One of the biggest changes is the extension to the legal claim from two to three years. This will, according to the minister, allow the students to work in between their bachelor and master’s, and still have a claim to the continuous master’s degree.

“It’s great that the students are now given more flexibility. Some wants to try out what they have learned during their bachelor in the labor market and become wiser while working. This is a possibility now, and they’ll be sure that there’s a space for them at the university if they want to return to their studies,” says Tommy Ahlers in a press release from the ministry.

When Tommy Ahlers presented his vision at CBS in September, Jeppe Ask Tofteskov, the President of CBS Students, was especially happy about the idea of extending the legal claim.

“We’ve been working to get the legal claim changed for a long time. We find that students want a break after their bachelors to figure out how they want to continue. That’s really difficult today, so I’m happy that it is, hopefully, being changed,” said Jeppe Ask Tofteskov on September 17.

Another thing that the parties in the Danish parliament have agreed on is to make it easier for master’s students to study part-time. Today, it is difficult to combine a full-time job with full-time studies. However, the new vision aims to introduce the possibility of doing so-called ‘erhvervskandidater’, which are specific master’s programs that combines work and studies.

Furthermore, the universities in collaboration with the Ministry for Higher Education and Science will work to introduce one-year master degrees as a supplement to the existing two-year degrees.

As a last thing, the 1.08 bonus will be scrapped. High school students who start a university degree within two years after graduation have, until now, been able to multiply their grade point average with the bonus and achieve an even higher grade point average. The bonus has long received criticism from politicians, students and teachers.

“We need to minimize the grade race. The admission should reflect how skilled you are, not how fast you are,” says Tommy Ahlers in the press release.

The legislation is expected to come into effect on July 1, 2019. According to the ministry, the extension to the legal claim will apply to the students who finish their bachelor in the summer of 2019.

Education Student