Actual administrative activity or a decision under the Public Administration Act?

On 17 December 2025, SDU's student administrative coordination group SAK ADM discussed guidelines for assessments of actual administrative activities. The occasion was a renewed need to ensure correct processing of cases that fall under actual administrative activities, in accordance with new statements from the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsmand and decisions from the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science.

What is actual administrative activity?

De facto administrative activities include decisions regarding practical, actual actions that affect the student in practice, but without changing the student's legal position (e.g. method of submission, assessment of exams and tests, online exams, room allocation).

In contrast, administrative decisions are legally binding decisions that determine a student's legal position (e.g. additional offer of an exam, registration for and participation in a re-examination without participation in an ordinary examination, extension of a deadline).

How do the guidelines help?

The guidelines help administrative staff to assess whether a case should be treated as actual administrative behaviour:

• By explaining and clarifying the criteria for actual administrative activities
• By describing the processing of cases, including hearing and appeal procedures
• By giving examples of actual administrative activities and individual decisions under the Public Administration Act