University of Copenhagen reverses decision on exchange lottery

First it was grade point average that determined where students from the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) could study abroad on an exchange programme. Then it all changed and study abroad placings were to be distributed by lottery. Now, in an about turn, it’s back to grade point average again.

Confusing? Yes it is.

»We messed up,« admits Rie Snekkerup, Deputy Director for Education at UCPH:

»We got a lot of feedback from students about the move to a lottery system. We had acted prematurely, and we didn’t fully understand the rules.«

University Post reported in early October that the university would switch to a lottery system for the next round of study abroad exchanges in November 2025. This set off a wave of criticism, like from political science student Villum Graglia, who argued that basing a decision on an academic opportunity on pure chance made no sense.

»When grades are no longer used to allocate the most coveted placements, the university undermines its own meritocratic practice,« he said at the time.

Now the plan for a lottery has been scrapped before it was ever implemented.

We had acted prematurely, and we didn’t fully understand the rules

Rie Snekkerup, Deputy Director for Education at UCPH

READ ALSO: Lottery to decide who goes abroad from University of Copenhagen — not everyone’s happy

Rie Snekkerup explains that multiple factors have led to the reversal of the decision. According to the regulations pertaining to exchange programmes, academic criteria must be in place before a university can use a lottery system.

»According to government directives, we are required to allocate based on academic merit first, and it’s unclear to us when exactly we’re allowed to use a lottery.«

The deputy director says UCPH has received multiple responses from students who found the new system unclear, and who were frustrated that they didn’t know how to plan their exchange stays or how to inform the university.

Rie Snekkerup, shouldn’t you have looked into all this before deciding to switch to a lottery?

»Yes, we should have.«

Why didn’t it happen?

»We’ve been under enormous pressure in the administration. That’s on me — I should’ve said, hold your horses. We can’t launch a new system while we’re also moving tasks around and building new collaborative structures. I take full responsibility, and now we’re fixing it.«

One month ago, the decision to move to a lottery system came with an argument about equal access for all students regardless of grades:

»Exchange should be an academic opportunity open to a broad group of students. It was never the idea that you should need top grades to go abroad,« Rie Snekkerup said at the time.

Do these high-minded ideals on equality still apply?

»They still apply. We were too quick, and we messed up, but exchange is a resource that should benefit all students, and I’ll work hard to make that happen.«

The deputy director cannot say when this will be. The next step is for legal experts to look into the regulations and help UCPH find a way to incorporate both academic criteria and a lottery system. When that happens, the announcement will be made well in advance, according to Rie Snekkerup.

»I can completely understand if some frustrated students were hoping to be considered for a popular exchange destination — and now they cannot do so. I totally get it. It’s really unfortunate that we made this mistake, and now we have to fix it.«