and Master Programmes in German Higher Education Institutions

forts to reform the funding system are undertaken related (although not simultaneously) tothe introduction of the bachelor-master system. At present various scenarios are being discussed.Pressures to fund more longer (2 year) master programmes in universities and overallthe master programmes in Hogescholen would require expansion of the higher educationbudget. If this is considered unacceptable, it can be expected that a further differentiation offunding sources for master programmes will be proposed. Private funding (from students,employers, public organisations, etc.) will gain in importance.A final difference with respect to funding is the situation with respect to tuition fees. Althoughonly a small percentage of the institutional budgets come from tuition fees paid bythe students, these represent an incentive, especially when foreign (non EU) students areconcerned who are often charged differential fees.10.6 CooperationLike in the Netherlands, German institutions are more interested in international than innational cooperation and the non-university sector is more interested in cooperation withuniversities than the other way around. Cross-sector cooperation has not really been embracedin Germany. In the Netherlands there are quite divers views. In some cases mergersbetween universities and hogescholen are being planned, while other institutions stronglyhold to strict distinctions of the two sectors. Views regarding the cooperation with businessand industry are polarised in Germany. In the Netherlands hogescholen are much more inclinedto cooperate with companies than universities.10.7 AccreditationIn the field of accreditation, Germany is ahead of the Netherlands and has to a certain extentserved as an example for the Dutch developments in this area. In Germany the discussion onaccreditation started already in the light of the 1998 Sorbonne Declaration: an AccreditationCouncil has been established, mainly for the recognition of the actual accreditors of programmesin the new bachelor-master degree structure. A similar arrangement is to comeinto being in the Netherlands at the moment of the introduction of bachelor and master degrees.Both systems are open in principle to accreditors from other countries, but languageand regulative barriers seem to favour national agencies—at least that is what practice inGermany suggests: the five agencies recognised sofar all are based in Germany. Until February2002, only 4% of the bachelors and 10% of the master programmes have been accredited.These accreditations have not yet been able to take the programmes’ outputs fully intoconsideration (e.g. graduates, alumni, etc.). In the Netherlands the new accreditation systemwill in its first rounds face the same problem. Consultation between Germany and the Netherlands(and a range of other countries including Flanders) is going on at present with theaim to enhance cooperation in the field of accreditation. Mutual recognition of accreditationis considered to be an important step. Further work is intended in the tuning of standardsand criteria, and other efforts towards common European frameworks.77