Developments

The 1999 revision of the Federal Constitution extended the responsibility of the Confederation in the fields of health, social work and art. In 2005, the scope of the Federal Law on Universities of Applied Sciences was extended to include these areas, which were previously the responsibility of the cantons. The partially revised Federal Law on Universities of Applied Sciences provided the legal basis for a 2-tier study system with Bachelor's and Master's degrees. The coordinated introduction of Bachelor courses began in 2005 and has made considerable progress. The previous degree courses at universities of applied sciences, which mostly lasted 3 years, have been replaced by Bachelor courses. As of autumn 2008, the universities of applied sciences can offer Master courses (in some fields, this started even earlier). The Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) has approved around 88 Master courses at universities of applied sciences, although the Master courses offered are to remain limited.

Furthermore, the revised Federal Law on Universities of Applied Sciences has anchored a system of accreditation and quality assurance within the UAS domain. The new accreditation system is oriented toward national and international quality standards.

Higher education landscape

According to the new university article in the Federal Constitution (Article 63a), as of 2012 the entire higher education landscape (cantonal universities and Federal Institutes of Technology, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education) is to be governed jointly by the Confederation and the cantons, which will also entail changes for the universities of applied sciences.