More dyslexic students get the chance to study at UCPH

“We have noticed that in the last two years there has been an increase in the group of students with dyslexia. This surpasses the general increase in the number of new students,” says Pernille Kindtler, head of section in the University of Copenhagen’s  Education Services unit.

Seven per cent more students with dyslexia received support from October 2014 to April 2016

You are not allowed to register new students based on their disability – so Pernille Kindtler has no exact number. Education Services can only estimate the number of students with dyslexia from the amount of counselling they give to the group.

Seven per cent more students with dyslexia received support from October 2014 to April 2016.  The number has increased from 337 to 360 students during the period, according to figures from the University of Copenhagen.

The union magazine Magisterbladet has covered the issue in an article headlined ‘More and more dyslexic students starting university’.

Detected earlier

Pernille Kindtler does not believe that these figures reflect a general increase in the number of dyslexic Danes. It could even reflect a positive development.

“We have not studied it, but we have a feeling that there’s been an increased focus on dyslexia in primary and secondary school pupils. We also see more students at the University who have received aids to overcome their dyslexia in high school. It may mean that more people with dyslexia discover their disability before they begin a university education,” she says.

This could have helped increase the number of university students with dyslexia:

“Given that students get aids for their dyslexia earlier in their education today, and receive quicker assistance, there is a chance that they perform better in school and in high school, and it’s more realistic that they can be admitted to university,” says Pernille Kindtler.