Higher Education Act (HEdA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 27 Quality control and development of quality
At regular intervals, higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector review the quality of their teaching, research and services and pursue long-term quality control and development of quality.
Art. 28 Institutional accreditation and programme accreditation
1 The following are accredited: a. higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector (institutional accreditation); b. study programmes of higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector (programme accreditation). 2 Institutional accreditation is a prerequisite for: a. right to use titles; b. granting of federal contributions; c. programme accreditation. 3 Programme accreditation is voluntary.
Art. 29 Right to use reserved designations
1 With institutional accreditation, higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector have the right to use the reserved designation ‘university’, ‘university of applied sciences’ or ‘university of teacher education’ or derived designations such as ‘university institute’ or ‘UAS institute’. 2 The right to use reserved designations also applies to equivalent terms in languages that are not national languages of Switzerland.
Art. 30 Requirements for institutional accreditation
1 For institutional accreditation, the following requirements must be met: a. Higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector have a quality control system in place to ensure that: 1. teaching, research and services are of high quality and staff are qualified in their positions; 2. admission requirements under Articles 23, 24 or 25 and, where applicable, also the general principles on the structure of studies at universities of applied sciences under Article 26 are met; 3. the higher education institution is structured and managed efficiently; 4. the members of the higher education institution have an adequate role in decision-making; 5. tasks are carried out in a manner that encourages equal opportunities and true gender equality; 6. tasks further the aims of economic, social and environmental sustainability; 7. it is possible to verify that the institution fulfils its mandate. b. Cantonal universities, federal institutes of technology and unive
Para. 2 — Amended by No I of the FA of 25 Sept. 2020, in force since 1 March 2021 (AS 2021 68; BBl 2020 3681).
Art. 31 Requirements for programme accreditation
The following requirements must be met for programme accreditation: a. Higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector shall take steps to ensure high-quality teaching. b. Higher education institutions and other institutions within the higher education sector and their responsible bodies shall take steps to ensure that study programmes may be completed.
Art. 32 Accreditation procedure
The Swiss Accreditation Agency and other accreditation agencies recognised by the Swiss Accreditation Council shall carry out the accreditation procedure according to this Act and under the terms of the Cooperation Agreement. The accreditation procedure must meet international standards.
Art. 33 Decision-making
Referring to the request submitted by the Swiss Accreditation Agency or by another Swiss or foreign accreditation agency recognised by the Swiss Accreditation Agency, the Swiss Accreditation Council shall decide on institutional accreditation and programme accreditation.
Art. 34 Duration of accreditation
The Swiss Higher Education Council shall decide on the duration of accreditation.
Art. 35 Fees
1 The Swiss Accreditation Council and the Swiss Accreditation Agency shall charge general cost-covering fees for its decisions and services. 2 The Swiss Accreditation Council issues a regulation on fees; this document requires approval by the Higher Education Council.