The Federal Act on the Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education Sector (Higher Education Funding and Coordination, HEdA) has come into force on the 1st of January 2015. This act provides the basis for swissuniversities, the new Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities.

swissuniversities was jointly founded in autumn 2012 by the academic universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education in Switzerland , paving the way for the merger of the rectors' conferences CRUS, KFH and COHEP. The aim is to strengthen and enhance the collaboration among Swiss institutions of higher education, to perform coordination tasks and to promote a common voice on educational issues in Switzerland. At the international level, swissuniversities acts as the national rectors' conference for all academic universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education in Switzerland. The rectors of the three individual types of higher education institutions meet in three chambers and in a common plenary assembly.  

The rectors' conference has the following duties and responsibilities: It issues statements related to the affairs of the Swiss Conference of Higher Education Institutions and submits requests to it on behalf of the universities. In addition, it represents the interests of the Swiss universities on the national and international levels. It can take on mandates from the federal government as well as programme and project management. Furthermore, the rectors' conference maintains an information center for the academic recognition of the equivalence of domestic and foreign university diplomas (Swiss ENIC). The rectors' conference performs its duties at the plenary assembly, on the basis of delegation resolutions within the three chambers or through delegations or delegates.

The newly designed website www.swissuniversities.ch shows the diversity of activities of swissuniversities and its Secretariat General. There you can find information about the newly created chambers.