The Centre for Higher Education (CHE) (german: Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung) is a German organization dedicated to higher education reform. Founded in 1994 by the

Bertelsmann Stiftung The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself ...

and the

German Rectors' Conference The German Rectors' Conference/Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) is the voluntary association of state and state-recognised universities and other higher education institutions in Germany. It currently has 257 member institutions at which more than ...

as a non-profit limited liability company, it is best known to the public for its published university rankings.

CHE University Ranking

Introduced in 1998, the annual CHE University Ranking is the most comprehensive ranking of German universities and '' Fachhochschulen''.

Criticism

CHE has been criticized for lobbying the media, politics and society to increase the acceptance of

tuition fees Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

and "elite" universities. The relationship between CHE and Bertelsmann is seen as particularly problematic. Since CHE is largely financed by the

, which is the majority owner of Bertelsmann, critics doubt the sociopolitical neutrality and non-profit nature of the institution and assume that CHE's policies are significantly influenced by the interests and ideas of the media corporation.

References

{{authority control 1994 establishments Think tanks based in Germany