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6047 Kastanienbaum
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Choosing a School
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A SWISS HOTEL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL Deciding which School to study in will be one of the most important decisions you take and should therefore be well informed. You may wish to consider the following factors when making enquiries of individual schools. 1. Does the school have proper academic partners supporting its courses? Many Swiss hotel schools award their own diplomas and degrees. Although a school may be accredited by an educational quality assurance organization, this does not always mean its qualifications are accredited. While there are many such reputable organizations, a great many undertake accreditation in return for payment. In general, only schools that award degrees accredited by the Swiss Federal Authorities or a partner university in Switzerland or elsewhere will ensure that your final qualifications are internationally recognized. The best schools will generally award degrees of a university that is ONLY interested in the quality of its awards. 2. Does the school have independent academic scrutiny? Ask those schools to which you wish to apply for the names of independent external examiners who review all coursework and examinations. External examiners are an important guarantee that you will be treated fairly and of the quality of your qualification - be suspicious of schools which do not employ such independent assessors. 3. Is the school's faculty/academic staff appropriately qualified? Look on the web pages of almost any Swiss hotel school and they will tell you that they employ only the best faculty/academic staff. Ask the schools in which you are interested for a full list of faculty and their academic qualifications, and information as to whether they are full-time or part-time lecturers. As a guideline, the majority of full-time faculty/academic staff should possess at least a Master's degree and all staff should have at least a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent. 4. Does the school have enough teaching staff to support students in their learning? Ask for information on the staff-student ratio of the schools in which you are interested. A staff-student ratio shows how many full-time equivalent staff there are relative to the number of students. Lower staff-student ratios are generally a better guarantee that you will get the attention and support you need in your studies. As a guideline, for a quality education the number of students per member of staff should not exceed one member of staff for every 15-20 students. 5. Are the school's internships managed properly? Establish whether there is a full-time internship manager for the schools in which you are interested and ask for a list of recent internships. The internship is an important part of your course and a reputable school will have a full-time manager dedicated to supporting you throughout your internship. 6. Does the school have appropriate learning and teaching facilities? Ask for detailed information about the number of classrooms, the equipment available in classrooms, the computer facilities offered by the school and the quality of the school's library. The library is particularly important for your studies - as a guideline, every library should have on-line access to a journal/magazine database, computers for research purposes, hard copy subscriptions to the 20 or so leading journals in hospitality and/or tourism and a ratio of books to students of at least 25:1. 7. Does the School have a varied social program? The School should have reasonable recreational facilities on site or access to such facilities close at hand. It should also run a community events program for the benefit of its students. However, recreational and social programs should not be emphasized at the expense of the learning experience and facilities. 8. Is the school financially secure? When you have identified schools to which you might like to apply, ask them for a written statement from their independent and legally appointed auditors guaranteeing the financial security of the school. Registering with a school that has financial difficulties and/or may go out of business will be an unpleasant experience for you. 9. Does the school have appropriate endorsements? Obtain information on the range of visiting lecturers employed by schools - a good quality school will attract the very best international visiting faculty, an important endorsement. This is true also for endorsements from industry partners and, of course, alumni. No reputable school will have any difficulty in supplying you quickly and courteously with the above information. Good luck with your application!
©2008 IMI-Switzerland
