International accreditation of our high educational quality
Universities of Applied Sciences have to set up their own quality management system for performance and quality assurance. Every 7 years, an external audit is carried out to check whether the university's quality management system fulfils the legal requirements. The aim is also to use the results of the audit to further improve the system. The audit examines the quality of all performance processes (quality strategy, structures and procedures of quality assurance in studies and teaching, research and development, organisation and administration as well as in personnel and courses for further education, the integration of internationalisation and social objectives as well as the information system and participation of interest groups). The audit was carried out by the Evaluation Agency Baden-Württemberg (EVALAG).
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences deliberately opted for a development-oriented audit in order to explicitly include changes from the organisational process launched in 2020 in the audit. Now that the process has been completed, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences is delighted to have received a positive report without any conditions. The international team of experts came to the conclusion that the organisational development process launched by FH Salzburg in 2020 was ‘carried out prudently and with the best possible participatory involvement of all stakeholders’. The experts were also able to convince themselves that the FH Salzburg ‘has created suitable processes and structures for quality assurance in administration and uses sensible instruments.’ It is also particularly pleasing that the experts perceived an open and informal atmosphere between students, teaching staff and the administration during the on-site assessment. Recommendations that were made will be incorporated into the university's continuous improvement processes and quality management.
Based on the positive assessment, the EVALAG Accreditation Commission decided to certify the quality management system on 23 September 2024.
"Family-Friendly University" Certificate
The "universityandfamily" standard is a State seal of approval developed by the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth (now Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy) which specifically audits the compatibility of professional opportunities and family requirements in universities.
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences offers a family-friendly working and learning environment to students as well as employees and acquired this certificate for the first time in 2013. Within the framework of the audit, existing measures were evaluated as well as new approaches and strategies developed. The central family-friendly focus at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences is particularly on the children of students and staff, while as a result of demographic changes the care of close family members is also gaining importance.
Good compatibility of studies, research or teaching with family needs has been confirmed by the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth with the awarding of this "universityandfamily” State seal of approval and was re-approved in 2016 and again in 2022.
For students and employees
For students there is a wealth of information on offers to combine studying with child-care, and in 2013 appropriate considerations in the examination regulations were newly developed (e.g. recognition of a child’s illness as a reason for non-attendance). On top of this, all students benefit from sympathetic understanding and binding agreements suited to their individual needs to make studying compatible with family life.
For employees, the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) offers flexible working time models, excellent maternity leave management, seminars and ongoing internal communication on the topic of work-life balance. The Hilfswerk Salzburg runs the KinderVilla Urstein (childcare facility, from the age of 1) at the SUAS Urstein location.
Compatibility of family and teaching, career or studies is completely consistent with the values of Salzburg University of Applied Sciences– social competence, avant-garde, performance and future. – These considerations contribute to the increased motivation and willingness to perform and therefore are an integral part of the overall success of our institution.
Seal of Approval for Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)
Since 2015, the FH Salzburg has been awarded the ‘Seal of Quality for Workplace Health Promotion (BGF)’. The seal of approval is the highest Austrian award for exemplary and, above all, sustainable investment in the health of employees. The award was preceded by two and a half years in which the FH Salzburg initiated comprehensive and sustainable measures with the ‘Fit4Future’ project.
The seal of quality is an award of the "Austrian Network for Workplace Health Promotion" and is supported by the Healthy Austria Fund. The criteria for the award are based on the quality criteria of the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion. The companies submit an application, the members and partners of the Austrian Network as well as an international advisory board decide on the actual recognition. The seal of quality is awarded for three years at a time, a new application is possible at any time.
In 2024, the certification was extended for another three years.
Diversity Management: ZukunftVIELFALT
First certification 2016
On 3 November 2016, FH Salzburg was the first university in Austria to be awarded the ZukunftVIELFALT® diversity certificate. Since October 2015, the FH Salzburg has dealt with diversity management in a structured way and defined measures that will be worked on until 2019. The entire process was audited by TÜV AUSTRIA CERT on the basis of ÖNORM S2501 (guidelines for diversity management) and the recommendation for certification was made.
For this commitment, the FH Salzburg received the ZukunftVIELFALT® certification. Both staff and students were involved in the development and auditing of the process by TÜV Austria.
Re-certification in 2019 and 2022
In 2019 and 2022, the FH Salzburg successfully completed the re-certification for the diversity management process ZukunftVIELFALT®. The process was again audited by TÜV AUSTRIA CERT on the basis of ÖNORM S2501 (Guidelines for Diversity Management). As part of the re-certification, a separate workshop on the topic of teaching took place, in which measures were developed in small groups to take diversity into account in didactics, in the curriculum or in the organisation of studies in the future. Further measures that were decided upon in the course of the re-certification are, for example: The development of a process for dealing with mobbing and discrimination, gender and diversity events, and measures for gender and diversity-appropriate teaching.