The study environment survey 2014 shows that even though AU has made great efforts to combat stress since 2011, even more students today often or always experience severe stress symptoms. Pro-Rector for Education Berit Eika is disappointed that the last three years of efforts are not reflected in the figures.    

"As far as we are aware, we haven’t made things more difficult for the students. On the contrary, we’ve spent time on creating the best possible study conditions," says the pro-rector, who took up her position in the summer.

As a direct response to the study environment survey Berit Eika has, together with the student council and the student guidance office, taken the initiative to a meeting about stress among the students on 28 October. The aim is to try and understand what lies behind the negative curve and to find out how AU can best help the students handle stress.

"We hope that very many students, lecturers and staff at management level will come to the meeting so we can combine our efforts to address the issue," she says. 

We can do better

At the same time, a major analysis process has been started at the faculties and results will be gathered before Christmas, says Eika. 

"The departments take this very seriously and are in the process of analysing the survey of the study environment for the individual degree programmes to find out where we need more information or activities, and where we are already doing a good job."

For example, she acknowledges that there is a shortage of reading rooms and group rooms. The pro-rector is also interested in finding the best possible way of supporting the students in organising their work between classes, among other things by increased integration of IT.

Shared responsibility

High academic standards and quality requirements cannot be compromised. Neither is it possible to avoid the fact that a university education is an independent journey, says Eika. Then there are additional external societal factors and a study progress reform that contributes to placing extra pressure on the young people, says the pro-rector.

"A growing problem with stress among the students is a highly complex issue which the university cannot solve alone. Our task is to create a good framework around teaching and the study environment and to describe our learning objectives and expectations as precisely as possible."

Translated by Peter Lambourne 

FACTS

Seventy projects since 2011

The website tvivsel.au.dk, academic skills days for new students and courses on motivation and stress management are just some of the 70+ projects that AU has launched since 2011 to reduce stress among the students. So says Anne Christine Teglborg, who is section manager at AU Studies Administration, guidance and study information, which annually holds more than 40,000 individual interviews with students: 

"We have focused a great deal on long-term solutions and prevention. We must continue to try to teach the students how to handle the pressure that they place on themselves along with the external pressure they experience. Both from the political level, from the university and from parents," she says.