accreditation panel. The panel comprises one or more experts, one potential employer representative and one student. The panel’s task is to decide whether the quality and relevance of the programme are adequately ensured.
The accreditation panel’s assessments are based on the education institution’s application material, supplementary documentation about selected subjects or subject elements and input from a visit to the programme. All assessments are gathered in an accreditation report containing:
- Assessment of whether the individual criteria are considered to have been fulfilled, partially fulfilled or not fulfilled.
- A comprehensive recommendation for the Accreditation Council’s decision.
The education institution receives the accreditation report for consultation before a final version is submitted to the Accreditation Council and is published on the Accreditation Institution’s website.
The Accreditation Council makes decisions regarding the accreditation of the individual existing programmes. A programme can be awarded positive accreditation, conditional positive accreditation or be refused accreditation:
- Positive accreditation: on the whole, the programme is assessed to live up to the accreditation criteria.
- Conditional positive accreditation: the programme does not fully live up to all of the criteria, however the Accreditation Council deems that the programme will be able to remedy the shortcomings within a short period. The Council will specify a timetable within which the shortcomings must be remedied.
- Refusal of accreditation: on the whole, the programme is not assessed to live up to the accreditation criteria. Consequently, the programme must be closed down.
In order to obtain a positive accreditation, the programme must also live up to current statutory requirements, including the University Programme Order, the Examination Order and the ministerial orders on admission and enrolment at universities.
A positive programme accreditation is valid for six years, after which the programme or the local provision of a programme must be re-accredited unless the education institution has been awarded positive or conditional positive institutional accreditation in the intervening period.