Evaluation

ZEvA organizes and realizes external evaluation procedures in service of higher education institutions and universities of cooperative education.

We assist higher education institutions in developing and improving quality in all areas related to teaching and learning, including quality management.

We do not regard ourselves as a supervisory body, but rather as a catalyst of quality assurance in higher education.

To achieve the maximum benefit for higher education institutions, the concrete objectives of an evaluation project should be clarified at the beginning.

Our work is based on the international “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area” developed by ENQA.

Our evaluation procedures consist of multiple steps, including both internal evaluation (self report) and external evaluation (peer review). If required, additional assistance can also be provided during the implementation phase.

The evaluations are executed by a peer group (peer review procedure). Following the submission of a self-report by the higher education institution, a group of reviewers consisting of scientific peers, students and representatives of professional practice holds on-site talks with different interest groups within the institution. After completion of the site visit, the peer group generates an evaluation report and proposes measures for the future development of the institution.

ZEvA selects all peers from a pool of nationally and internationally renowned experts.

In detail, our services include:
•    ... Institutional evaluation (Quality Audit)
•    ... Subject evaluation (Program Evaluation)
•    ... Thematic evaluation

The Higher Education Act of the State of Lower Saxony (NHG) requires higher education institutions to have their teaching programs evaluated by external bodies. ZEvA assists them in fulfilling this legal obligation. However, the demand for our services extends beyond regional borders: since its foundation, ZEvA has executed successful accreditation and evaluation projects throughout Germany and Europe. (If required, the evaluation procedures can be conducted in English.)

As a general rule, ZEvA publishes the evaluation results in the form of an evaluation report consisting of the expert report generated by the group of peer reviewers, a statement by the higher education institution and details on the members of the peer group. The evaluation report is published on the ZEvA website. If the report refers to an institution in Lower Saxony, a print version is usually provided in addition to the online version.