Switzerland has been a Governmental Member of EQAR since 2009.
Focus of external quality assurance
Institutional accreditation (mandatory);
Programme accreditation (mandatory for medicine and psychology only, otherwise voluntary).
Can higher education institutions choose a suitable EQAR-registered agency?
Yes, under certain conditions:
Eligibility requirements for foreign agencies: The agency will have to make an application to the Swiss Accreditation Council to prove it fulfills the necessary conditions (see below) and to also agree to the Fee Regulations of the Accreditation Council.
Conditions for the agencies’ work (e.g. criteria to be used): to align its accreditation procedures with the HEdA Accreditation Guidelines or alternatively to use the Accreditation Guide of AAQ.
Recognition of reviews carried out by foreign agencies: the final accreditation decision is taken by the Swiss Accreditation Council.
Countries recognising EQAR-registered agencies as part of the national requirements for external QA
Countries recognising foreign agencies based on their own, specific framework or requirements
Countries not open to external QA evaluation by a foreign QA agency
1 All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, on this site shall be understood in full compliance with United Nation’s Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.