Last week, the heads of department, centre directors and deputy directors held the first discussions with their local liaison committees on the budget framework and cost-reduction targets, after which they informed their employees about how the cost-reduction targets will be implemented locally. The local managers now have until the beginning of February to plan how to achieve the targets, at which point they will hold new meetings with their local liaison committees.
The application deadline for voluntary redundancy packages is 4 February. Preventive measures such as voluntary redundancies, senior schemes and a hiring freeze may have a bearing on the number of compulsory redundancies. The individual applications will be assessed specifically and individually.
At their first meeting, the senior management team and the internal problem analysis panel appointed the five members of the expert group that will conduct the analysis.
The members of the expert group are:
The analysis panel and the senior management team will have the mandate for the expert group ready on 17 February, after which the group can start the analysis work. It is up to the expert group to organise and carry out the analysis. According to the plan, the analysis group will submit its report in May. On the basis of this report and the group's comments on the analysis, the senior management team will draw up a draft decision-making proposal which will be submitted for internal consultation at the university.
The internal problem analysis is part of the overall follow-up to the academic development process which was announced by Rector Brian Bach Nielsen in November 2013.
The members of the analysis panel were selected by the academic councils, the Main Liaison Committee, the students and the administration.
The study environment is in focus when Aarhus University invites its more than 30,000 full-time students to answer questions about stress, well-being, learning objectives and examination types. In the spring, data will be collected for the large study environment survey, which was previously conducted in 2011 and 2007.
The study environment survey is Aarhus University's version of the statutory assessment of the educational environment which must be conducted every three years. The results are used to set the agenda for development work, both in the local academic environments as well as at faculty and university level.
As in previous years, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CUL) is responsible for the survey. The survey is expected to include responses from more than 10,000 students, and the results will be published on the AU website at the end of 2014.
Kind regards
The Senior Management Team
The Senior Management Team publishes a newsletter every week. This newsletter includes a brief description of current activities and discussions. You can sign up for the Danish version of the newsletter at http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve, after which you will receive an e-mail whenever the newsletter is issued.
If you would like to subscribe to the English version of News from the Senior Management Team, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Senior Management Team is available at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/. You can read previous editions of News from the Senior Management Team at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/2014.