Replaced by Act No. 1177 of 22 December 1999

University Act

Act No. 334 of 27 May 1993

Only the Danish version of the text has legal validity

Part 1
General Provisions

1.

(1) This act applies to universities and other institutions of higher education under the Ministry of Education.
(2) An institution of higher education has the responsibility for carrying out research and providing higher education to the highest level of scholarship within its subject areas. Furthermore it shall safeguard academic freedom and contribute to the dissemination of knowledge of working methods and research results.
(3) Each institution of higher education makes a decision on the study programmes it wishes to offer and on its intake of students subject to section 2 (4) and section 9 (5). The programmes offered by an Institution shall be approved by the Minister of Education.
(4) An institution of higher education determines the research it wishes to follow.
(5) Lectures and oral examinations of the institution shall be public within the limitations imposed by the institution itself.

2. (1) The Minister of Education shall lay down general regulations about the study programmes and about admission to study programmes.
(2) The Minister of Education may lay down general regulations pertaining to:
1) Quality control, including the role of external examiners.
2) The award of doctoral degrees.
3) The appointment of academic staff.
4) Complaints to the institution from students, including deadlines for complaints in connection with examinations and tests.
5) Grants and premises for student organizations. Grants shall be awarded on the basis of the respective student groups' share of the total number of student votes given at elections for the Senate.
(3) Before the Minister of Education lays down regulations in pursuance of (1) and (2), the institutions affected by the regulations shall be given the opportunity to comment, if the proposals do not originate from them.
(4) The Minister of Education may limit an institution's offer of study programmes and regulate the intake if the quality and academic level of the study programmes do not meet the requirements in the ministerial orders, cf. (1) of this section.

Part 2
Provision for the Management of the Institution

The Senate

3.

(1) The senate is the supreme collegiate body of the institution. The senate safeguards the interests of the institution with respect to teaching and research and establishes the guidelines for its long-term activities and development.
(2) The senate shall approve:
1) The organization of the institution, including the faculty and departmental structure.
2) The budget of the institution.
3) Proposals for statutes. The statutes shall include the more detailed rules for the management of the institution, the activities of the collegiate bodies, rules for elections, etc. The electoral methods shall be chosen with a view to ensuring a reasonable representation of minority groups. If it is laid down in the statutes that part-time staff shall have a right to vote and shall be eligible for the senate and faculty councils, it may be decided at the same time that in this context, Ph.D. students shall be considered as part-time staff. The Minister of Education shall approve the statutes.
(3) The senate has the right to comment on all matters of significance for the organization and activities of the institution, and it is obliged to discuss matters brought before it by the rector.
(4) The senate, which consists of a chairman and 14 members, shall be composed as follows:
1) The rector, as chairman ex officio
2) Two members from outside the institution, one appointed by The Danish Council for Research Policy and one by the chairmen of the National Advisory Boards on Higher Education. The members shall be competent in matters relating to research and higher education.
3) Five members representing the management. Deans of faculties, if this office exists, are ex officio members of the management side.
4) Two members representing the academic staff.
5) Two members representing technical-administrative staff.
6) Three members representing students.
(5) In the event of parity of votes, the vote of the chairman shall be decisive.

The Rector

4.

(1) Each institution shall be headed by a rector with jurisdiction in all matters except those referred to in section 3 (1) and (2), section 5 (1) and (2), section 6 (2), section 7 (2) and (4), and section 8 (4)-(6).
(2) The rector shall lay down more detailed rules regarding disciplinary measures vis-a-vis the students.
(3) The rector may in special cases and in pursuance of section 5 (3), decide to call a new election for the office of dean of faculty, for faculty councils, departmental executive committees, and study committees before the expiry of the election period. The rector may in special cases undertake the tasks of the senate, the faculty councils, the departmental committees, and the study committees, in which case section 3 (1) and (2), section 5 (1) and (2), section 7 (2) and section 8 (4)-(6) are suspended.
(4) The rector shall be elected from among professors and associate professors in full-time positions (the permanent academic staff). The election shall take place according to rules laid down in the statutes. For the election of the rector, members of staff who are principally employed by the institution and students enrolled at the institution are entitled to vote, with the votes counted in a proportion of 3:1. The votes cast by the academic staff must make up at least 50 percent. The rector shall be elected for a term of four years. It shall be laid down in the statutes whether and how many times the rector can be reelected.
(5) The rector is obliged to call a new election for the office of rector before the expiry of the election period, if all other members of the senate call for this measure.
(6) The Minister of Education may, in special cases, decide that a new election for the office of rector shall be called before the expiry of the election period.

Faculty Councils

5.

(1) If the institution is divided into several main study areas, a faculty council shall be elected for each area to safeguard the special interest of the faculty. The faculty council shall approve the development plan and budget of the faculty within the framework laid down by the senate. The council shall have a right to comment on all matters of significance to the faculty as well as in matters that involve the relationship between two or more groups from different fields or between departments and study committees within the faculty.
(2) In addition, the faculty council has the following tasks:
1) Approval of curricula.
2) The appointment of assessment committees for work submitted for Ph.D. and senior doctoral degrees.
3) The award of Ph.D. and doctoral degrees.
4) Submission to the rector of the names of experts who will sit on a selection committee for academic positions.
(3) If at least three quarters of the members of the faculty council find that the dean fails to advance the decisions taken in pursuance of (1), it may be recommended to the rector that the dean's term of office be ended.
(4) At institutions which offer teaching and carry out research within only one main area, the functions are carried out by the senate.
(5) The faculty council, which consists of a chairman and up to 14 members, shall be composed as follows:
1) The dean as the ex officio chairman.
2) Two members from outside the institution, one appointed by the relevant National Research Council and the other by the relevant National Advisory Board on Higher Education. Members must be competent in the fields in which the faculty conducts its teaching and research.
3) The other members shall be representatives of the academic staff, representatives of technical administrative staff and of students in the proportion of 2:1:1.
(6) In the event of parity of votes, the chairman's vote shall be decisive.

The Deans of Faculties

6.

(1) At institutions with several faculties a dean shall be elected for each faculty. The dean shall, by authority of the rector and in accordance with guidelines laid down by the faculty council, be responsible for the day-to-day management.
(2) In special cases and in accordance with sections 7 (8) and 8 (8), the dean may decide to call new elections for the offices of head of department and director of study committees before the expiry of the election period.
(3) The dean of faculty shall be elected from among the permanent academic staff of the faculty. The election shall take place according to rules laid down in the statutes. The academic staff who have their main occupation and students who are enrolled with the faculty are entitled to vote with votes counted in a proportion of 3:1. However, the votes cast by the academic staff must make up at least 50 percent. The dean of faculty shall be elected for a term of four years. It shall be laid down in the statutes whether and how many times the dean of faculty can be reelected. The rector shall approve the elected dean of faculty.

Departments and Departmental Management

7.

(1) Research and related activities at the institution shall normally be placed within departments. Each department shall elect a head of department and an executive committee. If the department has fewer than ten academic members of staff, the election of such a committee may be omitted.
(2) The committee shall lay down general guidelines for the activities and development of the department and shall approve the budget of the department within the framework laid down by the faculty council.
(3) The head of department shall, by authority of the rector and in accordance with guidelines laid down by the committee, be responsible for the day-to-day management, including the planning and assignment of duties. The head of department may direct members of staff to undertake certain tasks always respecting their free choice of research methods.
(4) The head of department shall be elected from among the department's permanent academic staff, normally for a term of three years with the option of reelection. The head of department shall be elected by all members of the academic staff and technical-administrative staff who have their principal occupation at the department. However the vote proportion of the academic staff must make up at least 50 percent. The dean shall approve the elected head of department.
(5) The departmental executive committee, which consists of a chairman and 3 members, shall be composed as follows:
1) The head of department, as ex officio chairman of the committee.
2) 2 members elected from among members of the permanent academic staff by members of the academic staff who have their principal occupation at the department.
3) One member elected by and from among members of the technical-administrative staff.
(6) In departments with 30 or more academic staff members, the committee may consist of 6 members in addition to the chairman of the committee department elected as under (5) and in the proportion 4:2.
(7) In the event of parity of votes, the chairman's vote shall be decisive.
(8) If at least two-thirds of the members of the committee find that the head of department fails to advance decisions taken in accordance with (2), it may be recommended to the dean that the head of department's term of office be terminated.

Study Committees and Directors of Studies

8.

(1) A study committee shall be set up for each study programme or cluster of programmes.
(2) Each study committee shall consist of an equal number of teachers and students with a maximum of ten in all. The teachers shall be elected for a three-year term with the option of reelection by and from among teachers attached to the relevant area. At least half of the teachers must be members of the academic staff in full-time employment. The students shall be elected for a term of one year by and from among students studying within the area represented by the study committee. The committee shall elect a chairman from among its academic members in full-time employment.
(3) In the event of parity of votes, the matter shall be referred to the faculty council.
(4) The study committee shall approve teaching plans, including the assignment of teaching resources and shall draw up proposals for curricula.
(5) The institution shall consult the study committee on:
1) Drafts of ministerial orders for study programmes.
2) Drafts of general rules pertaining to examinations, marking and teaching.
3) Other matters concerning teaching in the area represented by the committee.
(6) The study committee may make certain exceptions regarding the ministerial order and/or the curriculum, according to general guidelines.
(7) The chairman of the study committee is also the Director of Studies, and therefore, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the study programme - its content and allocation of resources for teaching. The nomination of a Director of Studies shall be approved by the Dean.
(8) If at least two-thirds of the members of the study committee other than the chairman find that the director fails to advance decisions taken in pursuance of (4), it may recommend to the dean that the director's term of office be terminated.

Part 3
Economic Matters

9.

(1) The government shall make appropriations for the teaching activities of the institution, for its research activities, and for other tasks vested in the institution, including grants for its administration and buildings.
(2) The institution shall have free disposal of appropriations, grants, and income on the condition that it abides by the premises on which the grants were founded and by the rules of disposal, and that it carries out the tasks for which the appropriation has been made in pursuance of (1).
(3) Appropriations for teaching activities shall be fixed on the basis of rates laid down in the annual state budgets and on the basis of the number of students calculated as active fulltime equivalents.
(4) The Minister of Education shall lay down rules for the calculation of the number of students counted as active full-time equivalents.
(5) The Minister of Education may, on the basis of appropriations, decide on minimum and maxium levels of intake for full-time study programmes.
(6) For PhD students whose training is financed by external funds, and for certain foreign students, an institution may demand payment for their participation in teaching and examinations.
(7) The Minister of Education may lay down rules concerning the institution's responsibility for provision and administration of its buildings/property.
(8) Institutions may receive grants from other quarters than the state budget. Such nongovernment grants can be kept separate from government appropriations. The institutions may establish funds and trusts for such grants.
(9) The Minister of Education can demand information from institutions for budgetary purposes and may decide that the institutions are to use joint administrative systems.

10. (1) The Minister of Education may expropriate or, in the case of institutions not owned by the state, permit the expropriation of property for institutions of higher education. The expropriation shall take place according to provisions laid down in the act on the procedure for expropriation of property.
(2) The Minister of Education may accept that institutions enter into agreements of a non-commercial nature with self-governing institutions and organizations to which they are affiliated and whose main objectives are linked to the objectives of the institution.

Part 4
Various Provisions

11.

(1) Complaints of a legal nature pertaining to decisions taken by an institution in accordance with this act or with other rules laid down in pursuance of the act can be brought before the Minister of Education always subject to (2).
(2) The Minister of Education shall lay down more detailed regulations pertaining to the right to complain and may, in this context, decide that decisions cannot be brought before the minister unless they are of a legal nature.
(3) The Minister of Education may decide what decisions can be brought before a special appeals committee and whether this body can have the final administrative decision-making power in the matter.

12. (1)The Minister of Education may approve exceptions from the provisions of the act upon proposal from the institution.
(2) The Minister of Education may lay down special regulations for institutions or parts hereof which are responsible for special tasks or where special conditions call for such measures.

Part 5

This part (on provisions for the transition to the new law and the date of operation) has been omitted.

Ministry of Education, 27 May 1993
Ole Vig Jensen

/ Bodil Horn

www.au.dk/en/rules/1993/lbk334