Swiss higher education institutions are regularly evaluated on how they ensure quality. Quality assurance and accreditation procedures serve to systematically review and further develop these aspects – with the aim of guaranteeing transparent standards, strengthening trust in academic degrees, and continuously improving educational offerings. Accreditations confirm that an institution or a study program meets quality standards. They also form a basis for the recognition of degrees and titles, and thus for mobility within the European Higher Education Area. In the accreditation process, a panel of experts is involved, with one member of this group being a student.
There are different types of accreditation procedures. You will find an overview here.
Your role as a student
The perspective of students on study content, supervision, learning conditions, and opportunities for participation in their studies is essential. Their voice contributes to further developing and improving the quality of higher education in the interest of students.
Nominated students take part in an accreditation procedure as equal members of the review panel. Serving as a student reviewer is not only exciting and instructive – it is also fairly compensated (CHF 1,200 – 2,400). In addition, you gain valuable insights into quality assurance and higher education development, and you have the opportunity to contribute to high-quality teaching.
To take part in an accreditation procedure, the following is required:
- Current enrollment or a degree obtained within the past 12 months
- A participatory VSS training (dates provided here), where you will be introduced to the basics of an accreditation procedure. You can register via the application form.
You will receive all further information to prepare for your role after signing the contract and during the training.
Interested in getting involved? Here’s how to participate:
Open Accreditation Procedures
Overview of Open Accreditation Procedures – Here you can find all currently available accreditation procedures to which you can apply.
No matching procedure at the moment?
Still, take part in our training. Here are the training dates. After the training, you will receive a certificate and become part of our accreditation pool. You will be directly informed about all new procedures. The accreditation pool also organizes exchange meetings to share experiences and learn from one another. These meetings are not only intended for professional exchange, but also offer the opportunity to build new connections.
A CV is sufficient for your application! You do not need to write a motivation letter – just indicate briefly which procedure you are interested in.
We will then forward your application to the responsible agency. The agency makes the final selection for the respective student representative.
We look forward to your application!
