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The University of Basel has Been Successfully Accredited
The Swiss Accreditation Council has institutionally accredited the University of Basel with no conditions. The auditors responsible for the assessment rated the university as outstanding, mentioning a palpable “team spirit” within a “cooperative working environment”.
30 September 2022
For the first time, the University of Basel has been evaluated as part of an exhaustive accreditation process – and the result is now in. “The rating of ‘outstanding’ is the result of a comprehensive review,” says President Andrea Schenker-Wicki, “and the members of the University of Basel have passed this examination together.”
The accreditation procedure began in 2019 and was carried out by the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ). In preparation for this process, the university – with the involvement of the Quality Committee of the Senate – had already begun to refine its quality assurance and quality development processes in the areas of research, teaching and services. By the start of 2022, the university had authored a comprehensive self-assessment report. In April, an international group of auditors conducted an on-site visit.
Accreditation decision
In their assessment, the auditors rated the University of Basel as outstanding. They certify that the university has achieved impressive success in advancing its system of quality assurance and development and initiating a genuine culture change: “The University of Basel’s team spirit is palpable and contributes substantially to a cooperative working environment and a highly developed ability to overcome new challenges,” the auditors say.
On 23 September, based on the university’s self-assessment report, the auditors’ report and the university’s statement on the latter, the Swiss Accreditation Council (SAR) decided to institutionally accredit the University of Basel. The accreditation was granted without conditions and is valid until 2029. The definitive report from the accreditation will be published in October 2022.
Under the Swiss Higher Education Act (HEdA), successful accreditation is a prerequisite for the right to use the designation “university” and for access to federal and intercantonal subsidies. It also makes it easier for the University of Basel’s researchers, teachers and students to achieve international recognition.
