The CHE Centre for Higher Education is committed to a high quality and fair higher education system. Facing a continuous increase in participation in higher education, CHE supports higher education instutions to successfully deal not only with the growing number, but also with the growing diversity of students.
Ideas and Solutions
HEIs and the political sector must ensure that students are able to complete their chosen degree programme successfully.
We offer ideas and solutions to achieve just that.
HEIs, ministries and parliaments should realise social needs straight away and respond adequately. Examples include the digitisation of higher education, permeability between higher education and employment, and balancing family responsibilities with a career in academia.
Information and Transparency
Every prospective student should be able to find the degree programme that is right for them.
We provide the necessary information and ensure transparency.
Comparisons can only be drawn if all of the relevant information is available. This desire is the driving force behind many CHE projects, such as the CHE University Ranking, the international U-Multirank, the Student Loan Test and Monitoring Teacher Education, as well as information for prospective students without Abitur.
Data and Facts
Our publications and services are based on data and facts.
We conduct surveys among HEIs, ministries or students, and analyse the findings for the relevant target group.
We make the findings of our studies and research available to any interested parties in the form of working papers, short notes, newsletters, online portals and events, or in cooperation with media partners.
The CHE Centre for Higher Education was founded as a non-profit organisation in 1994 on the initiative of Reinhard Mohn, founder of the Bertelsmann Stiftung (left), and Professor Dr. Hans-Uwe Erichsen (right), President of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) at that time. The Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Stiftung zur Förderung der HRK (Foundation for the Promotion of the HRK) remain our Partners to this day.
Frank Ziegele (center) is in charge of the CHE Center for Higher Education. He has been Managing Director of CHE since 2008, together with Jörg Dräger until 2021. He is supported by Heike Hepermann and Ulrich Müller, who have been authorized signatories of CHE since 2023. Heike Hepermann, who holds a degree in business administration and is a systemic consultant, is Head of Controlling, Finance and Contracts. Ulrich Müller is Head of Political Analysis and also a member of the non-profit organization’s management board.
The other members of the CHE management team are Sonja Berghoff (Head of National Rankings), Gero Federkeil (Head of International Projects) and Sigrun Nickel (Head of University Research).
(Photo: Sirko Junge)
The CHE Management is supported by an Advisory Board comprising leading national and international figures as well as representatives of the Partners.
The Advisory Board is made up of a representative from each of the Partners, as well as leading national and international figures with proven expertise in (higher) education policy, university governance or business management. Members of the Advisory Board are appointed for a term of two years by the Partner’s Meeting.
Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal
President of the German Rectors’ Conference, Bonn (Photo: HRK Jürgen Scheere)
Dr. Nina Arnhold
Lead Education Specialist, World Bank (Photo: LC medium)
Dr. Ralph Heck
Chairman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh
Prof. Dr. Carsten Könneker
Executive Board HITS Foundation, Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Georg Krücken
Managing Director, International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER), Kassel
Prof. Dr. Anne Lequy
Rector of Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences (Photo: Dawin Meckel/Ostkreuz)
Prof. Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl
President of the University of Osnabrück, Vice President of the HRK, Bonn
Thomas May
Secretary General of the German Council of Science and Humanities, Cologne
Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff
President of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Vice President of the HRK
We have always considered ourselves an independent, implementation-oriented think-tank, international in scope, with a primary focus on the German and European higher education system. We provide food for thought, foster innovation, and reflect on reform outcomes. Our considerations take into account international trends and experience. They are fleshed out and implemented in partnership and dialogue with experts and decision-makers from the worlds of research, administration and politics (most notably higher education institutions, research institutions, ministries, the EU, foundations and other NGOs). We are keen to make available convincing solutions, based on good practice, to a wide public.
We are committed to ensuring the ability to balance work and family life at higher education institutions (HEIs) and at CHE itself. In 2018, CHE committed itself to the goals of the “Family Life and Academia” Charta, and defined its own goals as follows:
- Entrenching of family-friendly practices in the management culture
- A systematic culture and the implementation of flexible trust-based working hours
- Implementation of concrete family-oriented and health-promoting measures
- Pooling of information and guidance on possibilities for support on family issues
- Since it is ultimately the result that counts: a high proportion of employees, whether male or female, with family responsibilities as a measure of success
CHE is committed to achieving a highly competitive higher education system that is fair for all. Given the persistent trend to high participation higher education, CHE’s engagement seeks to ensure that HEIs are able to cope with growing student numbers and with the increasing diversity of their students.
Three Challenges take Centre Stage:
Using and Shaping Autonomy
HEIs should (further) develop and use their capacity to analyse and to take decisions and action at different levels so as to make full use of their opportunities in national and international competition. The framework set by the state must be designed in such a way that HEIs are able to act largely on their own responsibility.
Developing and Implementing Diverse Profiles
The academic system meets a variety of ever-changing societal functions. HEIS are faced with the challenge of having to offer differentiated services accordingly. To do this, they must develop and maintain a distinct identity. The different features and qualities of HEI profiles must be clear to students and society alike.
Assuming Social Responsibility
HEIs, ministries and parliaments should realise social needs straight away and respond adequately. The various stakeholders are interconnected, considering their responsibility to explore legitimate social and individual interests, and to keep on pursuing them in an ever-changing higher education system.