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Higher education in both Germany and the UK has undergone numerous changes in the last two decades. It seems worthwhile to examine how varying forms of HE governance and pan-European influences have played out upon these two national systems. Of note in particular are Bologna, European Standards and Guidelines in Quality Assurance, and various accreditation regulations. In this article we postulate to what extent these two systems may or may not be able to move forward in the imminent future. Is German higher education, for example, becoming more autonomous if it can display its own systems of quality control are working well (system-accreditation)? Has British higher education relinquished autonomy, as both research and teaching domains are subject to external review (REF/TEF)? What can we learn about the transformational impact any of these mechanisms are having? This chapter adresses these issues and asks which benefits or disadvantages are to be gained by different systems in article.
From today's viewpoint it seems almost inconceivable that there once was a time where academia functioned without peer review processes, which are now so much part and parcel of the academic environment. Peer review is mainly taken for granted and we assume that it generally works well in estimating the worth of academic outputs of differents kinds (publications, grant proposals etc.) However, the process itself is not free of criticism and much can still be done to improve review quality. In this paper I explore and question the purpose and function of peer review, engage with various problems that can occur in the process, and make suggestions for ways in which peer review might be improved. It is based on empirical research, participation in various peer review forms and observation of accreditation practice.