Switzerland

The Swiss university sector is composed of ten universities, each regulated by and operating in one given Swiss canton, and two federal institutes of technology (in Zurich and Lausanne), which have specific statuses. The large majority of Swiss students are registered with the cantonal universities. Higher education in Switzerland also includes universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education. In 2011, a federal law was passed in relation to the funding and the coordination of the Swiss higher education sector. As a result, university associations were re-organised at a federal level, and political coordination was enhanced through the creation of an arena bringing together both the cantonal ministers and the federal minister responsible for higher education.

In Switzerland regulations governing the activities of universities stem from both the cantonal and the federal level, with the cantons as the primary organising authority and public funder. The federal institutes of technology are regulated at and financed by the federal level. Since each of the cantonal universities operates in a different canton, each of the ten institutions operates within a specific legal framework, making the overall picture highly diverse and challenging to cover at an aggregated level. Practices differ from one canton to the other. In addition, there is an ongoing broader ‘modernisation’ process whereby cantons review the legislation applying to higher education institutions, making the picture not only a complex, but also a developing one.

This profile focuses primarily on cantonal universities. Despite their diversity it is possible to outline frequent or common features, which have not significantly evolved since 2010.

Recent developments:

The Federal Act on the Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education Sector was passed in 2011 and implemented from 2015 onwards, including:

a new institutional accreditation system
financial provisions incentivising cooperation in the sector

Organisational autonomy: medium low

Despite variety in the system, the decision on the selection process of the executive head always has to be validated by an external authority and their term of office is set by law. Universities are usually able to decide on selection criteria and dismissal procedure. University boards/councils include only external members, whose appointment is confirmed by an external authority. Universities may decide on internal academic structures and may create non-for-profit legal entities.

Financial autonomy: medium high

Universities generally receive funding via annual block grants from the cantonal authorities without restrictions on internal allocation. Other financial restrictions vary significantly depending on the canton; close cooperation with the cantonal authorities is necessary to allocate any surplus or regarding real estate ownership. Borrowing is not directly accessible to universities. Universities and an external authority co-operate to set the level of tuition fees for all cycles.

Academic autonomy: medium high

Universities do not have the capacity to decide on overall student numbers nor to select students. However, they can introduce programmes without prior accreditation, choose the language of instruction and are free to select the quality assurance providers performing new mandatory institutional accreditation.

Staffing autonomy: high

Universities are able, broadly, to recruit senior academic and administrative staff, decide on their salaries and promote them autonomously, although there again cantonal specificities apply. While civil servant status has been essentially phased out, senior academic staff categories remain covered by particular regulations for dismissals.