From Monday 18 May, a limited number of students and academic staff will be allowed on campus for selected exam and teaching activities. This additional limited reopening of our on-site activities is a consequence of the government’s decision to proceed to phase 2 of the reopening of Danish society.

2020.05.14 | Sys Christina Vestergaard

In phase 2, the government has given the universities permission to resume “teaching and exams that require physical attendance” to a certain extent. Read the agreement (in Danish)

After the announcement of phase 2 on 7 May, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Universities Denmark began discussing the type and scope of activities to be resumed. Universities Denmark presented the ministry with a proposal which has since been adjusted after dialogue with the ministry. The agreement means that each university has been allocated a quota for the number of students and employees who may be given access to campus during phase 2.

At Aarhus University, this means that the total quota for Arts and Aarhus BSS is 325 students, 153 VIPs and 40 TAPs. Each faculty receives half of the quota. At Health, Technical Sciences and Natural Sciences, we can give 747 students, 490 VIPs and 120 TAPs access to campus. This total quota is also to be divided equally between the three faculties. Finally, we can also give 14 central administration TAPs access to campus.

The department/school heads will contact each of the employees who will be given permission to carry out teaching and/or exam activities on campus. The affected student will be contacted directly by the studies administration office at their faculty.

What giving these academic staff and students access to campus will mean in practice is that a number of students will get to take exams that would have otherwise been postponed; that selected oral exams for which physical attendance is crucial may be held; and that some students and PhD students can participate in classes/supervision that require physical attendance. This is a welcome development for this group of staff and students. But unfortunately, there are many others who will not be included in this phase of the reopening.

As noted above, phase 2 begins on Monday 18 May. The university will remain physically shut down with the exception of the relatively small number of university staff who have permission to resume some of their on-site activities in phases 1 and 2, along with the very small number of staff who perform essential functions. 

In the next phase of the reopening – phase 3 – the government will allow “full opening of public research activities that require physical attendance”. Phase 3 is set to begin on 8 June. We don’t yet know how this will be implemented in practice in our sector – or even if it will take place as scheduled at all. This will depend on developments in rates of infection over the coming days and weeks, in addition to political negotiations regarding priorities. But if phase 3 proceeds as planned, it will most certainly be an important step in the right direction. We are monitoring developments very closely.

Once again, we would like to emphasise that a large proportion of the university’s activities are suffering due to the physical shutdown. Naturally, we respect that this is a matter of political prioritisation, in which an assessment of the universities’ contribution to society is just one piece of a bigger puzzle in the reopening of the country, and that developments in the rate of infection will continue to be decisive.

With regard to limiting the spread of infection at the university, the authorities expect to announce overall guidelines for the reopening in phase 2. However, we have not received them yet. You will be informed when we have received these guidelines. In any case, all staff and students who are given access to campus will still be expected to comply with the general guidelines and instructions from the public health authorities. In addition, special guidelines apply to the labs, and there will be an extra focus on deep cleaning in the buildings students and staff will be using. If you have questions about what this means for your work, you are always welcome to contact your immediate supervisor.

In our wildest dreams, none of us imagined that we would still be faced with such a comprehensive shutdown of the university two months after we closed down. The situation is a severe strain on everyone, and it requires incredible patience – a patience all of you continue to demonstrate. Thank you. We hope that all of you take some comfort in the fact that – despite everything – we’re beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

The senior management team