Political agreement: The relocation agreement is a reality

More AU students in Herning and Foulum. But on the other hand, fewer in Aarhus and Emdrup.

This is the new reality now facing AU: a parliamentary majority has just agreed on a plan to relocate and reduce student places in higher education across the country by 2030.

Where AU is concerned, the agreement means that the Master’s degree programmes in experience economy and IT, communication and organisation will be moved to Herning. At the same time, AU has been asked to develop an academic campus in Foulum outside Viborg, where it will be possible to take a Master’s degree in veterinary science or agrobiology. However, AU will also have to relocate or cut about 5.6 of its student places over the next eight years.

Roses and thorns

For this reason, Rector Brian Bech Nielsen is ambivalent about the consequences of the plan:

"We are, and we will remain, a campus-based university that places a high priority on offering our degree programmes in larger environments where it’s possible to cultivate academic and social life at the same time. I believe that we’ll strengthen this identity with our expansion in Herning and Foulum. At the same time, I’m pleased that the politicians have decided to bolster funding for the dentistry degree programme. On the other hand, it's a great shame that these new opportunities come at the expense of other programmes," he says.

The veterinarians were the key

A precondition for the plans to establish a campus in Viborg was funding: the politicians behind the agreement had to make the necessary guarantees for financing the veterinary medicine programme. About DKK 250 million has been earmarked to finance establishment costs, in addition to an an extra supplement rising to about DKK 43 million per year. According to AU’s rector, this constitutes a solid financial foundation:

“With the strong programmes we have within agriculture, environment and animal science, Foulum has an exciting future ahead. The veterinary medicine programme was an important element to ensure sufficient volume on the new campus. This will be a big job for the Faculty of Technical Sciences, but it’s also an exciting one from a scientific standpoint that will benefit business and industry as well as the food cluster in western Denmark. The goal is to attract upwards of 200 students a year, and I’m looking forward to continuing our positive dialogue with Viborg Municipality on how we can create a really good academic environment for them,” Brian Bech Nielsen said.

Closures and caps

On the downside, the plan will force Arts, Natural Sciences, Aarhus BSS and Health to close degree programmes and cut student places.

A total of seven degree programmes will have to shut down by 2030. Pro-rector Berit Eika noted that the plan will also have a negative effect on AU’s development of new educational offerings going forward:

“In addition to the cuts, it looks as if the agreement will also involve a cap on the number of student places in the largest cities. This will mean, for example, that we won’t be able to offer more STEM student places or develop new degree programmes in response to society’s developing needs without having to cut student places elsewhere. This is not a beneficial dynamic.”

Time to plan

Pro-rector Eika also stressed that the fact that the universities have until 2030 to fully implement the changes called for under the plan may turn out to be decisive. And for this reason, it isn’t possible to answer all the questions now:

“We’ve been assigned a task, and we intend to perform it well. Working with a timeframe until 2030 give us time to plan how we best can perform these new tasks in Herning and Foulum. At the same time, we’ll also have time to phase in the reductions also called for under the agreement, so that we can do so with the greatest possible care and consideration.”

What the relocation agreement means for AU: selected implications

• AU will establish a campus in Foulum. It will be a hub for research into the green transition as well as food and agricultural production, and will offer degree programmes in veterinary medicine, animal science and agrobiology to up to 200 students
• AU will relocate the degree programmes in experience economy and IT, communication and organisation to Herning.
• The Master’s degree programme in nursing in Emdrup will be closed; Roskilde University and AU are in dialogue about the possibility of transferring the programme to Roskilde University.
• AU will have to relocate and/or cut a total of 5.6 percent of total student intake.
• AU’s dentistry programme will increase intake and must also contribute to making it possible to take parts of the programme in areas of the country with a shortage of dentists