What do students do in the board of studies and academic council – and are they being heard?

So close – and yet so far away. That’s a fitting way to describe the university election, as it’s closely tied to your everyday life as a student, when student representatives in the academic council and board of studies make decisions about exams, academic regulations, and the number of power sockets. 

Still, the university elections aren’t really on the radar for 80 per cent of the students. Last year, the overall voting turnout was 18.25 per cent. But it’s important to use your vote as a student, say some of the many students hoping to be elected to the boards of studies and academic councils this year. 

Understand the university elections in 2 minutes

One of them is Rasmus Bøgh Vinther, vice-chair of the board of studies at Political Science and Social Science, who believes that the board of studies is one of the most important things for the students.

"The board of studies has a huge influence on the students' everyday lives. Everything that takes place in the degree programme has been decided by the board of studies. The reason you have classroom teaching, and the scheduling of different courses across semesters, is decided by the Board of Studies," says Rasmus Bøgh Vinther, who is running for re-election to the board this year. 

"One of the most important things we've done over the past year is to provide more guidance in the bachelor seminars, and the big milestone is that we've developed a new Master's degree programme, which will take effect in 2027," Rasmus Bøgh Vinther says. 

Kasper Atzen Gade, vice-chair of the board of studies at Communication and Culture, generally feels that the students are being listened to at the meetings of the board of studies.

He has been a member of the board of studies for two years and is running for re-election this year. 

"The influence fluctuates in periods, depending on what we’re working with. We’re working a lot with academic regulations right now because of the Master's reform, so now we have a lot of influence as students," he says. 

At the board of studies at Natural Sciences sits vice-chair Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen, who is running for re-election to the board of studies at this university election. 

He believes that the student representatives on the board of studies at Natural Sciences have gained more influence over the past year. 

"The administration has been very involved in the board of studies, handling tasks like exemptions and complaints, but we've now established an executive committee within the board, made up of academic staff and student representatives," says Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen, a fifth-semester physics student. 

“We spend quite a lot of time discussing the challenges around GAI and how best to integrate it into teaching," says Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen about the board of studies meetings.

Marie Heuckendorff Hansen is a member of the academic council at the Faculty of Health in her third year and is standing for re-election at this university election. She agrees that the students are being heard and gives an example: 

“When I first joined the Academic Council, we talked about the physical study environment, and in many places, there were no power sockets. So we told the management, and then the power socket appeared," she says.

Karen Eika has been a member of the Academic Council at Aarhus BSS from January to September and is now running for the board of studies at Political Science and Social Science.

"The students are being heard in the academic council, for sure. The dean sits on the council, along with 14 representatives of the academic staff, and the students hold four seats, meaning that around 25 per cent of the voting members of the council are students. In addition three representatives of the technical-administrative staff attend as observers and not as voting members," she says.

"The Academic Council is an advisory body, so we mostly work on consultation responses, recommendations and reviewing the university’s accounts and budget - things like that," says Karen Eika, who studies political science.

As the voice of the students, it’s of course important to know what the students want in terms of improvements. 

Both Kasper Atzen Gade, Rasmus Bøgh Vinther, Marie Heuckendorff Hansen and Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen are of the opinion that they have a good feeling for what is being talked about among their fellow students. 

"I use the degree programme board, where you have students from the different year groups, to get input," Kasper Atzen Gade says.

"It also depends a bit on whether the different programmes have a degree programme council or a degree programme committee. Here you can consult with the students," he says.

Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen from the board of studies at Natural Sciences uses this very strategy. 

"I am also a member of the degree programme council Sigma (the Student Council's degree programme council for the physics degree, ed.), so in that way I try to keep an eye on what's going on," he says. 

Rasmus Bøgh Vinther from the board of studies at Political Science and Social Science also believes that he has his finger on the pulse when it comes to students' thoughts about student life.

"We involve the students as much as we can. We host a ‘complaining day’ every six months, where the students can come and complain. We will then take that further. We also hold open meetings where people can come and present their opinions," he says. 

The picture is the same in the academic council at Aarhus BSS, Karen Eika says. 

"We really try to get input from the students, so it's important that the students participate, because it gives us a lot of knowledge." 

Marie Heuckendorff Hansen from the Academic Council at Health says that the Medicine Students’ Council (the Student Council's degree programme council for medical degree, ed.), of which she is also a member, makes an effort to keep track of what students are dissatisfied with at the medical degree. 

"We do a lot of work to know how the students are. There are association bazaars and ‘cake-and-complain’ days. We also meet regularly in the Medicine Students’ Council," she says.

According to the five representatives, there are plenty of good reasons to cast your vote in the university elections. 

"There are many good reasons to vote. It protects democracy, but it’s also an opportunity to show the institute that the students want to be heard. "I usually say that we talk about these things in our circles anyway – so why not bring them into a space where we can actually change them," says Kasper Atzen Gade from the board of studies at Communication and Culture. 

"The board of studies has a great influence on the everyday life of the student. Much more than you think," says Rasmus Bøgh Vinther from the board of studies at Political Science and Social Science.  

"It’s an opportunity for students to have a say in their student life. It’s quite unique in Denmark that we have influence and that it’s written into the legislation," says Karen Eika, referring to the University Act.

"The more people who vote, the broader the mandate I hold, and the more seriously I’m taken," says Marie Heuckendorff Hansen. 

"It’s important that students are represented at the management level. And it’s important that it’s not just the academic staff and the administration who decide on things, because they don’t have the insight that we as students do," Simon Mosgaard Jørgensen adds.

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You can vote in the university elections from 10 November to 13 November via AU's election page.

You vote digitally, so there's no need to show up on campus to cast your vote.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen.