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 h ...

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 College and university rankings order the best institutions in higher education based on factors that vary depending on the ranking. Some rankings evaluate institutions within a single country, while others assess institutions worldwide. Rankings ...

CHE University Ranking

Introduced in 1998, the annual

CHE University Ranking The ''CHE University Ranking'' (german: CHE Hochschulranking) is an annual ranking of German universities and colleges. It is a subject‐specific, multidimensional system aimed at providing information for students, with its main emphasis on te ...

is the most comprehensive ranking of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

universities and ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

n''.

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 English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...

and "elite" universities. The relationship between CHE and

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

is seen as particularly problematic. Since CHE is largely financed by the

, which is the majority owner of

, 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