The AAQ is the Swiss Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance. It is under the authority of the Swiss Accreditation Council. The AAQ carries out institutional accreditation procedures in Swiss higher education institutions in accordance with the Federal Act on Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education Sector (HEdA). Furthermore, the Swiss law on medical and psychology professions assigns to the AAQ the role of accreditation body for training and advanced training in medicine and for advanced training in psychotherapy. The AAQ has an international network and is entitled to conduct procedures in Germany and Austria. International evaluations are also carried out in some specific cases. The AAQ acts as an external partner to help higher education institutions design their quality assurance systems, thus contributing to the development of a culture of quality.