Nutrition and dietetics: First study program accredited according to GesBG

As the first university of applied sciences in Switzerland, the Distance Learning University of Applied Sciences Switzerland FFHS receives the accreditation of the Higher Education Promotion and Coordination Act (HFKG) and the Health Professions Act (GesBG) for the Bachelor's degree program in Nutrition and Dietetics in July. With the accreditation, the Swiss Accreditation Council confirms, at the request of the Swiss Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ), that graduates of the program achieve the required competencies according to the specifications and are qualified to practice in the diverse professional field of nutrition counseling. The Nutrition and Dietetics degree program has been conducted with two classes each year since fall 2015 and is the first bachelor's degree program toward a regulated health profession offered by the FFHS Department of Health. The accreditation is valid for the study program until 2029, a first review in terms of quality assurance will be carried out by AAQ in 2023.

As the Swiss agency for accreditation and quality assurance, AAQ carries out institutional accreditations at universities on the one hand and accreditations for medical education and training on the other. According to the GesBG, seven categories of health professions are subject to accreditation. This also includes the profession of nutritionist and thus the course of study "Bachelor of Science SUPSI Nutrition & Dietetics". In short, the GesBG requires graduates of the Nutrition and Dietetics degree program to be able to provide professional advice, guidance and care to individuals of all ages in various contexts (institutional, private practice, home).

The program accreditation by AAQ started at the beginning of 2020 with preparatory work and surveys and took place over several stages. In spring 2021, AAQ granted institutional accreditation to FFHS as an affiliated school of SUPSI. This was the prerequisite for fulfilling the further accreditation requirements according to GesBG for the study program Nutrition and Dietetics. A self-evaluation report, including a statement on each quality standard, provided the basis for the external evaluation in November 2021, which took place in an online visit together with representative groups of students, lecturers, staff and practical trainers of the study program. The international group of experts then wrote a report that listed the strengths and development potential of the program and awarded accreditation with a single condition and a few recommendations for further development.

Source: FFHS