Indian students seeking admission in Hotel Management Schools in Switzerland may please note the following:

The Swiss hotel school landscape is much diversified. You will find world leading institutions and poor teaching schools with barely any international recognition for their awarded degrees.

·   Therefore it is absolutely essential that the student should verify the accreditation the hotel schools have. The hotel schools can be accredited by the Swiss authorities through the Universities of Applied Sciences system (which is the case for Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) or through different private institutions, but amongst which the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) is the main international accreditation institution.

Furthermore, some hotel schools have formed an association named Swiss Hotel schools Association [ASEH] but a majority of Swiss Hotel schools are not members of the ASEH. ASEH has fixed certain academic, professional and ethical standards for its members. This may also be considered a source of information before you choose your school of study.

Indian students should visit the websites of ASEH, NEASC or Universities of applied sciences:(called “Hautes écoles spécialisées” or “Fachhochschule” in Switzerland) which provide full information on their accreditation before seeking admission. The website for the Swiss Government agency , OFFT, which authorizes the Universities of Applied Sciences  is:

http://www.bbt.admin.ch/themen/hochschulen/00215/00232/index.html?lang=fr  

All Swiss schools of Hotel Management are in the private sector and Swiss authorities have no control over them in case of any dispute over terms, conditions and facilities offered by the schools.

Direct admission may be sought in a school. Avoid going to education advisers/coordinators/counselors appointed by the schools who are basically commission agents. 

Refund of fees or change in course or change of school is an extremely difficult task.

Medium of instruction in most of the schools is either German or French and only a very few schools offer courses in English.

Some schools assist in Mid-Study Training [MST] in hotels and restaurants. However, in a number of cases, students had to arrange MST by themselves which is difficult.

·   Students are required to leave Switzerland immediately on completion of their courses and Student Visa is not converted automatically into Work Visa.

·   Job prospects or placement in Switzerland after acquiring diploma/degree awarded even by the member schools of ASEH are quite bleak.

·   In case of any dispute between a school and a student, school does not entertain Embassy’s intervention and the Swiss legal measures are both time-consuming and very expensive.

·   Students from India must take great care in seeking admission to courses offered by the schools in Switzerland to avoid disappointment and total waste of money spent.