{"id":65719,"date":"2018-03-15T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T09:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/37-anbefalinger-bedre-uni-uddannelser-kan-afskaffe-studenterdemokratiet\/"},"modified":"2018-03-15T14:21:32","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T13:21:32","slug":"in-order-to-save-university-education-a-government-committee-would-end-student-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/in-order-to-save-university-education-a-government-committee-would-end-student-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"In order to save university education, a government committee would end student democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of about 20 or 30 students stand in front of the Science Ministry, three banners stretched out in front of them. With the exception of one student \u2013 Sana Mahin Doost, president of DSF, the national council of post-secondary students, who\u2019s being interviewed by a TV reporter \u2013 all of them have tape over their mouths.<\/p>\n

One of their banners mourns the death of student democracy. (Hvil i fred studenterdemorkati (1968-2018) it proclaims.) Another, (this one reading Udvalget for billigere Uni-uddannelser) accuses decision-makers of pushing through reforms they say will result in discount degrees.<\/p>\n

Black and white pictures of students have been arranged in front of the entrance to the ministry so that people entering the building have to step on them. When they do, the students shout \u201cOuch! Ouch! Ouch!\u201d as best as their taped mouths will let them. They shake the last banner, bearing the message \u201cI tr\u00e6der p\u00e5 de studerende\u201d to let offending individuals know they are walking all over students.<\/p>\n

It is Monday, March 12. Inside the ministry, S\u00f8ren Pind, whose remit as minister includes higher education, has called on the Committee for Better University Programmes (Udvalg om bedre universitetsuddannelser) to present to the press the list of 37 recommendations it\u2019s come up with for doing just that. They save the two most irritating for last. Especially number 37 (\u201cResponsibility for programme content and quality is made the sole responsibility of the unified administration\u201d) has the students riled up.<\/p>\n

The recommendation deals with the system of study committees, made up of democratically elected students and faculty, that make decisions about individual programmes. A majority on the Committee for Better University Programmes would change that by placing decision-making about such matters in the hands of the administration. The committees wouldn\u2019t be eliminated, but they would be reduced to a consultative role.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, the study committees are the last vestiges of the system for allowing students and faculty to have a say in decision-making. Now, they want to take that away, too. That\u2019s not going to result in better education. It\u2019s going to make things worse,\u201d Amanda B\u00fcchert, the president of the University of Copenhagen student council, says a few hours later, after she\u2019s taken the tape off her mouth.
\n<\/p>\n

An exercise in simplification<\/h3>\n

Inside the ministry, Pind is saying a few opening words before the Committee for Better University Programmes presents its recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur universities are world-class,\u201d he says and goes on to explain that the process of drawing up the recommendations took him to the US, where he visited universities to find out how Danish universities can maintain their reputation.<\/p>\n

\u201cStanford is revamping its programmes, and we should do the same,\u201d he says before inviting Agnete Gersing, committee chair and the ministry\u2019s permanent secretary, to do the honours.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversity education,\u201d she starts off, \u201cis a really, really good investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her argument is built on figures. For example, despite a doubling in the number of university students over the past 20 years, most of those graduating with a master\u2019s degree find a job, and the salaries they earn are twice as high as a skilled worker can expect to earn. The salaries are also \u201cmuch higher than those earned by trade-school or business-college graduates\u201d.<\/p>\n

Firms are increasingly demanding graduates, she says. And, for each master\u2019s degree universities turn out, the country earns 4 million kroner, according to her figures.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a but. \u201cOne of the biggest hurdles we face is that we have not been able to sync up what we teach with what businesses want,\u201d Gersing says. \u201cA lot of graduates have been fortunate enough to find work and earn a good salary, but there are plenty of recent grads who still haven\u2019t found a job within a year or a year and half of graduating.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has slides to back up her argument. And, what do you know, she too has one showing that humanities top the list of degrees that are least likely to land you a job. Another of them shows that the number of bachelor\u2019s programmes nearly doubled between 1997, when there were 202 to choose from, and 2017, when there were 386. The Committee for Better University Programmes, Gersing says, recommends bringing that number down. Or, as the report puts it: \u201cthat universities review their educational offerings in order to allow for a better overview of the educational landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pind puts its more simply: \u201cIt\u2019s an exercise in simplification.\u201d<\/p>\n

A free lunch (for now)<\/h3>\n

In reality, both of the recommendations are in lock-step with the aims of the so-called \u2018study-progress reform\u2019 (fremdriftsreformen) and the equally so-called \u2018resizing of study programmes\u2019 (dimensioneringen): set up a conveyor belt to take young people through higher education as quickly as possible and then deposit them into a job at the end. The Committee for Better University Programmes also recommends one-year master\u2019s programmes, as well as more bachelor\u2019s programmes that satisfy the demands of corporate Denmark. It may well be that university education makes good financial sense for students, but, while they are studying, they are a drain on the nation\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Pind adds that he hopes the recommendations will be the missing piece that will, after years of trying, open up the job market for students who graduate holding only a bachelor\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Among the new ideas in the recommendations drawn up by the Committee for Better University Programmes: once you get your bachelor\u2019s, you should be allowed to work for two or three years<\/secret> without having to reapply to get into a master\u2019s programme. It also recommends eliminating the multiplier that allows students leaving gymnasium to multiply their final average by 1.08 if they begin a post-secondary programme without taking a gap year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that, at least, is a good idea,\u201d says B\u00fcchert, whose organisation is vehemently opposed to both schemes.
\n
\nLikewise, B\u00fcchert reckons that the recommendation to improve students\u2019 IT skills appears is a good idea (though she hasn\u2019t had a chance to look at it closely). \u201cThat\u2019s right in line with the school\u2019s new strategy,\u201d she says. But she\u2019s got a but of her own: it only discusses feedback and counselling in vague terms. Nor does it say where any of the money will come from.<\/p>\n

Anders Bjarklev, the chair of the Rector\u2019s Conference, which brings together the heads of all eight Danish universities, also has questions about funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the recommendations go through, I expect that [the legislature] will decide that these are things that they find worth investing in,\u201d Bjarklev, himself a member of the Committee for Better University Programmes, says.<\/p>\n

What about the humanities?<\/h3>\n

Once the floor is opened up for questions, a number of the reporters present jump on Pind\u2019s \u201cexercise in simplification\u201d and ask if any programmes have already been targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo start with, as part of \u2018resizing\u2019, we\u2019ve reformed how we fund programmes so that there is much greater incentive to structure programmes so that graduates find jobs. But if you take a closer look, you find some surprising things. You can\u2019t predict with any certainty which programmes \u2026 . There are some humanities programmes whose graduates have surprisingly high employment rates. Let\u2019s see how the exercise in simplification goes. I\u2019m curious myself to see how reducing the number of programmes will turn out,\u201d he says.
\n
\nThe reporter who asked the question formulates it a different way: will humanities programmes be sacrificed for the benefit of the social and natural sciences and tech?<\/p>\n

Pind: \u201cI\u2019ve made no secret of the fact that we\u2019re going to see a situation that, on the one hand, is going to result in fewer humanities programmes. But, on the other hand, it\u2019s also important for me that we don\u2019t break down healthy academic environments. The reason for that is quite simply that the exact competencies we\u2019re talking about here \u2013 broad-mindedness, creativity, all of these values, empathy, et cetera \u2013 to a large degree are engendered by the humanities. So, while we can see that joblessness is a problem for people in the field, we also need to admit that addressing the challenges we can expect to face in the future will require healthy humanities programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n

His comments do little to reassure the students. They fear that the recommendation to offer a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree at the University of Copenhagen, as is currently offered at Roskilde University, will water down individual humanities programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re critical of the recommendation to offer a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree that gathers several different programmes under one roof,\u201d B\u00fcchert says. \u201cThe University of Copenhagen has a lot of programmes, and some of them are quite small, but we think that has a lot of benefits. If you want to take a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree, you can already do that someplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n

(This, by the way, is the same opinion held by Danske Universiteter, the universities\u2019 lobby group, which wants schools to be able to decide on their own whether it is in their interest to offer the broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree.)<\/p>\n

A threat to student democracy<\/h3>\n

The demonstrating students are also dissatisfied that there was no student representative on the Committee for Better University Programmes. Committee members included university representatives, public servants and businesspeople. Students were allowed only to observe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ironic that they came up with recommendations without asking for advice from the students. How can you set up a committee to define what it means to be a high-quality educational institution without involving the people who know most about it? The people you are actually offering the education to,\u201d B\u00fcchert says.<\/p>\n

Responding to her criticism, Pind answers: \u201cThere were two things that were important in all of this. Firstly, to get group of smart people, almost independently of each other, to make their recommendations for how we could do things better. And I picked people who could do that. The second thing was to have an observer group that included student participation and allowed them to voice their opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next question comes from ForskerForum, a newsletter for academics, which wants to know Pind\u2019s opinion about the recommendation to strip study committees of their decision-making powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been an ideological discussion ever since the student protests of 1968. Who decides at university? In my opinion, it should be the administration that decides. I believe that the administration should set the ground rules, and that the outside world should be able to go to the administration when they need to find someone who should be taken to task. But that also means that if the administration of an individual university chooses to have a study committee, well, then they may.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to recommending taking decision-making power from away from study committees, the Committee for Better University Programmes also suggests that the administration alone should select a student representative. Currently, the study committees nominate candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing in regards to this recommendation is that it places more responsibility with the rector,\u201d Pind says. \u201cYou can spend as much time as you want discussing how much responsibility a rector should have, but I have always been in favour of strong institutional management, and a decision about how much is enough should be up to\u00a0[the universities] to decide for themselves.<\/p>\n

\n

The 37 recommendations<\/p>\n

The Committee for Better University Programmes<\/p>\n

Read more about the Committee for Better University Programmes.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also download its final 440-page report<\/a>, including its 37 recommendations.<\/p>\n

You can also download just the recommendations<\/a>. Both, though, are only available in Danish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Universities support student concerns<\/h3>\n

B\u00fcchert and the student council see the two proposals as a de facto elimination of the study committees. Being reduced to a consultative body is unacceptable, she feels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you downgrade a committee from decision-making to consultative, you take away a lot of the motivation for people to get involved. This is something that is going to demotivate the study committees and spread apathy. We\u2019ve already seen this with the departmental councils,\u201d she says. (Consultative departmental councils were set up in 2013 but have since been eliminated.)<\/p>\n

Students aren\u2019t alone in pushing to keep the study-committee system the way it is. The Committee for Better University Programmes was split on whether the recommendation should be included.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t support making changes to the role of study committees,\u201d Bjarklev says. \u201cThe system we have now works quite well. We get good advice from the students and the faculty. It ain\u2019t broke, so they shouldn\u2019t try to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the role of students and faculty in the decision-making process is something that will get fixed into oblivion has yet to be decided. Pind, however, explains that he\u2019s \u201cdeeply committed, as a lawmaker and as parent\u201d to the task of forming the university of tomorrow. He expects to draw up a final proposal based on the recommendations of the Committee for Better University Programmes later this spring.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Og s\u00e5 er der forslag 37, som for alvor har f\u00e5et de studerende p\u00e5 barrikaderne.","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>A group of about 20 or 30 students stand in front of the Science Ministry, three banners stretched out in front of them. With the exception of one student \u2013 Sana Mahin Doost, president of DSF, the national council of post-secondary students, who\u2019s being interviewed by a TV reporter \u2013 all of them have tape over their mouths.<\/p>\n<p>One of their banners mourns the death of student democracy. (Hvil i fred studenterdemorkati (1968-2018) it proclaims.) Another, (this one reading Udvalget for billigere Uni-uddannelser) accuses decision-makers of pushing through reforms they say will result in discount degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Black and white pictures of students have been arranged in front of the entrance to the ministry so that people entering the building have to step on them. When they do, the students shout \u201cOuch! Ouch! Ouch!\u201d as best as their taped mouths will let them. They shake the last banner, bearing the message \u201cI tr\u00e6der p\u00e5 de studerende\u201d to let offending individuals know they are walking all over students.<\/p>\n<p>It is Monday, March 12. Inside the ministry, S\u00f8ren Pind, whose remit as minister includes higher education, has called on the Committee for Better University Programmes (Udvalg om bedre universitetsuddannelser) to present to the press the list of 37 recommendations it\u2019s come up with for doing just that. They save the two most irritating for last. Especially number 37 (\u201cResponsibility for programme content and quality is made the sole responsibility of the unified administration\u201d) has the students riled up.<\/p>\n<p>The recommendation deals with the system of study committees, made up of democratically elected students and faculty, that make decisions about individual programmes. A majority on the Committee for Better University Programmes would change that by placing decision-making about such matters in the hands of the administration. The committees wouldn\u2019t be eliminated, but they would be reduced to a consultative role.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn reality, the study committees are the last vestiges of the system for allowing students and faculty to have a say in decision-making. Now, they want to take that away, too. That\u2019s not going to result in better education. It\u2019s going to make things worse,\u201d Amanda B\u00fcchert, the president of the University of Copenhagen student council, says a few hours later, after she\u2019s taken the tape off her mouth.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"MultiImage","images":[{"image":{"ID":65445,"id":65445,"title":"37 anbefalinger studenterdemo billeder af studerende","filename":"dscdemo5tilweb.jpg","filesize":458421,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo5tilweb.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/37-anbefalinger-bedre-uni-uddannelser-kan-afskaffe-studenterdemokratiet\/dsc-demo5-til-web\/","alt":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","author":"5","description":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","caption":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. 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Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","author":"5","description":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","caption":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","name":"dsc-demo4-til-web","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65458,"date":"2018-03-12 15:23:04","modified":"2018-03-13 08:20:45","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1600,"height":1068,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-1280x854.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":854,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb.jpg","2048x2048-width":1600,"2048x2048-height":1068,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-290x194.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":194,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo4tilweb-990x661.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":661}},"caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"People stepping on the pictures as they entered the ministry were met with shouts of \u201cOuch! Ouch! Ouch!\u201d"}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h3>An exercise in simplification<\/h3>\n<p>Inside the ministry, Pind is saying a few opening words before the Committee for Better University Programmes presents its recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur universities are world-class,\u201d he says and goes on to explain that the process of drawing up the recommendations took him to the US, where he visited universities to find out how Danish universities can maintain their reputation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStanford is revamping its programmes, and we should do the same,\u201d he says before inviting Agnete Gersing, committee chair and the ministry\u2019s permanent secretary, to do the honours.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUniversity education,\u201d she starts off, \u201cis a really, really good investment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her argument is built on figures. For example, despite a doubling in the number of university students over the past 20 years, most of those graduating with a master\u2019s degree find a job, and the salaries they earn are twice as high as a skilled worker can expect to earn. The salaries are also \u201cmuch higher than those earned by trade-school or business-college graduates\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Firms are increasingly demanding graduates, she says. And, for each master\u2019s degree universities turn out, the country earns 4 million kroner, according to her figures.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s a but. \u201cOne of the biggest hurdles we face is that we have not been able to sync up what we teach with what businesses want,\u201d Gersing says. \u201cA lot of graduates have been fortunate enough to find work and earn a good salary, but there are plenty of recent grads who still haven\u2019t found a job within a year or a year and half of graduating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She has slides to back up her argument. And, what do you know, she too has one showing that humanities top the list of degrees that are least likely to land you a job. Another of them shows that the number of bachelor\u2019s programmes nearly doubled between 1997, when there were 202 to choose from, and 2017, when there were 386. The Committee for Better University Programmes, Gersing says, recommends bringing that number down. Or, as the report puts it: \u201cthat universities review their educational offerings in order to allow for a better overview of the educational landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pind puts its more simply: \u201cIt\u2019s an exercise in simplification.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A free lunch (for now)<\/h3>\n<p>In reality, both of the recommendations are in lock-step with the aims of the so-called \u2018study-progress reform\u2019 (fremdriftsreformen) and the equally so-called \u2018resizing of study programmes\u2019 (dimensioneringen): set up a conveyor belt to take young people through higher education as quickly as possible and then deposit them into a job at the end. The Committee for Better University Programmes also recommends one-year master\u2019s programmes, as well as more bachelor\u2019s programmes that satisfy the demands of corporate Denmark. It may well be that university education makes good financial sense for students, but, while they are studying, they are a drain on the nation\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>Pind adds that he hopes the recommendations will be the missing piece that will, after years of trying, open up the job market for students who graduate holding only a bachelor\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Among the new ideas in the recommendations drawn up by the Committee for Better University Programmes: once you get your bachelor\u2019s, you should be <secret text=\"Pind says he supports this recommendation\">allowed to work for two or three years<\/secret> without having to reapply to get into a master\u2019s programme. It also recommends eliminating the multiplier that allows students leaving gymnasium to multiply their final average by 1.08 if they begin a post-secondary programme without taking a gap year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think that, at least, is a good idea,\u201d says B\u00fcchert, whose organisation is vehemently opposed to both schemes.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"MultiImage","images":[{"image":{"ID":65452,"id":65452,"title":"37 anbefalinger pressem\u00f8de S\u00f8ren Pind close","filename":"dscpind1tilweb.jpg","filesize":266325,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscpind1tilweb.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/37-anbefalinger-bedre-uni-uddannelser-kan-afskaffe-studenterdemokratiet\/dsc-pind1-til-web\/","alt":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Pressem\u00f8de 12. marts 2018.","author":"5","description":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. 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Pressem\u00f8de 12. marts 2018.","author":"5","description":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Pressem\u00f8de 12. marts 2018.","caption":"Departementchef Agnete Gersing fort\u00e6ller, at antallet af bacheloruddannelser er n\u00e6sten fordoblet p\u00e5 20 \u00e5r.","name":"dsc-gjersing-til-web","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65458,"date":"2018-03-12 15:28:04","modified":"2019-06-13 06:46:21","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1600,"height":1068,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-1280x854.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":854,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb.jpg","2048x2048-width":1600,"2048x2048-height":1068,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-290x194.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":194,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscgjersingtilweb-990x661.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":661}},"caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Agnete Gersing, permanent secretary in the Science Ministry, explains that the number of different types of bachelor\u2019s degrees has nearly doubled in 20 years"}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Likewise, B\u00fcchert reckons that the recommendation to improve students\u2019 IT skills appears is a good idea (though she hasn\u2019t had a chance to look at it closely). \u201cThat\u2019s right in line with the school\u2019s new strategy,\u201d she says. But she\u2019s got a but of her own: it only discusses feedback and counselling in vague terms. Nor does it say where any of the money will come from.<\/p>\n<p>Anders Bjarklev, the chair of the Rector\u2019s Conference, which brings together the heads of all eight Danish universities, also has questions about funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the recommendations go through, I expect that [the legislature] will decide that these are things that they find worth investing in,\u201d Bjarklev, himself a member of the Committee for Better University Programmes, says.<\/p>\n<h3>What about the humanities?<\/h3>\n<p>Once the floor is opened up for questions, a number of the reporters present jump on Pind\u2019s \u201cexercise in simplification\u201d and ask if any programmes have already been targeted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo start with, as part of \u2018resizing\u2019, we\u2019ve reformed how we fund programmes so that there is much greater incentive to structure programmes so that graduates find jobs. But if you take a closer look, you find some surprising things. You can\u2019t predict with any certainty which programmes \u2026 . There are some humanities programmes whose graduates have surprisingly high employment rates. Let\u2019s see how the exercise in simplification goes. I\u2019m curious myself to see how reducing the number of programmes will turn out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"This has been an ideological discussion ever since the student protests of 1968. Who decides at university? In my opinion, it should be the administration that decides.","quotee":"S\u00f8ren Pind, higher-education and science minister","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The reporter who asked the question formulates it a different way: will humanities programmes be sacrificed for the benefit of the social and natural sciences and tech?<\/p>\n<p>Pind: \u201cI\u2019ve made no secret of the fact that we\u2019re going to see a situation that, on the one hand, is going to result in fewer humanities programmes. But, on the other hand, it\u2019s also important for me that we don\u2019t break down healthy academic environments. The reason for that is quite simply that the exact competencies we\u2019re talking about here \u2013 broad-mindedness, creativity, all of these values, empathy, et cetera \u2013 to a large degree are engendered by the humanities. So, while we can see that joblessness is a problem for people in the field, we also need to admit that addressing the challenges we can expect to face in the future will require healthy humanities programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His comments do little to reassure the students. They fear that the recommendation to offer a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree at the University of Copenhagen, as is currently offered at Roskilde University, will water down individual humanities programmes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re critical of the recommendation to offer a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree that gathers several different programmes under one roof,\u201d B\u00fcchert says. \u201cThe University of Copenhagen has a lot of programmes, and some of them are quite small, but we think that has a lot of benefits. If you want to take a broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree, you can already do that someplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(This, by the way, is the same opinion held by Danske Universiteter, the universities\u2019 lobby group, which wants schools to be able to decide on their own whether it is in their interest to offer the broad-based bachelor\u2019s degree.)<\/p>\n<h3>A threat to student democracy<\/h3>\n<p>The demonstrating students are also dissatisfied that there was no student representative on the Committee for Better University Programmes. Committee members included university representatives, public servants and businesspeople. Students were allowed only to observe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s ironic that they came up with recommendations without asking for advice from the students. How can you set up a committee to define what it means to be a high-quality educational institution without involving the people who know most about it? The people you are actually offering the education to,\u201d B\u00fcchert says.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to her criticism, Pind answers: \u201cThere were two things that were important in all of this. Firstly, to get group of smart people, almost independently of each other, to make their recommendations for how we could do things better. And I picked people who could do that. The second thing was to have an observer group that included student participation and allowed them to voice their opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next question comes from ForskerForum, a newsletter for academics, which wants to know Pind\u2019s opinion about the recommendation to strip study committees of their decision-making powers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis has been an ideological discussion ever since the student protests of 1968. Who decides at university? In my opinion, it should be the administration that decides. I believe that the administration should set the ground rules, and that the outside world should be able to go to the administration when they need to find someone who should be taken to task. But that also means that if the administration of an individual university chooses to have a study committee, well, then they may.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to recommending taking decision-making power from away from study committees, the Committee for Better University Programmes also suggests that the administration alone should select a student representative. Currently, the study committees nominate candidates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe important thing in regards to this recommendation is that it places more responsibility with the rector,\u201d Pind says. \u201cYou can spend as much time as you want discussing how much responsibility a rector should have, but I have always been in favour of strong institutional management, and a decision about how much is enough should be up to\u00a0[the universities] to decide for themselves.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">The 37 recommendations<\/p>\n<p>The Committee for Better University Programmes<\/p>\n<p>Read more about <a href=\"https:\/\/ufm.dk\/en\/education\/councils-and-commissions\/the-expert-committee-on-quality-in-higher-education-in-denmark\">the Committee for Better University Programmes.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can also download<a href=\"https:\/\/ufm.dk\/publikationer\/2018\/filer\/rapport-universitetsuddannelser-til-fremtiden.pdf\"> its final 440-page report<\/a>, including its 37 recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>You can also download <a href=\"https:\/\/ufm.dk\/uddannelse\/rad-naevn-og-udvalg\/udvalg-om-bedre-universitetsuddannelser\/filer\/uuu-udvalgets-samlede-anbefalinger.pdf\">just the recommendations<\/a>. Both, though, are only available in Danish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Universities support student concerns<\/h3>\n<p>B\u00fcchert and the student council see the two proposals as a de facto elimination of the study committees. Being reduced to a consultative body is unacceptable, she feels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you downgrade a committee from decision-making to consultative, you take away a lot of the motivation for people to get involved. This is something that is going to demotivate the study committees and spread apathy. We\u2019ve already seen this with the departmental councils,\u201d she says. (Consultative departmental councils were set up in 2013 but have since been eliminated.)<\/p>\n<p>Students aren\u2019t alone in pushing to keep the study-committee system the way it is. The Committee for Better University Programmes was split on whether the recommendation should be included.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t support making changes to the role of study committees,\u201d Bjarklev says. \u201cThe system we have now works quite well. We get good advice from the students and the faculty. It ain\u2019t broke, so they shouldn\u2019t try to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether the role of students and faculty in the decision-making process is something that will get fixed into oblivion has yet to be decided. Pind, however, explains that he\u2019s \u201cdeeply committed, as a lawmaker and as parent\u201d to the task of forming the university of tomorrow. He expects to draw up a final proposal based on the recommendations of the Committee for Better University Programmes later this spring.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":65447,"id":65447,"title":"37 anbefalinger studenterdemo Udvalget for billigere uniuddannelser","filename":"dscdemo2tilweb.jpg","filesize":170929,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/dscdemo2tilweb.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/37-anbefalinger-bedre-uni-uddannelser-kan-afskaffe-studenterdemokratiet\/dsc-demo2-til-web\/","alt":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","author":"5","description":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. Studenterdemo 12. marts 2018.","caption":"Regeringens 37 anbefalinger. 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against the Committee for Better University Programmes and its 37 recommendations"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"Dansk","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Receive a weekly newsletter in your inbox","button_text":"Tilmeld 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