The Staff’s Column
Response from University Director Thomas Buchvald Vind
Under the headline ‘Is the layoff season over?’ Peter Bækgaard Von Lehnsburg asks whether the University is facing stability or a calm before the storm after the adjustment process in 2023.
In 2023, SDU’s management implemented a controlled slowdown of its finances (KOP23) as a consequence of the University’s decilining student intake over a number of years. When SDU admits fewer students, SDU also receives less educational revenue. The situation in 2023 meant that over a number of years, a discrepancy had developed between declining educational revenue and the University’s level of expenditure. In the autumn of 2022 and the spring of 2023, the management team explained the situation and the need to carry out an adjustment(https://sdunet.dk/en/budget2023).
KOP23 affected the entire University. Many employees and managers were either directly or indirectly affected by the situation. Carrying out major adjustments at the University is a rare occurrence, and in the management team, we are very aware that extensive adjustments generate uncertainty and insecurity. I can therefore also say that, based on the University’s overall financial situation after the adjustment, SDU will not face similar institutional adjustments in 2024.
In relation to New HEALTH, it is true that the construction costs are higher than expected, but the overall economy remains within the financial framework approved by the Danish Road Directorate as the construction client. As concerns SDU, we do not yet know the final construction costs, since it typically takes a few years before the final financial reports of the construction project are available. The consequence of a higher price for the construction project will be an increase in SDU’s annual rent, but not more than what can be covered within SDU’s budget. It will therefore not be necessary to make institutional adjustments at SDU as a consequence of New HEALTH.