Editorial standards
Methodology
2026 edition. Next refresh March 2027.
Ranking weights
Every ranked page renders these weights in a summary box. Full definitions below.
| Factor | Weight |
|---|---|
Verified accreditation status Institutional or programmatic accreditation confirmed against the accreditor's own directory (NECHE, ACPHA, THE-ICE, EduQua, Swiss HEdA, HES-SO, AACSB, EQUIS, TEQSA, OfS, NVAO). Self-claimed accreditations are never counted. | 20% |
Published employment outcomes Graduate employment or continued-study rate published by the school with a stated definition (timeframe, population, whether further study is included). Schools that do not publish an outcome are scored on other factors and flagged; they are never imputed a number. | 25% |
Industry immersion (built-in internship months) Months of paid or credit-bearing industry placement built into the degree, as stated on the school's program page. | 15% |
International footprint Number of campuses and share of international students, as published by the school. | 10% |
Program depth in the specialty Number of qualifying programs in the specialty, degree levels offered, and range of concentrations. | 15% |
Affordability vs peer group Total published program cost in native currency, compared to the median of schools in the same specialty and region. Includes bundled housing and meals where the school explicitly states them. | 15% |
Data sources
- Official school fee, admissions, and program pages (primary source for tuition, intakes, entry requirements).
- Accreditor directories: NECHE, ACPHA, THE-ICE, EduQua, Swiss HEdA, HES-SO, AACSB, EQUIS, TEQSA, OfS, NVAO.
- National statistics offices (BLS OEWS in the US; national equivalents elsewhere) for salary data.
- School-published outcome reports (employment rate, starting salary) with the school's own definition preserved.
Every numeric cell in our dataset carries a source URL and a retrieval date. See the data page for downloadable CSVs.
Suppression rules
Where a school does not publish a metric, we show a dash and score on available factors. We do not impute, estimate, or convert values. Where a school does not publish an acceptance rate because admission is interview-based or portfolio-based, we state that explicitly instead of showing a percentage.
Refresh calendar
- Tuition and program data: annual refresh in Q1 of each year.
- FX rates for USD conversion: refreshed at each publish; retrieval date shown inline.
- Salary data: annually, after BLS OEWS May release and equivalent national releases.
- Accreditation status: annually, and immediately on any known change.
Disclosures
Swiss Education Group brands (SHMS, César Ritz Colleges, Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, HIM Hotel Institute Montreux) are a client of SEOVisible, which operates Hospitality.degree. Their scores are fully formula-driven and reviewed by an editor who is not on the SEOVisible account team. This disclosure is repeated on every ranking page where a Swiss Education Group school appears.
Sponsored placements are visually distinct, disclosed inline, and never appear inside a ranking table. See the editorial team and corrections policy.
Changelog
July 2026 edition: initial dataset published. Refresh log will appear here from Q1 2027.