Institutional Accreditation to USI

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Institutional Communication Service

9 May 2022

After embarking on the institutional accreditation process, between 2020 and 2021, USI was granted a renewal of this official recognition. The independent process was guided by the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ), which regularly examines Swiss universities' internal quality assurance system.

Institutional accreditation is a prerequisite for schools of higher education to use the name "university" and indispensable for obtaining federal and inter-cantonal subsidies. As highlighted during the 26th Dies academicus, the renewal of accreditation is further proof that USI is fully integrated into the Swiss academic system, one of the best in the world.

The procedure consisted mainly of two stages: first, the university wrote a self-evaluation report based on the criteria defined in the federal law; then, a group of external experts visited the premises and, based on the self-evaluation report, interviewed various members of the community and drew up the final report for the Swiss Accreditation Council. More than 60 representatives from all parts of the university - students, academic staff and employees - took part in this participatory procedure.

The system of quality assessment at USI (described in detail in the Self-Evaluation Report) is managed by the Quality Service. It is divided between various bodies and can be summarised in two keywords: "processes", i.e. the basis that formally describes the actions of the organisation, and "Senate", i.e. the place where - thanks to the Quality Commission - the processes are examined and where proposals are drawn up for possible improvements.