“It’s no enviable task, but we can do it,” says the Dean about the Master’s reform
At the information meeting for employees at Nat, Vice-Dean for Education Kristine Kilså and Dean Birgit Schiøtt discussed the Master’s reform, under which 30 per cent of student places on Nat’s Master’s degree programmes will have to be converted, and 124 Bachelor’s student places will have to be cut as a result of sector resizing.
Dean Birgit Schiøtt and Vice-Dean for Education Kristine Kilså invited employees at Nat to an information meeting held on Tuesday 20 August in Lecture Theatre E. Many employees attended both in person and online.
The dean began the meeting by briefly outlining the 2023 political agreement between the government and supporting parties. The Master's reform includes a conversion of Master's degree programmes and a reduction in admissions to Bachelor’s degree programmes — the so-called sector resizing. The aim is to provide students with new educational opportunities and to increase the number of international students.
“This is no enviable task, but we’ve coped with several reforms of the university sector in recent years, so I’m sure that we at Nat will also be able to handle this with the rest of AU,” said Birgit Schiøtt.
Vice-dean for Education Kristine Kilså outlined the various elements of the Master’s reform. At least the ones that have been introduced so far.
What is clear at the moment is that Nat will need to convert 30 per cent of study places on its Master's programmes. What is not yet clear is how many Master's programmes will have to be converted into one-year Master's programmes (75 ECTS) or career-focused Master’s programmes.
Work on implementing the reform can begin in earnest in October, when, according to the current timetable, the government's Master’s degree committee will submit its final report.
Impact of sector resizing
As things stand, Nat will be expected to reduce the number of Bachelor’s student places by 124 from 2025. The number is based on admissions in the period 2018 to 2022, which averaged 805 students. The number was significantly lower in 2023. This year, 723 students accepted a place at Nat.
The process of deciding how to implement the sector sizing at Nat will take place in the coming weeks, said Birgit Schiøtt:
“The faculty management team is working on a solution, and we’ve already got started. The goal is to announce a plan by mid-September,” said the dean, who concluded the meeting by stressing the importance of Nat’s work:
“We’ve got outstanding degree programmes and research at the faculty – and we must continue both for the benefit of society as a whole,” said Birgit Schiøtt.
- See also: Sector resizing: AU will continue to offer a wide range of degree programmes. The article includes a table with more details about the reform and gives an insight into implementation of the reform at Aarhus University as a whole.
- Slides from the information meeting.