FAQs OUS | OUS Royal Academy - Switzerland

2. Triple award vs. Triple accreditation?

OUS offers a TRIPLE AWARD, which means you get one diploma from 3 European Universities, all are leading and top ranked European Universities, one university is Private, the other is State Recognized and the 3rd is a Public University. The student will benefit from all 3 universities with all their accreditations and ranking.

Triple accreditation is usually used marketing term by business schools having 3 private unrecognised accreditation bodies. You get 1 diploma from 1 school which has 3 private unrecognised accreditation bodies.

Therefore, at OUS we decided not to apply for the so-called triple accreditation bodies because the Joint Diploma between 3 universities has a higher value.

As well OUS is Accredited by:

ASIC (Institutional Accreditation) 

EFMD - EOCCS (Certified Online System)

ISO (Management System)

3. Is OUS officially registered in Switzerland? 

Yes, we are officially registered in Switzerland (commercial registration number CH-170.4.012.134-9.). Additionally, OUS is a Premier Accredited University by Accreditation Service for International Colleges & Universities ASIC UK, which is a recognized accreditation by British Government (Home Office/UKVI), a member of the UK NARIC (UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre) Quality Standards Group, an affiliated accreditation body by ENQA - The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education Education and a member by CHEA - Council for Higher Education Accreditation in the USA, certified by EFMD Online Course Certification System (EOCCS).

4. Do you mention on the Diploma “Online program” or “Distance Learning”? 

No, we don’t mention or make any reference on diplomas or certificates of “distance“ and/or “online“ study programs.

5. What is the ranking of OUS. 

There is no official Academic Ranking in Switzerland, but

In 2017: Around 0.5 Million people voted for the stars of the year, and OUS won the Star of the year in Education in Switzerland, read more

In 2016: OUS is the winner of STUDENTS SATISFACTION AWARD WINNER 2016 evaluated by the Public University in Switzerland "Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)" and Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM). https://www.facebook.com/OUS/Education.Group/videos/746596162173701/ 

In 2014 present the Universities Handbook of Switzerland (The Largest Educational Portal in Switzerland) has ranked us one of the top distance learning University in Switzerland.

As well we work with top 500 Universities for joint/dual awards (QS Ranking)

6. How much time does it take me to finish the study program? 

It depends on you but all our study programs are designed to give you the possibility to finish within one academic year + thesis. However, you have the flexibility to work towards completion at your own speed.

• Bachelor's (3 - 4 years) 180-240 ECTS
• Master's (1 - 3 years) 60-120 ECTS
• Doctorate (2 - 8 years) EQF level 8

7. What is OUS study methodology? 

All our courses are conducted online. About 7 days before your courses start, we send you an email with all the information you need including the password to login to our online platform.
During each lecture, a qualified lecturer works with students for 5 Academic hours per day (Friday - Sunday).
After every lecture is finished, a copy of the lecture is uploaded to our portal to giving you access to lectures usually within 72 working hours. Simultaneously, if for any reason you are unable to attend a lecture, then you are able to download lecture and watch it at your leisure. We still, however, recommend you attend all your lectures.

For All levels OUS follow the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK) standard for the learning outcomes, for example, "Summarised Areas of Knowledge and Understanding for Master’s Level in Business and Management" (QAA 2007/QAA 2015)

8. Is there any Exams 

Yes, in the end of your academic program, you have exams (written and/or verbal exams). The final exam is highly recommended to be done in Switzerland on OUS Campus, however, and it can be done online via the OUS online platform.

MBA students will have as well 7 assignments before the final exam.

DBA students will have only verbal exams at the end of the academic program.

IMPORTANT: during the online exam, all students MUST have a camera, microphone, and passport so that we can see you are answering the questions.

9. what is the difference between DBA/MBA/BBA and Ph.D./MSc/BSc? 

Ph.D./MSc/BSc degrees are designed as Research awards and are purely academic degrees; therefore, it takes more time to earn this type of degrees.
With our DBA/MBA/BBA Diplomas you have the possibility to work full time during your education; therefore, our DBA/MBA/BBA Diplomas are designed for professionals who seeking to enhance their job skills.

10. What is the different between an online education and on-campus education? 

The content for all study programs is the same. All our lecturers have at least a Master related to the fields they are teaching.

11. Do I need any English Certificate? 

Yes, students from non-English speaking countries or students who did not study at an English speaking school in their previous study. However, if you do not have an English Certificate then our Admissions Officer will invite you for our own test.

12. What are the titles I am allowed to use after graduation? 

There is no law about the titles but most of our students use the following and we don’t take any responsibility regarding the titles:

For Bachelor: BBA (Hons.) ous.edu.eu / EBBA ous.edu.eu

For Master: M.Phil ous.edu.eu / EMBA ous.edu.eu / MBA ous.edu.eu

For Doctorate: Dr. / DBA ous.edu.eu / D.Phil ous.edu.eu and some of the students use Dr.can. (from Candidate) during their study at OUS.

Please note from country to country it may change the title.

13. When and where can I get my Diploma? 

we have 2 graduations in Switzerland each year (July and December) and we prepare diplomas only during the graduation parties, for example, if you finish your study program in March, you have to wait until July, if you finish your program in September, you have to wait until December in order to be able to get your diploma. Here is our graduation party Video https://www.facebook.com/OUS/Education.Group/videos/644898232343495/

14. How long do I have to wait for the Public Legalisations? 

OUS awards are issued two times per year, usually end of June and end of December. it takes up to 30 working days to have all graduation documents (diploma, transcript, etc) from the months mentioned before and up to 120-140 working days for legalizations within Switzerland.

15. Is OUS Accredited in the USA? 

The Joint Diploma having the logo of 2 European State/Public Universities (WSB/KNU), both universities are recognized all over the world. Additionally OUS is a European University accredited by European bodies, however, three European accreditations we have are on USA Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA IQG) website.

ASIC (Institutional Accreditation) http://www.chea.org/4DCGI/chea/intl/detail.html?Action=chea&chea_activity=intl_directory&country_w=United%20Kingdom 

EFMD - EOCCS (Certified Online System) http://www.chea.org/4DCGI/chea/intl/detail_qa.html?Action=chea&chea_activity=qa_directory&cid_w=4912 

As well OUS is Member and Candidate for Accreditation by ACBSP USA "Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs" which is on CHEA list too http://www.acbsp.org/?page=chea_recognition

16. Why are you not accredited by one of the Triple accreditation - AACSB - EFMD(EQUIS) - AMBA? 

OUS offers a Triple EUROPEAN AWARD which is far better than any triple accreditation, the triple European diploma means one certificate with 3 universities logo, mainly

1. University of Dąbrowa Górnicza (State University from Poland which is an EU Country)
2. Taras Shevchenko National University (Public University Est. 200 years ago, Ranked in top 500 universities worldwide)
3. And OUS Royal Academy of Economics and Technology in Switzerland

1 Diploma with 3 Universities Name/logo is much more advanced and respected than 1 diploma from a business school with triple accreditation.

OUS is an approved member by AACSB and Certified by EFMD - EOCCS however none of those reputable high quality accreditations are on ENQA Europe, CHEA USA or recognized by their government. Therefore, we decided not to apply for any of those accreditations.

17. I want to have state recognized diploma, can you offer me? 

Yes, we work with around 10 states recognized universities/schools all over the world for joint/dual award programs, click here to see more

18. Ph.D. Duration in Swiss State Universities only 2 years, why at OUS takes up to 8 years? 

According to State Universities official website in Switzerland "In economics, for example at the University of ...., the duration is only 2 years." however we follow the International Standard, there is a risk to have a Ph.D. in less than 3 years because most countries request 3 years Ph.D. in order to be considered as a Doctorate Degree.

19. I want to have a diploma from one of best 500 Universities worldwide, is it possible with OUS. 

We have signed an agreement for joint programs with Taras KNU University which is one of best 500 worldwide (TopUniversities/QS Ranking which is one of most popular worldwide).

20. What is 8.2% AQT tax 

It's a tax which every student must pay in order to keep improving our school, please don’t mix with VAT.

21. I am living in EU country and want a diploma from EU university, is it possible? 

Yes, we work with around 10 states recognized universities/schools including EU countries joint/dual award programs, click here to see more

22. To study with OUS do I have to accept the policy? 

Yes, by Applying to Study at OUS, the student agrees to accept our Policy which is legally reviewed by MME Legal Switzerland

23. Did any TV or newspaper speak about OUS. 

Yes, a huge number of journalists spoke and wrote about OUS including CNBC and top TVs, click here to see more.

24. Triple European Diploma? 

Yes, OUS is the first and only distance provider to be able to offer ONE DIPLOMA with THREE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES.

1. University of Dąbrowa Górnicza (State University from Poland which is an EU Country)
2. Taras Shevchenko National University (Public University Est. 200 years ago, Ranked in top 500 universities worldwide)
3. And OUS Royal Academy of Economics and Technology in Switzerland

25. Best 500 Universities vs. Best 500 Business Schools? 

During your study at OUS you will get a diploma jointly with KNU Taras University which is ranked in top 500 however there is another ranking for business school, the business schools are usually small schools most of them are unknown worldwide, therefore the Best Ranked 500 Universities are worldwide better than Best 500 Business Schools. When you apply for a job or further study, the top 500 are easier to be known.

27. I lost my password to access the OUS eCampus , how can I reset my password? 

It's very simple, please follow here: https://www.epvodi.com/index.php?option=com_users&view=reset&Itemid=101

28. I need to have a payment confirmation, is that possible?

Definitely yes! All our students can send a request asking for a payment confirmation via this page: Payment Confirmation

29. I have paid the fee in installments, can I have a Financial Statment in order to know how much is the remaining amount that I have to pay?

Yes, that's possible. Please send your request, via following page: The Financial Statement