Political framework for the restructuring of master's programmes

Dear All,

A political framework agreement has now been agreed upon for the restructuring of our master's programmes. We have fought in particular to reduce the proportion of shortened master's programmes, and we have succeeded. The agreement only provides a general framework, and there will be a supplementary agreement after the summer holidays. This may contain a more detailed breakdown of the changes by subject areas, but we do not know how detailed the politicians will be, or how much they will leave to the proposed candidate committee, in which all the universities get a representative.

It will be a very big task for the organization to develop the new programs and reorganize existing ones. However, the agreement has landed in a place that is more manageable than the government's original proposal. On the general lines, the agreement is not far from the alternative solution that the universities themselves presented. For example, we suggested a minor restriction in intake of students ourselves, because this can contribute to both labor supply and revenue, which was a prerequisite for achieving a lower proportion of shorter master's programmes. In addition, there is an imbalance in admissions to the various types of higher education programs, with universities getting the major share. The restriction in uptake of students thus also plays into the social responsibility we have as part of the overall educational sector. But it should stop there, and we must also ensure that the restriction in intake of students does not go too far.

Here, you can find the university management's comments on the reform. We would like to encourage that this email be sent out to all employees.

We will discuss the whole reform much more after the summer holidays. Until then, we would like to wish you all a very good and peaceful summer. A break is needed.

Best regards,

The senior management team