Campus officers after the reform: Same job just got harder

After a fierce debate, the new administration at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) was rolled out in March 2025. Staff and students have now had more than six months to get used to the new post-reform reality.

In a series of articles on the university’s intranet KUnet, UCPH deputy directors of eight central units share how they have experienced the first few months and provide an update from their area of administration.

The University Post is now doing a similar series, where we instead speak to employees and union representatives across the organisation.

This article focuses on the UCPH Buildings unit, where we spoke to three of the campus officers who keep the University of Copenhagen running. They unlock the doors, collect the mail, and prepare venues for events — in short, they keep day-to-day operations running smoothly.

One extra layer of management

Henrik Schütz has been a campus officer at UCPH for many years. Before the reform, he worked on the central CSS campus. Now he covers the central university buildings and the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

And there’s plenty to keep him busy.

»We’re running on fumes,« he tells the University Post.

»We have more locations to cover, but fewer people to do it. On top of that, they’ve added another layer of management. That doesn’t really align with the whole idea of cutting down on administration,« he says.

The union made sure my salary won’t be touched, no matter what I end up doing

Elisa Mary Pedersen, campus officer and procurement assistant at the Faculty of Science

Where there were once five layers of management to the top, there are now six, he says.

In Henrik Schütz’s team there are four permanent staff, but two positions remain to be filled.

»We hope to get two new people soon. If that happens, maybe things will settle down a bit,« he says. He stresses that the team was understaffed long before the administration reform — so the current challenges can’t all be blamed on it.

In connection with the administration reform, many staff — including campus officers — accepted voluntary redundancy offers. This made sure that no campus officers or other staff had to be laid off.

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According to Henrik Schütz, workload has gone up alongside the number of buildings they have to cover — and the growing number of events.

»There’s always something going on,« he says dryly.

»It’s just one thing after another.«

Sick leave has generally gone up at UCPH during the first six months of the reform. But despite a heavy workload, there have only been a few sick days among Henrik Schütz’s colleagues.

»We’re probably the kind of people who don’t break down from stress,« he says.

More uncertainty

While some say the reform has brought on more stress, for others the main result has been uncertainty.

Elisa Mary Pedersen works at the Faculty of Science, where she serves as campus officer and procurement assistant. She is fairly content with post-reform life so far.

»I haven’t had any bad experiences yet,« she says.

It’s going okay, I guess. But I don’t think it was worth all the worry it brought with it

Frank Johansen, campus officer at UCPH

For now, her tasks are largely the same — but she doesn’t know how long that will last:

»They’re talking about centralising the procurement, but I have no idea whether I’ll continue doing what I do now or be moved to something completely different.«

She still has the same manager as before the reform, and still works with the same colleagues. But the lead-up to the reform was exhausting, she says:

»It went on for two years, and that’s way too long to be left in uncertainty. We didn’t know if we were going to be laid off or not,« she says.

When the reform was implemented, many experienced employees opted for retirement — and actual layoffs were avoided. Things have calmed down now, but the drawn-out process has left its mark.

»I’m taking it easy now,« she says.

»The union made sure my salary won’t be touched, no matter what I end up doing. So I’m just taking things one day at a time.«

Was it worth it?

Frank Johansen, who used to work in the central university buildings and is now based at CSS campus, hasn’t seen any tangible improvements from the reform.

»It’s going okay, I guess. But I don’t think it was worth all the worry it brought with it.«

He has got new colleagues and slightly different working hours, but his tasks are pretty much the same as before.

»Nothing’s gotten dramatically worse or dramatically better,« he says, and adds:

»You do have to wonder why so much energy was spent on all this.«