Swiss Court Upholds Revocation of STH Basel Accreditation

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has dismissed an appeal by STH Basel, a private Protestant theological university, regarding the loss of its institutional accreditation. The ruling, issued on September 7, 2026, supports a June 2025 decision by the Swiss Accreditation Council to revoke the school's status without a grace period. The council cited significant deficiencies in four areas, including quality assurance, strategic data usage, diversity, and evaluation processes.

While the school’s sponsor, the Immanuel Foundation, argued that the loss of accreditation threatens the institution's future and enrollment, STH Basel leadership maintains that operations will continue. In a statement, the university’s academic senate asserted that teaching and research will persist at a high level and noted that the school’s authority to award degrees is not legally dependent on this specific accreditation. The university has until October 12 to decide whether to escalate the case to the Federal Supreme Court.