Higher Education: Accreditation
The Federal Act of 30 September 2011 on the Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education Sector (HEdA) introduced a system of mandatory institutional accreditation for all higher education institutions wishing to use a legally protected designation.
All Swiss higher education institutions or institutions in the higher education sector wishing to use a legally protected designation must obtain institutional accreditation as prescribed in the Higher Education Act (HEdA). The legally protected designations are as follows: ‘university’, ‘university of applied sciences’, ‘university of teacher education’ as well as compound or derived designations, i.e. ‘university institute’, ‘UAS institute’. The right to use designations also applies to equivalent designations in languages other than Swiss national languages. The use of alternative designations falls under cantonal jurisdiction, with individual cantons empowered to stipulate additional legal requirements.
Competent authorities
The Swiss Accreditation Council (CSA) is the competent authority for deciding on accreditations. The list of currently recognised or accredited Swiss higher education institutions under the terms of HEdA can be found on the CSA website.
The Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education (AAQ) serves as the national agency for accreditation procedures. The CSA has authorised other agencies to conduct accreditation procedures. The list of recognised agencies is posted on the CSA’s official website.
Additional information on legally protected designations
Policy Bulletin of the Federal Commercial Registry Office FCRO 2/14 (PDF)
Policy Bulletin of the Federal Commercial Registry Office FCRO 1/16 (PDF)