A word from the Dean

Dear Staff

Welcome back from the summer break. I hope that you have managed to recharge your batteries in the company of family and friends - in spite of the capricious Danish summer weather!

We have just concluded the year's intake of students, and in a couple of weeks we'll welcome our new students to the University - which is always something very special! This year, we'll be welcoming slightly fewer Bachelor students, but on the other hand I expect that a larger percentage of them will complete their Bachelor study programmes.

The reason that fewer Bachelor students are starting their studies at the Faculty of Science is that we have toughened the entry requirements considerably. The main aim of toughening them was to reduce dropout among our students. We had also hoped that the students who didn't meet the requirements would apply through Quota 2. This year, SDU both introduced test-based admission in Quota 2 and increased the percentage of students admitted through Quota 2. Unfortunately, the number of applications to the Faculty of Science in Quota 2 was insufficient, and therefore we have an intake of around 20% fewer Bachelor students this year compared with last year. On the other hand, our new students are better placed to complete a scientific study programme. Undoubtedly, this, as well as our targeted efforts to reduce dropout, will lead to a significantly larger percentage of students completing a scientific Bachelor study programme.

Next year, we will simplify and relax our entry requirements a little so that we don't set ourselves too far apart from our competitors. This will hopefully lead to more applications and a slightly higher number of admitted Bachelor students.

And finally: Please remember to make our new students feel welcome. Consider yourselves role models for a group of very talented young people. It is a great opportunity and a great responsibility.

Best wishes
Martin Zachariasen, Dean