CAS Board of Directors
Become a Certified Board Member
Overview CAS Board of Directors
Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Board of Directors
Certified Board Member
Summer | Fall
Spring
University of Bern
Five blocks of 2.5 days each
Kick off
10 months
May 31, 2023 (Summer)
October 15, 2023 (Fall)
January 31, 2024 (Spring)
10
German
CHF 14,800
Switzerland's first Board of Directors program with a university degree
Why choose the CAS Board of Directors of Rochester-Bern?
Learn more about the program: Our students explain, what they value about the study and how it has moved them forward.
Your Benefits
Course with University Certificate
Rochester-Bern set new standards in 2016 as Switzerland's first continuing education course for BoD members with a university certificate. Upon successful completion, participants receive both a CAS Board of Directors from the University of Bern and the Certified Board Member qualification from Rochester-Bern. Hundreds of BoD members already hold these titles.
Practical and Applied Approach
Three elements characterize the program: Lecturers from the Rochester-Bern network teach the theoretical bases and lead applied sessions. Experienced individuals encourage the participants to exchange ideas and self-reflect. Practical knowledge transfer tasks ensure that you can apply what you learned directly to your own situation.
Specific Focus on Swiss SMEs
Switzerland is a country of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of the economy. The course focuses specifically on the needs and challenges of BoDs in SMEs. In addition to the typical tasks of BoDs, overarching topics such as succession, digital transformation or sustainability are repeatedly addressed.
Top-class Advisory Board
An advisory board whose members are experienced board of directors from various industries helps to define the focus and assure the quality for further developing the program. Careful selection of individual advisory board members ensures applied knowledge transfer across industries and anchors the program in the Swiss corporate landscape.
Study Modules
The module addresses the legal and corporate rights and duties of board members as well as the essential control parameters for successful board of director activity.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Master the elements of good corporate governance
- Appoint steering committees (board of directors, executive board)
- Implement and manage contemporary risk management
The module teaches you how a board of directors defines its strategic direction to ensure consistency and keep the company agile.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Know the elements and methods of strategy development
- Ensure sustainable competitiveness
- Turn the owner’s strategy, vision and mission into measurable, lived principles
The module addresses the key elements for the successful financial management of the company by the board of directors.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Understand the benefits of systematic financial analysis
- Know the instruments in the financial cockpit of the board of directors, the basics of financial planning and tax effects
- Evaluate investment projects and financing methods
The module addresses how a board of directors can manage the company’s HR strategy to ensure long-term success in an agile environment.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Select and appoint qualified and able members to an executive board and a board of directors
- Establish effective competency portfolios, compensation models and succession plans
- Attract, develop and retain skilled employees also from younger generations
The module addresses the role of the board of directors in terms of innovation, digital transformation and change, which have a significant effect on the future development of the company.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Know innovation sources, methods and processes
- Understand the responsibility of the board of directors in the digital transformation
- Influence the ability of the company to change
Optionally, you can attend a three-day module that prepares you for the special challenges of serving on a foundation board.
Switzerland is home to a diverse foundation landscape. The demands on foundation boards are constantly increasing, and the need to professionalize the highest body is growing. In the seminar, you will acquire the tools you need for participating competently in the foundation board. Participants of the CAS – Board of Directors who attend the seminar receive an extended certificate from Rochester-Bern.
Specialization Module for Foundation Boards
The seminar for Foundation Boards provides the theoretical and practical tools for professional action in a challenging environment.
Learning Objectives (selection)
- Know the best practices in foundation governance
- Understand the basics of foundation formation and the legal framework
- Conduct effective fundraising and analyze the impact of foundation funds
Program Details
With the CAS Board of Directors, you can professionalize your board activities. You will benefit from exchanging ideas with directors in other industries and deepen your practical and theoretical knowledge.
This university-based continuing education program focuses on the Swiss SME landscape and ensures knowledge transfer for long-term success.
The course starting in August is fully booked. There is a waiting list. Please note that courses and dates can be subjects to change.
The performance assessments are an important part of the practical learning in the program. Following each module, you independently solve a practice-relevant knowledge transfer task in which you apply the knowledge you have acquired to your work on the board of directors or foundation board. Thus, the company benefits directly from your participation in the course.
The course is aimed at active members of the boards of directors and foundation boards. Individuals interested without a mandate can apply sur dossier.
The course is designed for
- Members of boards of directors of companies with more than ten employees who currently hold a mandate or held one recently.
- Members of foundation boards with legal authority who currently hold a mandate or held one recently.
- Sur dossier candidates: Prospective board members with a suitable background (member of executive boards of organizations with at least ten employees, proximity to the company’s board of directors) and a letter of recommendation from a chairperson.
A diverse composition of the CAS class is important to us, and we therefore focus on the personal interview, which follows after you submit the application. Statements on your professional career, ambitions, (planned) activities on the board of directors, and your motivation for this further education program help us to optimally select course participants.
The fee for the five modules is CHF 14,800. The fee for the seminar for foundation boards is an additional CHF 3,500.
The program fee includes participation in the program, electronic course materials, lunch on course days, one dinner per module, refreshments during breaks, examination fees, and the closing ceremony. Participants are responsible for any overnight expenses.
The course materials are provided electronically; participants use their own laptop (or tablet) in class.
Members of our partners can benefit from discounts. Our partners are listed here.
It is possible to combine this degree program in a modular way with other Rochester-Bern programs. In this way, a “DAS (Diploma of Advanced Studies) in General Management” can be acquired with another CAS degree program and individual modules (as well as a final thesis) or a “MAS (Master of Advanced Studies) in General Management” or with two further CAS programs and individual modules (as well as a final thesis).
Academic Management
Prof. Dr. Claudio Loderer, Delegate of the Board of Trustees, the William E. Simon Foundation, Switzerland
Co-Founder and Consulting
Franziska Hügli, lic.rer.pol. Entrepreneur and member of the board of directors of SMEs Prof. Dr. Urs Wälchli, lecturer, entrepreneur, board member and expert in entrepreneurial finance
Overall Responsibility
Prof. Dr. Petra Joerg, CEO, Rochester-Bern Executive Programs
An advisory board of entrepreneurial leaders helps to define the focus, assure the quality and anchor the program in the business landscape.
- Olivier Chuard, Chairman of the Board of Directors Livesystem Holding AG
- Axel Förster, Chairman of the Board and CEO Rychiger AG
- Urs Nussbaum, Delegate of the Board of Directors of R. Nussbaum AG
- Gabriela Maria Payer, member of several boards and entrepreneur
- Alexander Schärer, Chairman of the Board of USM U. Schärer Söhne AG
- Pia Tischhauser, Senior Partner & Managing Director Boston Consulting Group
Online Application
Download the application package and complete it electronically. If a signature is required, please print out the document and sign and scan it. You can then upload the completed documents to the application portal. The following documents are required for a complete application. In addition, all terms and conditions must be read and accepted.
- Copy of ID or passport
- Current curriculum vitae
- Letter of motivation
- Proof of credentials or letter of recommendation
- Copy of your highest level diploma
- Portrait photo
- Additional information (see application package)
Once your complete application has been uploaded, we will contact you about dates for an interview.
Personal Interview
A personal interview will be conducted to determine if your qualifications and specific needs match the program.
Admission Decision
The admission decision is made after the interview.
Class Statistics
In our classes, we seek to combine a diversity of profiles to provide you with the most beneficial classroom experience and professional network possible. Here you can find the statistics of a typical class.
SME-Focus
Industry
| Gender (female students) |
Avergage Age |
| 29% | 51 |
Next Info Sessions
What Our Clients Say
“The CAS was a valuable experience for me to stay up to date in my current board positions. As an active board member in various areas, I take my responsibilities very seriously. The modules combined theory, practical aspects, and participants’ applied knowledge, thus providing me with valuable tips for my work as a board member.”
“The course has given me a lot of confidence because it broadened my expertise and expanded my network. Among other things, I found the ideal board member for my company among my fellow students.”
“What remains from the CAS Boards of Directors is not only the theory and the good inputs from the speakers’ practice, but above all the networking and exchange in the class itself. This is particularly valuable because the class was very well mixed, both in terms of gender, age, expertise, education, etc. Stimulated discussions and an exchange beyond the duration of the course are thus guaranteed.”
“The interactive exchange between lecturers and course participants, but also the continuing contact after completion of the CAS, are very valuable. The good class composition sparked a spirit in us, with noticeable energy for the topics of the board of directors and challenges of our time. What counts in the end is the security gained, a network and many learnings from the practical work.”
The program offers me a concentrated load of new knowledge that I can apply very aptly to my work as a board member. A concrete example where I was already able to use what I learned was in the strategic development of a business model in a new company.