Legal Action

The decisions of the Student Services (Student Administration Office and Admissions Office) can be found in the application portal and the student portal. If an application (e.g. application for admission to degree program, application for change of study program, etc.) is not fully approved, you will find an instruction on legal remedies in the decision, which informs you about the correct legal action including deadlines. Some decisions can be appealed to the Students Services others can be appealed directly to the Appeals Commission of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions.

The appeal to the Students Services can be submitted in writing by letter or as a PDF attachment in German or English by e-mail (rechtsstelle@ad.uzh.ch). The appeal must meet the following requirements:

• The appeal must be lodged in form of a letter with date, adress and a handwritten signature.
• The appeal must contain one or more clearly worded petitions in which you explain what you are requesting (e.g. "admission to degree program XY", "exemption of additional requirement and/or condition XY" etc.).
• A copy of the contested decision must be enclosed (e.g. admission decision, list of additional requirements and/or conditions, etc.) or precisely designated.

You are free to submit documents that may be appropriate to support your petition(s) (e.g. diplomas, detailed course descriptions, transcripts of records, etc.).

After receipt of the appeal you will receive a confirmation of receipt. Appeals not submitted within the deadline will not be considered.

The procedure will be conducted in writing. You will receive the decision by registered mail to the correspondence address as provided in the application portal or student portal, or by e-mail if you have submitted the appeal by e-mail. According to applicable cantonal provisions decisions are written in German. A translation of the key decision points may be provided by the Legal Advisory on request.

For the comprehensive examination of your appeal as well as the issuing of the decision, a period of 30 to 60 days should generally be expected.

Proceedings before the Appeals Commission of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions are conducted in German only, and parties to proceedings who are domiciled abroad must indicate a delivery address or a representative in Switzerland. Appeals by e-mail are not admissible. According to applicable cantonal provisions decisions are written in German. Inquiries concerning the appeal procedure should be addressed directly to the Appeals Commission. Please consider the important information of the Appeals Commission:

Appeals Commission of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions