About The Council for Education
Where education and strategy meet
Cases that reach the Council for Education are often the culmination of complex cases
The terms of reference for the Council for Education describe the Council’s primary task as being ‘to strengthen SDU’s overall and strategic initiatives and activities in the education area.’ On behalf of the University’s Executive Board, the Council for Education (UR) ensures the managerial anchoring of educational development and quality assurance. In order to fulfil this purpose, the UR is constituted by vice deans for education from the faculties or other representatives appointed by the dean, the deputy director of studies from Central Administration, and from the members of the Executive Board, the Pro-Rector is appointed as chair.
What types of cases are managed by the UR?
The UR deals with different types of cases, of which we provide an overview here:
Some of the cases dealt with by the UR are nominations/recommendations from other forums at SDU. These include cases brought by the study coordination groups SAK KVAL (with a focus on education quality) or SAK ADM (with a focus on student administration).
An example: One case that was dealt with in the last quarter of 2023 was about changes to some of the study progress rules after being processed by SAK ADM. The case arose from SAK ADM’s experience with current progress rules and the UR’s wish to evaluate these.
By virtue of its role as a steering group for education-related projects, the UR also deals with cases related to relevant projects.
An example: At its meeting in January 2024, the Council was presented with a report from Project Generative AI in the area of education, which provided an update of the preliminary results from the three project groups as well as recommendations for further work, to which the Council was asked to respond.
Cases processed by the UR are also typically part of a fixed and recurring process in which UR has a role.
An example: In connection with the pre-qualification of new education programmes, the UR is involved in the process on an ongoing basis.
A new objective with the strategy as a starting point
In view of SDU’s strategy, which is about value and quality – and equally about people – the UR is naturally focused on well-being. The previously mentioned case of changing selected study progress rules is an example of this: the approved measures must contribute to increasing well-being among students, and well-being is considered a strategic goal.
Would you like to know more?
Contact the UR secretariat at kvalitet@sdu.dk if you would like to hear more about the UR’s work.
If you would like to learn more about SAK KVAL, we recommend our article The fruits of experience exchange.