Quality of Education

Introduction

SBS Swiss Business School must demonstrate to students, employers, transfer institutions, legislators, accrediting bodies, faculties, employees, and many other stakeholders that it is fulfilling its mission to promote student success and well-being through excellent educational programs, research and service delivery.

The SBS Quality of Education integrates strategic and annual planning and budgeting, assessment and evaluation, and utilization of resulting institutional knowledge for decision-making and continuous improvement of educational programs and services.

The purpose of the Swiss Business School’s Quality of Education is to assure the success of students with regards to their studies and academic acumen, as well as to facilitate their future career development. Furthermore, it serves to enhance the institution’s sustainability and academic regimen, as well as increase the international research contributions and ranking. This process is facilitated by a systematic quality cycle, focusing primarily on continuous improvement and institutional governance, as well as on internal and external moderation and examination. At SBS Swiss Business School, the Quality of Education will focus specifically on the following:

Assessment: Assure completion of the four steps of the quality cycle; plan, do, check, act.
Accreditation: Assure fulfillment of all required criteria to maintain accreditation and quality standards.
Accountability: Assure that all key performance indicators and objectives are achieved

The Foundations of Quality of Education

Based upon ENQA (www.enqa.eu) we define Quality of Education as follows:

SBS Mission

“SBS Swiss Business School is dedicated to foster academic excellence and student achievement on all educational levels in business management. Its mission, therefore, is to provide students with a strong academic foundation using an andragogical learning philosophy to develop problem-solving skills and, with access to various specialized knowledge bases, to prepare them to become productive, competent professionals and responsible citizens in a diverse, dynamic global environment”.

Utilizing the SBS Mission as a guideline, the SBS Quality of Education Board and the Faculty and Academic Board will work to maintain and continuously improve each facet of the mission through varying measures, including surveys, questionnaires, exams, and reports (s. chapter 7).

SBS Vision

“By the end of 2024, SBS will be a recognized business school that advances and applies knowledge, provides excellence in life-long learning opportunities for students and for the sustainable and booming Zurich Airport region, Switzerland and the rest of the world.”

The SBS Vision illustrates the need for the institution to be recognized and certified by varying accreditation bodies. The institution strives to maintain accreditation quality through organizations such as the AAQ, BAC, ACBSP, IACBE, and eduQua. This process is driven by the utilization of varying tools, such as self-assessment reports, student reports, alumni and faculty feedback and surveys, and questionnaires (s. chapter 7).

SBS Accreditation

SBS Swiss Business School is incorporated in Canton Zurich, Switzerland. The independent higher learning institution is nationally certified and institutional accredited. Our educational programs are internationally double-accredited by the following professional accreditation bodies:

Learn More

SBS Quality Education Principles

Responsibility

The quality assurance processes are designed to recognize the shared responsibility for the setting and maintenance of the academic and research standards. They recognize the broad involvement of the academic staff, students, researchers and other SBS stakeholders.

Accountability

Whilst there is a shared responsibility for academic quality standards and quality enhancement, the responsibilities of individual roles and functions are clearly stated.

Proportionality

Quality assurance processes are designed to be proportionate to the risk related to the activity at hand; especially with regards to collaborative provision. Documentation requirements seek to ensure that students and other SBS stakeholders have access to clear and accurate information about study programs, and provides clarity to the SBS partners with respect to the continuous maintenance of academic standards.

Communication

Quality processes are clearly communicated to staff and students with good practices being identified and shared across SBS to aid quality enhancement. The quality assurance framework is based on peer review and should involve a constructive dialogue between all those involved in the process.

SBS Organizational Structure

All stakeholders are involved in the Quality of Education through the different connections in the organization chart. Quality of Education is entirely the responsibility and property of SBS Swiss Business School. At each level, ambitions are articulated, goals are identified, processes are established and assessments are made as to where improvements are needed:

We are audited regularly by the following accreditation bodies:

We gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data and distribute the information about improvements to all stakeholders. Academic Self-Assessment Reports of all the SBS Swiss Business Schools based on these data are submitted annually and reviewed by internal and external audits. The correspondent audit reports contain conditions and recommendations, if applicable, which we implement to develop the SBS Swiss Business School’s Strategic Plan for Quality of Education and student success. You can find more information under Accreditation.

Dr. Günther Singer, MBA

Head of Faculty and Quality Education

More Details