Act on flexibility of education programmes has now passed
The act will extend the legal claim and give bachelor graduates better opportunities to hone their skills in the labour market. More than 100 corporations welcome the opportunity to hire bachelor graduates.
With the act passed by the Government and all Parliament parties, it will become easier for Denmark’s university students to alternate between student life and career, to study part time, and - in the near future - also to take a 1-year academic advanced level programme.
These changes will give students more flexibility in the future. Increased flexibility in university education programmes will contribute both to more lifelong learning as well as to making it easier and more natural to return to university after some years in the labour market in order to acquire more theoretical knowledge in addition to practical experience.
- I am very happy that all Parliament parties today passed the act on a more flexible education system to ensure freedom and better opportunities for university students. This will make a real difference to both students and their future employers. I also hope this will be the start of a new education system to which people can continue to return to learn more, says Tommy Ahlers, Minister of Higher Education and Research.
One of the core elements in the act is the extension of the legal claim to entry into a master programme. This extension will give bachelor graduates the opportunity to leave university upon graduation, hone their skills in the labour market for a few years, and still be guaranteed a place in their natural master programme. As it stands today, bachelors are only guaranteed entry into a master programme if they continue immediately upon graduation. Now the legal claim will be extended to three years.
- I hope students will seize the new opportunities that come into effect this summer. To nurse this cultural change along, I have instituted a bachelor promise in collaboration with over 100 Danish corporations to send a clear signal that they welcome the opportunity to hire bachelors. So we have a wide range of corporations ready to give students an opportunity to contend with the labour market before obtaining a master’s degree, says Tommy Ahlers.
The act will enter into force on 1 July 2019. The extension of the legal claim will take effect retrospectively from 1 January 2019. The extension of the legal claim will thus also apply to bachelors graduating from their programme in the summer of 2019.
The act covers several other elements, such as:
- Supplementary possibility of completing a 1-year academic advanced level programme
- Better opportunities for studying part-time.
For further information please contact:
The Minister of Higher Education and Science: Press contact, tel. +45 7231 81 81
Concerning the agreement: Deputy Head Martha Brenfors, tel. +45 7231 8863,
mbr@ufm.dk