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Decommissioning plan

Decommissioning plan for SDU Slagelse is ready

After a period of dialogue with affected employees at SDU Slagelse, agreements are now in place and a plan has been made to discontinue educational and research activities on campus towards 2027.

In November 2023, the Board of SDU decided, on the recommendation of the Rectorate, to discontinue SDU’s education and research activities at SDU Slagelse from the summer of 2027 (read more HERE). Since then, SDU’s management has been working to establish a plan for the discontinuation.

Until the end of April 2024, management has conducted dialogues with employees in Slagelse with a view to concluding agreements on transfer or resignation. Agreements have now been reached, allowing an announcement to be made on the outcome and the further plan towards the discontinuation.

The decommissioning plan ensures that SDU can maintain all necessary activities that support the programmes in Slagelse until summer 2027. Staffing on campus will gradually be reduced as the number of students attending the Slagelse campus decreases in the coming years.

Programmes and student population

As a result of the decision in November 2023, SDU stopped admitting students to SDU Slagelse, meaning that the last cohort of students was admitted in the summer of 2023.

In January 2024, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science approved that SDU can move its Professional Bachelor’s degree programme in English and Digital Marketing Communication to Business Academy Zealand from summer 2024.

When the last students enrolled at SDU Slagelse have completed their education in the summer of 2027, SDU will stop offering the following programmes in Slagelse: Professional Bachelor’s degree in English and Digital Marketing Communication; Bachelor’s degree in International Business Communication English; BSc in Economics and Business Administration (HA) and MSc in Economics and Business Administration.

As the cohorts of students complete their programmes at SDU Slagelse, the student population will decrease from an estimated 320 students in 2024 to 154 students in 2025, 53 students in 2026 and 11 students in 2027.

Expected student population at SDU Slagelse

Faculty

Education

Type

2024

2025

2026

2027

Humanities

Professional Bachelor’s degree in English and Digital Marketing Communication

Bachelor

62

33

16

2

Humanities

International Business Communication, English

Bachelor

52

20

4

1

Business and Social Sciences

MSc in Economics and Business Administration

Master’s degree

15

5

1

0

Business and Social Sciences

Economics and Business Administration

Bachelor

187

95

32

8

Business and Social Sciences

Economics and Business Administration – credit

Bachelor

4

1

0

0

Total population

  

 

320

154

53

11

Staffing at SDU Slagelse towards 2027

Until the end of April 2024, the management has entered into agreements with employees based at SDU Slagelse to ensure that the necessary activities that support the students’ education in Slagelse can be maintained until summer 2027. As the number of students decreases within the next few years, activities and staffing levels will be reduced accordingly.

For the three main areas – the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences and the Central Administration – the decommissioning plans are organised with the aim of completing the tasks of the main areas by 2027.

The Faculty of Humanities

At the Faculty of Humanities, which is responsible for the Professional Bachelor’s degree programme in English and Digital Marketing Communication and the BA programme in International Business Communication, agreements have been made with employees about transfer to Odense and resignation. From the start of the semester in September 2024, the vast majority of teaching tasks will be handled by employees based at SDU Odense. Three employees will continue to be based at SDU Slagelse until their retirement in at the beginning and end of 2025, respectively. The head of studies and head of staff teaching in Slagelse will have office space and weekly presence on campus.

The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

At the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, which is responsible for the BSc and MSc programmes in Economics and Business Administration, agreements have been made with employees about transfer and resignation. From the start of the semester in September 2024, the vast majority of teaching tasks will be handled by employees based at SDU Odense. Three employees will continue to be based in Slagelse until their retirement in the period from the beginning of 2025 to the end of 2026.

Employees with administrative tasks have signed severance agreements and will be resigning during 2024. One employee will be transferred to SDU Odense in early 2025. An agreement has been made with the Central Administration, which in collaboration with the Programme Administration at SAMF (Odense) supports the activities in Slagelse.

Central Administration

The Central Administration is responsible for several cross-functional tasks at SDU Slagelse. Staffing for student-focused tasks will be adjusted as the number of students at SDU Slagelse decreases. Staffing for non-student-focused tasks will be maintained until mid-2027.

  • The library will maintain activities in Slagelse until the end of 2026. Staffing will be reduced to 0,5 FTE during the period. From 2027, SDU Slagelse will be served from SDU Odense.
  • Student Services will maintain activities in Slagelse until mid-2027. Staffing will be continuously reduced to 1 person until mid-2027.
  • RIO maintains activities in Slagelse as needed and agreed with the faculties. SDU Slagelse will be served from SDU Odense from 30 June 2025 at the latest.
  • SDU IT will maintain its activities until mid-2027. As the number of employees and students at SDU Slagelse decreases, the employee in Slagelse will handle cross-functional IT tasks at SDU.
  • Technical Services will maintain its activities and staffing until mid-2027. With fewer employees and students in Slagelse, the employees will handle tasks related to the preparation of handing over the building to the landlord.
  • SDU Communications maintains its activities and staffing until mid-2027. The campus coordinator will be given a special coordination task to ensure that the final discontinuation of the activities in Slagelse is carried out as planned. The campus coordinator will be an important link between SDU Slagelse and SDU’s management in Odense, including helping with ongoing communication.

Continued focus on the working and study environment

Over the next few months, SDU’s management will investigate further matters relating to SDU Slagelse.

This includes looking at the layout of workplaces at SDU Slagelse with a view to physical reorganisation as a result of the reduction in staff and student numbers. SDU will also enter into a dialogue with the landlord about whether it is possible to terminate parts of the lease early.

It is essential that Slagelse continues to have a good working and study environment. Under the auspices of the Campus Council, it will be agreed how to ensure a good working and study environment at SDU Slagelse. Furthermore, a dialogue will be sought with Absalon University College about the work and study environment and with Business Academy Zealand about the study environment in relation to the Professional Bachelor’s degree programme that has been transferred.

In the coming period, management will support academic and social initiatives at SDU Slagelse that can help ensure a good working environment.

In the period from the Board’s decision until the end of April 2024, a temporary organisation was set up with a steering committee, coordination groups within the three main areas and a dialogue forum. These temporary forums will come to and end in June 2024, as the overall decommissioning plan has been finalised. In future, coordination will take place under the auspices of the Campus Council in Slagelse and with the help of the campus coordinator, who has overall responsibility for coordinating the decommissioning plan at SDU Slagelse.

Many thanks to all of you

A big and appreciative thank you for the constructive approach, the good dialogues and the flexibility shown by everyone involved during a difficult time.

Regrettably, the process from the announcement of a possible transfer to Roskilde University on 1 March 2023 to the decision to close SDU Slagelse in November 2023 to the final decommissioning plan in April 2024 has been very long. Many employees at SDU Slagelse have been affected along the way and have experienced insecurity and uncertainty until the final agreements and plans could be finalised.

On behalf of the management, I would like to apologise for the lengthy process. I hope that the agreements have been reached in a way that will help everyone move forward.

Thanks again for your efforts!

Thomas Buchvald Vind

University Director

Chairman of the steering committee



Editing was completed: 06.05.2024