Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court has rejected an appeal by STH Basel, a private Protestant theological university, against the loss of its accreditation as a university-level institution, the Swiss evangelical news portal Livenet.ch reported.
The ruling, dated Sept. 7, leaves in place a June 2025 decision by the Swiss Accreditation Council to revoke the school's accreditation without a grace period. STH Basel has until Oct. 12 to take the case to the Federal Supreme Court.
The Immanuel Foundation, which sponsors the school, had argued during the appeal that losing accreditation would put STH Basel's existence in question and cause enrollment to fall sharply. The school says it will keep teaching and awarding degrees regardless of the outcome.
In a statement posted on its website Sept. 18, STH Basel's academic senate and the presidents of its foundation board and university council confirmed that the appeal had been dismissed.
"Regardless of this, teaching and research will continue at the well-known and recognized high level of quality," the statement said. It added that the school's right to award titles for its degrees is not tied to accreditation.
The statement did not say whether the school intends to appeal.
Conditions not met, council ruled
STH Basel, based in Riehen on the outskirts of Basel, received institutional accreditation in 2022 for a term running to 2029. That decision came with conditions and a deadline for meeting them.
According to the school, it addressed the conditions and considered them fulfilled. The agency that reviewed its compliance still found shortcomings but recommended that the council give the school more time. The council instead ordered the accreditation withdrawn outright.
Livenet reported that the council identified "significant" deficiencies in four of the nine conditions. These involved the school's quality assurance system, its use of data in strategic decisions, equality and diversity, and the evaluation of teaching and research. The reviewing agency had proposed a six-month extension, according to the report.
In dismissing the appeal, the court found that the public interest in safeguarding accreditation as a "seal of quality" outweighed the school's interest in keeping it. The withdrawal was therefore "reasonable," the court said.
The foundation had told the court that several of the criticized points could be fixed or had already been corrected.
Theology not under review
STH Basel says on its website that accreditation does not assess the theological content of its lectures, which it argues would conflict with academic freedom. The review instead examines whether research and teaching are carried out in a manner befitting a university, according to the school.
Livenet concluded in its report that the school lost its accreditation over administrative and structural shortcomings, not the quality of its theological teaching.
The school has operated since 1970. In 2014, the Swiss University Conference recognized it as a university-level institution and accredited its theology degree programs.
A year later, Reformed church bodies in Switzerland recognized STH Basel degrees, easing graduates' path into pastoral ministry.
Besides a further appeal, the school may also submit a new application for accreditation, Livenet reported.
