Project Accreditation 2022

The project "Accreditation 2022" was in charge of conducting the process of the first institutional accreditation of the University of Zurich. In addition to successful accreditation, the process also aimed at critically reflecting on and optimizing the system of quality development already in place at UZH. The focus was on the integration of closed quality cycles and the development of a university quality culture.

At UZH, the overriding goal in all our activities is outstanding quality. We strive for a university-wide quality culture that is underpinned by evidence-based quality development and complete quality-management cycles.

The accreditation of UZH was carried out by the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance. The preliminary visit took place on 16 March 2021; the on-site visit by external experts was scheduled for 20 to 22 April 2021.

Since 2015, the Swiss higher education sector has been undergoing extensive reorganization. Among other things, the Swiss Higher Education Act (HEdA) now requires all Swiss higher education institutions to complete an institutional accreditation procedure. Successful accreditation is a prerequisite for higher education institutions to continue using the designations «university», «university of applied sciences» and «university of teacher education», and receiving federal funding.

The purpose of institutional accreditation is to examine the quality assurance systems of higher education institutions. The procedure involves self-assessment as well as a detailed report by external experts on the following issues: Quality assurance strategy; Governance; Teaching, research and services; Resources; Internal and external communication.

The Swiss Accreditation Council (SAR) stipulates that all higher education institutions must be accredited by the end of 2022 at the latest. The procedure is expected to take 18 to 24 months; accreditation must be renewed every seven years.