OPINION: A university that plays by too many rules

This is an opinion piece; the views expressed in the column are the writer’s own.

Starting university at the age of 35 might sound like a real drag. For me, it was a welcome opportunity to immerse myself in literature alongside inspiring fellow students and talented lecturers. Although it took me several months to realise that ‘floor’ isn’t a new nightclub, and I’ve had to accept that my teenage years are now the theme for Friday bars (ouch), I’m loving my renaissance as a student at AU. Unfortunately, it often feels like AU doesn’t really want me as a student. 

Since the third semester of my bachelor’s degree, I have been working full-time alongside my studies. Initially, I held three different jobs as a pizza chef, a copywriter, and a library page at Dokk1, but in 2023, I became an assistant professor in animation at The Animation Workshop/VIA University College, and now I experience the perfect interdisciplinary synergy between my literature studies at AU and my work. 

Bureaucratic roadblocks

But for a non-traditional student like me, dealing with AU is fraught with bureaucratic roadblocks. In August 2024, I was forced to sit a re-examination, as I had to supervise my own students in oral exams during the period of my final bachelor’s exam. Back in December 2023, I contacted the examination administration at AU and asked if I could sit the exam on one of the other days, specifically to avoid this clash. The answer was that this is only possible in cases of civic duties or scheduled operations. This meant that, all alone on a random Wednesday in August, I finished my bachelor’s degree, months after my fellow students. It was a bit disappointing.  Incidentally, I was supposed to attend the introduction for my master’s degree programme that same day, but a resit exam is bound to clash with the start of the academic year…

Rigid frameworks

When I had to choose my profile course for the autumn semester this spring, I wanted to register for a course that has a group exam. Due to my working hours at VIA, it is not possible for me to undertake large group projects, so I requested the option of taking the exam individually. The response was that no exemption from the curriculum could be granted; the only alternative was to sit the re-examination. And in that case, I wouldn’t be able to get any guidance. This didn’t sound like a satisfactory way to take a course, so I ended up choosing a different one. 

The choice of profile courses presents other problems. If, like me, you don’t have the opportunity to do an internship or spend a semester abroad, the range of profile courses on offer is, unfortunately, nothing to write home about. Why is it not possible to expand the catalogue, or at the very least make it more straightforward for students to put together their own profile based on existing courses from other degree programmes, so that those who ‘stay at home’ feel just as valued as other students?

Feels like AU doesn't care

It is disappointing to be faced with these (often anxiety-inducing) challenges, which feel like pointless, bureaucratic tyranny and demand extra time and energy from me. It makes me sad, and I feel that AU doesn’t care about having me as a student. Yes, now that I’m 41 and have a steady job, my approach to studying is different from what it would have been if I were 22; on the other hand, I bring a different kind of life experience to the table. And this is often extremely useful for exams, during classroom instruction, and for exploring new areas within my course. 

My intention is by no means to criticise specific teaching staff, for I have had countless lecturers who have been just as frustrated as I am (and, as a lecturer at VIA myself, I recognise this all too well). The fantastic student counsellors are also doing their utmost to advise and protect students like me, but unfortunately that isn’t always enough.

Time for a structural overhaul

An educational institution such as AU should ask itself: ‘What is the purpose? Are we here to foster spiritual development and create a knowledge-based society? Are we doing this in inclusive and innovative ways that benefit all students and the future they are heading towards?’ If it turns out that bureaucratic formalities are actually standing in the way of people who wish to pursue their education through non-traditional routes, then I would argue that it is time for a structural overhaul. 

If universities and politicians genuinely want inclusion, accessibility, and opportunities for the further development of skills regardless of age and socio-economic background, it is time to create the framework that will actually make this possible. When you consider that this is an agenda which Danish politicians are trying to push, which the business community is calling for, and which AU regularly speaks of in positive terms in the press, one might wonder why there is so little focus on it in day-to-day practice at AU. A rigid structure can mean that students who are different end up dropping out (I’ve had that thought myself on numerous occasions), because in the stronghold of bureaucracy, human joy and motivation are often the first to disappear.  

We don’t all follow the same path when it comes to education. Take my grandfather Palle, who earned his PhD from Aarhus University when he was 74. I think that’s wonderful, because it means that the university is for everyone. 

Cristina Bojesen is a master’s degree student in Comparative Literature at Aarhus University and an assistant professor in animation at The Animation Workshop/VIA University College in Viborg.  

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Mie Skov Jeppesen.