Here you can see the results of the previous study environment surveys at AU (from 2020 the Danish Student Survey).
The 2023 Danish Student Survey was sent to 31,578 full-time students at Aarhus University and 10,800 students took the survey. This results in an overall response rate of 34.20%.
Degree programme quality has been the subject of many discussions and attempts at definition in recent years. The Danish Student Survey contains a question in which the students are asked to evaluate the overall quality of their degree programme.
It should be noted that such an evaluation cannot, of course, be taken in isolation when assessing degree programme quality. Rather, the evaluation of the statement itself can be understood as an expression of the student’s immediate overall level of satisfaction with the degree programme in general.
The quality of my programme is generally high
Selected results from the Danish Student Survey from autumn 2020 are presented below. The themes addressed are the respondents’ assessment of the educational and social environment, their general level of well-being on their programme, as well as their knowledge of where they get support and guidance if they are struggling.
There is a good educational environment
There is a good social study environment
In general, I feel really good at my education
I know where to get support and guidance at my campus if I’m not well
Loneliness is not a new problem among university students, unfortunately; both AU's previous Study Environment Survey (SMU) and the Danish Student Survey always include questions on this topic.
Have you experienced feeling lonely at your study?:
Stress has been high on the agenda in recent years. This applies to all aspects of our society, including the educational sector.
In the Danish Student Survey, students at AU were asked whether they have experienced severe stress symptoms in connection with their daily life as well as whether they have experienced severe stress symptoms in connection with exams.
They were also asked whether they have recently felt stressed by a variety of specific factors, including both degree programme-related issues and non-degree programme-related issues.
Time on task (the amount of time students spend on their academic work for their degree programmes) has been much discussed in recent years. So students were asked to indicate how much time they spend on their studies in the Danish Student Survey. The question about time-on-task has been included in the survey since 2018.
Academic time on task
Time spent on paid and voluntary work
In particular, the amount of feedback students receive has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, and feedback has been part of the ministry’s student surveys since 2016.
In 2020, four additional questions on this theme were added, and in both 2020 and in 2023, AU's students were given the opportunity to answer five questions about feedback. The questions fall under two categories and include three questions concerning the value of the feedback provided as well as two questions relating to the scope of the feedback provided.
Value of feedback
Amount of feedback:
Aarhus University has included the themes discrimination, sexism and harassment (including sexual harassment) in the survey for a number of years.
Below, we lay out the main findings for some of the questions within each theme.
Discrimination, violence and threats
Sexism and harassment
The results of the 2021 Danish Student Survey are only available in Danish - find them here.
The results of the 2020 Danish Student Survey form the basis for the university's teaching environment assessment, which is carried out every 3 years.
The questionnaire was sent to 33,381 full-time students at Aarhus University and 11,133 responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 33.4%.
In 2020, the survey results may be affected by corona restrictions and periodic lockdown of AU. The questionnaire survey was conducted from the 20th of October to the 15th of December 2020. During this time, the university was subject to a number of corona restrictions of importance to teaching, but was not physically shut down.
Following the spring lockdown, in the early summer of 2020, the university conducted a study of the transition to online teaching and exams. The purpose of the study was to draw lessons from these experiences in order to strengthen AU's forward-looking approach to digitised teaching and exams. Report and main conclusions can be found here: https://newsroom.au.dk/nyheder/vis/artikel/hvad-laerte-vi-af-foraarets-corona-undervisning.
Degree programme quality has been the subject of many discussions and attempts at definition in recent years. The ministry's student survey contains a question in which the students are asked to evaluate the overall quality of their degree programme. It should be noted that such an evaluation cannot, of course, be taken in isolation when assessing degree programme quality. Rather, the evaluation of the statement itself can be understood as an expression of the student’s immediate overall level of satisfaction with the degree programme in general.
Main findings: Quality
The quality of my programme is generally high:
Click here for an in-depth note
Below are selected results from the student survey from autumn 2020, and deals with the respondents’ assessment of the educational and social environment, their general level of well-being on their programme, as well as their knowledge of where they get support and guidance if they are struggling.
Main findings: Study environment:
There is a good educational environment
There is a good social study environment
In general, I feel really good at my education
I know where to get support and guidance at my campus if I’m not well
Click here for an in-depth note
Due to the coronavirus situation's impact on well-being, the ministry's 2020 student survey contains four questions concerning the coronavirus and the shutdown of the educational sector. The central issue is student well-being during the coronavirus pandemic, and both the shutdown last spring as well as daily life during the autumn, when the survey was conducted, are addressed.
Main findings: Well-being during the coronavirus pandemic
I had a hard time during the corona-shutdown in the spring:
The shutdown have not delayed me in my studies
Today, my everyday life in my study program works well despite the corona situation:
The Corona situation removes some of the joy of studiyng:
Click here for an in-depth note
Loneliness is not a new problem among university students. For this reason, the topic was always addressed both in AU’s previous study environment surveys (SMU) and in the extensive student survey conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education and science every two years – most recently in the autumn of 2020.
Main findings: Loneliness
Have you experienced feeling lonely at your study?:
Click here for an in-depth note
Stress has been high on the agenda in recent years. This applies to all aspects of our society, including the educational sector. For this reason, the topic has been addressed both in AU’s previous study environment surveys (SMU) and in the extensive student survey conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education and science every two years – most recently in the autumn of 2020.
In the above-mentioned surveys, students at AU were asked whether they have experienced severe stress symptoms in connection with their daily life as well as whether they have experienced severe stress symptoms in connection with exams. This year, a new question was added about the extent to which students have felt pressurised by a variety of different conditions recently. The conditions about which students were asked include both degree programme-related issues and non-degree programme-related issues.
Main findings: Stress
Click here for an in-depth note
Feedback has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, and a question about feedback has been included in the Ministry's survey since 2016. In 2020, students at Aarhus University had the opportunity to respond to an additional four questions concerning feedback. This year’s student survey thus included a total of five questions about feedback. The questions fall under two categories and include three questions concerning the value of the feedback provided as well as two questions relating to the scope of the feedback provided.
Main findings: Feedback
Value of feedback
Amount of feedback:
Click here for an in-depth note
Time on task (the amount of time students spend on their academic work for their degree programmes) has been much discussed in recent years. And students were asked to indicate how much time they spend on their respective degree programmes in the Ministry’s student survey. Time on task was included in the 2018 survey using the same methodology.
Main findings: Time on task
In the wake of the 2014 study environment survey, a number of initiatives were introduced, both at university level and on individual degree programmes.