Denmark

by Asger Harlung of Aarhus with specialist help from Ann Fastré

For entities in Denmark see Category:Denmark

Partners and Experts in Denmark

Aarhus University is partner in VISCED.

Denmark in a nutshell

Map of Denmark, originally from the CIA's World Factbook

The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark), commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe. Its capital is Copenhagen, it is 43,098 km² or 16,639² sq mi wide with a population of 5,564,219* people) , who we call the Danish or the Danes. The official language is Danish, which is close to Swedish and Norwegian with which Denmark has strong cultural and historical ties.

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark's Constitution originated in the chieftain rule of the Viking Age, it was Absolute Monarchy, followed by Enlightened Absolutism 1660-1848. In 1848, the new King Frederik VII abolished Absolutism and the following year a free Constitution was codified.

Source: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs > Denmark - an Overview

Relevant Documents:

• Wikipedia's page on Denmark's Constitution
• Danish Constitution (EN - PDF), 1999
• Denmark.dk > Denmark: an Overview

Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union (EU) (formerly European Economic Community) since 1973, although has not joined the Eurozone (the zone of countries which use the Euro). Denmark is a founding member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to official statistics from January 2011**, 80.4% of the population of Denmark are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish National Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. According to article 6 of the Constitution, the Royal family must belong to this Church.

*: April 2011 estimate according to the Statistics Denmark

**: January 2011 statistics from the Danish Church Ministry

Adapted from: the Wikipedia page on Denmark and Denmark.dk > About Denmark

Note: also available is an interactive map of Denmark where you can hover over the cities and make the public transport routes visible

Regions and municipalities

Denmark consists of 443 islands and in 2007 the country created the division of five regions and a total of 98 municipalities, which mostly have a population of at least 20,000 people. This division was a part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country's traditional thirteen counties (amter). At the same time, smaller municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the national health service.

The Five Regions of Denmark (descending order of population):

1. Hovedstaden / the Capital Region of Denmark
2. Midtjylland / Region Central Jutland
3. Syddanmark / Region South Denmark
4. Sjælland / Region Zealand
5. Nordjylland / Region North Jutland

The Faroe Islands and Greenland/Grønland are autonomous provinces of Denmark with home rule, but are not members of the European Union (EU).

Adapted from:

• Wikipedia's page on Denmark
• Wikipedia's page on Denmark’s Regions

Education in Denmark

Map of the Danish educational system

The Danish education system provides access to primary school, secondary school, and most kinds of higher education. Attendance at "Folkeskole" is compulsory for a minimum of 9 years, and a maximum of 10. About 99% of students attend compulsory elementary school, 86% attend secondary school, and 41% pursue further education.

All college education in Denmark is free.

Danish education policy

• The Church Law of 1539 contains Denmark's first educational legislation with a formal requirement for schools in all provincial boroughs.
• New acts in 1937, 1958, and 1975 reflected the demands of a new age in terms of equal access to all forms of education.
• Another act that came into force in 1994 stipulated that the Folkeskole give a student the opportunity to develop as many of their talents as possible. One of the watchwords of the new act is differentiated teaching, or that teaching should be adapted as much as possible to the individual student.

We can say that the key values in Danish education are intellectual liberty, equality and democracy.

In 2007 the Danish government decided to strengthen the public's knowledge of the democratic values on which the Danish society is founded by creating a democracy canon. The canon has now been translated into English." --> The Danish Democracry Canon (EN). Read the complete Danish Democracry Canon (EN).

Education levels in Denmark

A. Primary and secondary education

Danish primary and lower secondary education is based on the Danish Education Act. In its introduction, it states the following about the aims of primary and lower secondary education:

Section 1.

Together with parents, primary and lower secondary school shall provide pupils with knowledge and skills that: prepare them for further study and give them the desire to learn more, make them familiar with Danish culture and history, provide them with an understanding of other countries and cultures, contribute towards their understanding for man's interaction with nature and promote the individual student's all-round development.

Section 2.

Primary and lower secondary school must develop working methods and create a framework that promotes experience, absorption and enterprise so that students develop their imagination, sense of recognition and self-belief, thus enabling them to take a position and act.

Section 3. Primary and lower secondary school shall prepare the students towards participation, joint responsibility, rights and duties in a free and democratic society. School activities must thus be characterised by intellectual liberty, equality and democracy.

Source: New to Denmark - School and education

The Folkeskole is the Danish municipal primary and lower secondary school and consists of:

• one year of pre-school class
• nine years of primary and lower secondary education --> compulsory education
• one-year 10th class

Education is compulsory in Denmark for everyone between the ages of 6-7 and 16: so nine years of basic education. It is important to note that education itself is compulsory, not schooling: whether the education is received in a publicly provided school, in a private school or at home is a matter of individual choice, as long as accepted standards are met.

Sources: Danish Ministry of Education - The Folkeskole (EN)

As a result, 13% of the children are taught outside the public school system in private independent schools - which receive up to 70% government subsidy – or at home. Practically all education is a free benefit as part of the welfare system.

Source: Denmark.dk > Denmark: an Overview > Education

The Ministry of Education is responsible for setting up the framework for curricula at primary and secondary level. However, the contents of the courses are finalised by the teachers themselves, with their students. The Ministry of Education oversees the 1-year pre-school class and the Folkeskole in collaboration with the municipal councils. Source: Danish Ministry of Education - The Folkeskole (EN)

B. Higher Education

Institutions of higher education in Denmark have a long tradition of academic freedom and autonomy. The Ministries lay down the overall regulations for all institutions of higher education. These include regulations concerning the admission of students, the structure of studies, programmes offered, awarding of degrees and appointment of teachers and academic staff. The individual institutions draw up and update their study programmes, indicating the aims, scope and duration, form and contents of the courses, as well as a description of the syllabus.

Technical colleges, business colleges and agricultural colleges are independent institutions under the overall authority of the Ministry of Education. Social and health care colleges are run by the county authorities. The labour market training centres (AMU-centre) are administered by the Ministry of Education.

As of December 2001, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is responsible for university education except for certain higher education programmes, which fall under the responsibility area of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (e.g. architecture, music, fine arts, librarianship). The Ministry of Education oversees short- and medium-cycle higher education, in most cases.

Source: CIRIUS Online - General organisation of the Danish education system

The Act on Tertiary Artistic Education Institutions under the Auspices of the Ministry of Culture stipulates which institutions the Ministry of Culture has authority over, their missions, their programmes and management. (The Act No. 289 of April 27, 1994 was amended by Act No. 142 of March 17, 1999. and consolidated by Consolidation Act No. 889 of September 21, 2000 (in force))

Source: Act on Tertiary Artistic Education Institutions under the Auspices of the Ministry of Culture

The Act on Universities and Other Institutions of Higher Education / The University Act about degrees:

1. Within its academic fields, a university can award the bachelor's degree, the master's (candidatus) degree, the PhD degree and the doctoral degree. In addition to the master's degree (candidatus), the university can also award the degree of master under a continuing education scheme.
2. The Minister lays down the rules concerning the acquisition of the doctoral degree.

Source: VTU - Act on Universities - Part 2. Degree Programmes, Paragraph 6 (EN - PDF), p.2

Relevant Documents:

• Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (VTU)- Act on Universities (EN)
  • VTU - Act on Universities (EN - PDF)
  • VTU - Explanatory Notes to the Draft Bill on Universities (EN - PDF)
  • VTU - Proposal for Bill to amend the legislation governing universities (EN - PDF)

C. Lifelong learning

The strategy for lifelong learning includes the following objectives:

1. A coherent education system from pre-school to higher education must provide the opportunity for everyone to acquire excellent basic skills, a qualifying education and a solid foundation for lifelong learning. There must be equal opportunities and room for all.
2. The education programmes must be worldclass. The education system is to foster talent and be more accommodating to weak learners. Quality is given pride of place, and education must match the needs of the labour market and the society.

Source: Danish Ministry of Education - Objectives for lifelong learning

In spring 2007 the Government drew up a report concerning Denmark’s strategy for lifelong learning as part of European cooperation on education. This constitutes the Government’s contribution to the realisation of the common goals in the Lisbon strategy. The strategy covers the development of all forms of education, learning and lifelong skills upgrading for all – in the education system, in adult education and continuing training, at work and in the many other settings in which people learn and develop their knowledge, skills and competences.

The Government’s globalisation strategy focuses in particular on training and lifelong skills upgrading. A high level of educational attainment and good opportunities for lifelong learning are among the most important preconditions for strong competitiveness and for everyone to be able to actively participate in the labour market and in society.

It is the Government’s aim that Denmark shall have world-class education and that everyone shall participate in lifelong learning.

Sources:

• Denmark's strategy for lifelong learning – Education and lifelong skills upgrading for all, Report to the European Commission (EN, PDF, 37 pages, April 2007.
• Danish Ministry of Education - Denmark's Strategy for Lifelong Learning

The government also set up the Tripartite Committee on lifelong skills upgrading and education and training for all in the labour market / Trepartsudvalget om livslang opkvalificering og uddannelse for alle på arbejdsmarkedet. Related Documents:

• Tripartite's report (DK)
• Framework of Actions for the Lifelong Development of Competencies and Qualifications - Denmark
• News release Tripartite committee issues report on continuing training (EN), 2006

D. Special Needs

Legislation on education, building, employment and public transport today includes provisions laying down the responsibility of the sector for people with disabilities. The principle of sector responsibility is part of the parliamentary resolution on equal opportunities of 1993 (B43). Source: The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons) / Center for Ligebehandling af Handicappede - Danish disability policy (EN - online) Relevant Documents:

• The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons) / Center for Ligebehandling af Handicappede wrote the Danish disability policy, ([www.clh.dk/pjecer/danskhandicappolitik/disabilitypolicy.doc EN - DOC]) and published the The Principles of Danish Disability Policy (EN - PDF / online)
• The Danish Disability Council / Det Centrale Handicapråd

Relevant document: Denmark (2007/08) - Legislation (EN), also in PDF, containing references to educational Acts in Denmark.

Schools in Denmark

Primary school in Denmark is called "den Danske Folkeskole" ("Danish Public School"). It runs from 1st to 10th grade, though 10th grade is optional, as is the introductory "kindergarten class" ("børnehaveklasse"). Students can alternatively attend "free schools" ("Friskole"), or private schools ("Privatskole"), i.e. schools that are not under the administration of the municipalities, such as Christian schools or Waldorf Schools. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, ranked Denmark's education as the 24th best in the world in 2006, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.

Following graduation from Folkeskolen, there are several other educational opportunities, including Gymnasium (academically oriented upper secondary education), Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) (similar to Gymnasium, but one year shorter), Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) (with focus on Mathematics and engineering), and Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX) (with a focus on trade and business), as well as vocational education, training young people for work in specific trades by a combination of teaching and apprenticeship.

Gymnasium, HF, HTX and HHX aim at qualifying students for higher education in universities and colleges.

Folkehøjskolerne, ("Folk high schools") introduced by politician, clergyman and poet N.F.S. Grundtvig in the 19th century, are social, informal education structures without tests or grades but emphasising communal learning, self-discovery, enlightenment, and learning how to think.

Source of these excerpts: Wikipedia page on Denmark’s Education

Students receive points according to a 7-point grading scale:

• 12: For an excellent performance.
• 10: For a very good performance.
• 7: For a good performance.
• 4: For a fair performance.
• 02: For an adequate performance.
• 00: For an inadequate performance.
• -3: For an unacceptable performance.

Source: Ministry of Education - 7-point grading scale and the Marking Scale in the Danish Education System

Higher education

A diagram to Higher education

Higher education institutions in Denmark can be divided into 3 main categories:

• Universities or university level institutions offering research-based undergraduate and post-graduate programmes (Bachelor's, Master's and PhD)
• University Colleges ( Professionshøjskoler ) offering 3-4½ years undergraduate programmes (Professional Bachelor's programmes)
• Academies of Professional Higher Education ( Erhvervsakademier ) offering 2 - 2½ years Academy Profession programmes and joint Bachelor's programmes in co-operation with universities.

Source: Study in Denmark

Background

• University Colleges / Professionshøjskoler offering professional bachelor and diploma programmes
  • In 2000 most colleges offering Professional Bachelor's degrees merged into more comprehensive Centres for Higher Education/centre for videregående uddannelse (CVUs) which were merged in University Colleges in 2005.

• Vocational colleges offering short-cycle programmes, mainly 2-year Academy Profession degrees .
  • Most colleges offering Academy Profession degrees have formed Academies of Professional Higher Education (erhvervsakademier) as a framework for regional cooperation. This was made possible by the 1998 reform of short-cycle higher education. In order to obtain the status of Academies of Professional Higher Education the participating colleges must fulfil a number of quality requirements in terms of scope and level.

Professionally oriented higher education programmes are offered at colleges. Whereas in other countries, similar programmes may be offered by universities, in Denmark they have traditionally been offered by specialised colleges. Very often these institutions are engaged in theoretical and practical developmental work, and many of them participate in international cooperation, e.g. through the EC mobility programmes.

Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education – The College Sector and Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education – College Education

Council / Network

Universities Denmark / Danske Universiteter is the association of the Danish research universities and its purpose is to enhance their collaboration and the visibily of the university sector in Denmark and abroad.

Source: their web site (DK) with English Publications.

Universities in Denmark

There are 8 Universities:

1. Aalborg University
2. Copenhagen Business School
3. The IT-University of Copenhagen
4. University of Aarhus
5. University of Copenhagen
6. University of Southern Denmark
7. Roskilde University – (EN)
8. Technical University of Denmark

Source: Study in Denmark, Universities by The Danish Agency for International Education.

Polytechnics in Denmark

The word "polytechnic" is now no longer used in Denmark. This subsection will instead list university colleges, academies of professional higher education, and university level schools of arts.

University Colleges in Denmark

There are 10 University colleges:

1. Copenhagen University College of Engineering
2. Danish School of Media and Journalism
3. Engineering College of Aarhus
4. Metropolitan University College
5. University College Capital
6. University College Lillebaelt
7. University College of Northern Denmark
8. University College Sealand
9. University College South Denmark
10. VIA University College

Source: Study in Denmark, University Colleges by The Danish Agency for International Education.

Academies of Professional Higher Educations in Denmark

There are 9 Academies of Professional Higher Education:

1. Business Academy Southwest
2. Business Academy Aarhus
3. Business Academy Copenhagen
4. Copenhagen Technical College
5. Danish Academy of Business and Technology
6. Erhvervsakademi Midtvest
7. International Business Academy
8. Lillebaelt Academy of Professional Higher Education
9. Zealand Institute of Business And Technology

Source: Study in Denmark, Academies of Professional Higher Education by The Danish Agency for International Education.

University Level Academies and Colleges of Arts in Denmark

There are 13 University-level academies and colleges of arts:

1. Designskolen Kolding
2. Shcool of Theatre, Aarhus
3. The Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark
4. The Danish Design School
5. The Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance
6. The Funen Academy of Fine Arts
7. The Jutland Art Academy
8. The Rhythmic Music Conservatory
9. The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg
10. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, School of Conservation
11. The Royal Danish Academy of Music
12. The Royal School of Library and Information Science
13. Aarhus School of Architecture

Source: Study in Denmark, University level institutions of fine and performing arts, design and architecture by The Danish Agency for International Education.

Other Higher Educational Institutions

There are other HEIs not listed by The Danish Agency for International Education on the Study in Denmark homepage:

1. The National Film School of Denmark
2. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Visual Arts
3. Aarhus tekniske Skole
4. CELF, Center for Erhvervsrettede uddannelser Lolland Falster
5. Danish Institute for Study Abroad
6. The Danish Meat Trade College / Uddannelsescentret i Roskilde - Slagteriskolen
7. ErhvervsUddannelsesCenter Lillebaelt
8. ErhvervsUddannelsesCenter Sealand
9. Holberg School of Film and Theater
10. Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College
11. Kold College
12. South Denmark Business College
13. Sealand Business College
14. University College North Jutland

This division was made according to Study in Denmark – Institutions page

Education reform

Schools

This section needs content.

Post-secondary

Higher education reform

Bachelor – Master – PhD degrees

1. As a result of reforms in the late 1980s, Danish higher education has switched from a one-tier qualification structure to a two-tier structure with Bachelor's, Master's (candidatus) and PhD degrees. Before then, all university study programmes lasted between 4 and 6 ½ years, and led to the award of the candidatus (candidata) degree (Master's degree).
2. From 1988, students completing 3 years of a candidatus programme were awarded the Bachelor's degree and could use the title B.A. (Humanities, Theology, Social Science) or B.S. (Natural Science, Health Science).
3. The 1993 university reform introduced a general bachelor degree structure. As a result, almost all university programmes now consist of a bachelor programme (BA/BSc), a candidatus programme and a PhD programme. The bachelor programme constitutes a complete programme in itself, but most students still continue in a candidatus programme. As a result of this new degree structure, the 4-year cand.phil. degree within the Humanities was abandoned in 1995/96.
4. Act on the short-cycle higher educations, 2000
   • In August 2000, a new act on the short-cycle higher educations (Act no. 1115 of 29 December 1997) was implemented, making the access routes broader and more transparent, with better possibilities for the students of being awarded credits in a medium- or long-cycle higher education programme.
   • 13 study programmes were set up in the following fields: Agriculture, Textile, Clothing and Design, Food Industry, Hotel and Tourism, Finance, Construction, Technology and Energy, IT and Electronics, Media and Communication, Industrial Production, Laboratory Technician, Retail Trade, International Marketing. The programmes in Computer Science (datamatiker) and Transport Logistics were continued. These 15 programmes replaced the previously existing 70 short-cycle programmes of varying lengths between 1 and 3 years. In many cases, this meant extending the course from 1½ to 2 years.
5. Act on medium-cycle higher education, 2000
   • In 2000, the Act on medium-cycle higher education created a common framework for all of these programmes. One of the main features of this reform was the creation of the title of professional bachelor (professionsbachelor) indicating, in relation to university bachelor's degrees, a similar level of education combined with a stronger focus on professional practice.
   • Colleges may award the professional bachelor titles on completion of programmes that have been approved to meet a number of criteria. Among other things, the teaching must be rooted in the profession and its development and it must include links to national and international research.
6. As a result of a government initiative, the number of universities was reduced from 12 to 8 through a series of mergers that took effect on 1 January 2007.

Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education

The Bologna Process

Subsequent legislation has established the structure based on two main cycles in all university disciplines. The most recent arrangements in this context and linked to the Bologna process are specified in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation's Order No. 338 of 6 May 2004 on university Bachelor's and Master's programmes, which was issued under the Universities Act of May 2003, and the June 2004 Ministry of Culture Order on education in the academies of music and the Opera Academy.

Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education - Background

The Bologna Follow-up Group

In Denmark, the Bologna Process covers education programmes and institutions under several ministries, each of which are responsible for the implementation of the process within their ministerial jurisdictions. It has also been a goal to fully include the ministries’ professional agencies, education institutions and organisations in the implementation process. Therefore, the implementation process is led by a steering group – the Bologna Follow-up Group –, which has the following members: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (chairmanship), Danish Ministry of Education, Danish Ministry of Culture, Danish Evaluation Institute (quality assurance agency for international education programmes), CIRIUS Danmark (including Assessment of Foreign Qualifications), Danish Rectors’ Conference "Universities Denmark", Danish Association of Institutions in Higher Education (DAN-EURASHE), Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the National Union of Students in Denmark

The Bologna Follow-up Group has had the following three functions:

1. Contact forum for the parties involved in the process
2. Steering group for the projects initiated
3. Reference group for international activities

Source: Implementation of the Bologna Goals in Denmark (PDF, EN, 6 pages), 2003

Relevant Documents:

• Focus on the structure of higher education in Europe. National trends in the Bologna Process - Denmark - 2006/07 Edition (EN)
• National summary sheets on education systems in Europe and ongoing reforms - Denmark (EN) (PDF)
• Bologna Process (DK)

Administration and finance

Schools

This section needs content.

Post-secondary

A. Funding for HEIs

The self-governing HEIs have two sources of revenue for financing their educational programmes: state grants and their own income from income-generating activities, participant fees and fees paid for unemployed people in activation programmes, etc. The state grants amount to approximately 80 per cent of the total funding and are thus the primary source of revenue for the institutions. Of this amount, activity-level determined grants (teaching, building and maintenance, or collective expenses taximeters) total approximately 92 per cent, so that by far the greatest part of state funding consists of taximeter funding. The Ministry of Education is responsible for supervising institutions with income-generating activities.

Source: The Taximeter System (EN), Danish Ministry of Education.

The taximeter system has some advantages as it states direct demands on quantity and indirect requirements on quality in higher education, but it could be improved as the basic rates have been repeatedly cut during the last decade and secondly the system has been criticised for lack of balance and a clear rationale in the allocation of resources between the different educational areas.

The second component of the funding system, the basic grants, is perceived as being of great importance to the budget security of institutions and to enabling them long-term planning, enabling flexibility and important for the quality and outcome of basic research. However, there is a lack of use of performance parameters which weakens incentive mechanisms and limits quality assurance, while a large share of basic grants is tied to co-financing of external projects which makes that the factual amount of free funds at HEIs is more limited than assumed.

Finally there is also the third major component of the funding system, the external research grants. Criticism on this component is that it is often focused on areas that are too narrow in scope which makes that the grant does not promote originality, creativity and novelty..

Source: Funding Systems and Their Effects on Higher Education Systems - Country Study – Denmark (EN, PDF, 25 pages), November 2006

B. Bursaries for students

State Education Grant and Loan Scheme

All Danes over the age of 18 are entitled to public support for his or her further education thus tuition at public and at most private educational institutions is free. Support for the student's living cost is awarded by the State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme (SU), which is a system managed by the Danish Educational Support Agency / Styrelsen for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education.

The purpose of the State Education Grant and Loan Scheme Act (danish acronym SU) is to make sure that as many young people as possible quickly receive a sound education. The State Education Grant and Loan Scheme is the Agency's oldest and largest area of activity, with some 300,000 beneficiaries.

The Statens Uddannelsesstøtte is up to DKK 4,852 (approximately 651 EUR) per month, so that no one is precluded from further education because of social or economic status. .. As part of the efforts to increase the workforce, the state educational grant will be adapted to encourage quicker completion of studies. Local authorities and political educational associations offer extensive evening education opportunities for adults.

Source: Denmark.dk > Denmark: an Overview > Education

There are two main support programmes:

1. one for people over 18 following a youth education programme. Until pupils are 20, their grants depend upon their parents' income.
2. one for students enrolled in higher education programmes. Students are entitled to a number of monthly grants corresponding to the prescribed duration of the chosen study programme, plus 12 months.

Inside a maximum of 70 monthly grants, students can change from one programme to another. In combination with both types of grants, students are offered supplementary state loans and about half of all students make use of these state loans. For more information, visit www.su.dk.

Students must start paying back state loans no later than one year after the end of the year in which they graduate or give up their studies. The loan must be repaid within 15 years.

About half of all students make use of state loans.

There is also the Act on Transportation Discount for Students Attending Institutions of Higher Education reduces transportation expenses for students who live far from the educational institution; they receive a Discount Transportation Card.

Sources and related documents:

• CIRIUS - State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme
• the Danish Educational Support Agency / Styrelsen for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (EN)

Equality

Folkeoplysning" (liberal education) and folk colleges - Special Needs:

• In Denmark, many people receive instruction through youth and adult activities during their leisure time. Participants pay themselves, often, however, with a small subsidy from the State.
• The Danish Act on liberal education permits to grant extended financial support to courses for people with disabilities. To obtain support, a person must sign in on a course that is specifically designed to meet the needs of a whole group of people.
• colleges may grant compensatory measures to people with disabilities, but the colleges are not subject to any accessibility requirements.

Special needs education for adults: The Act on Special Education for Adults forms the legal basis for compensatory special education for adults with physical or intellectual disabilities. The programmes aim to compensate for the consequences of functional difficulties, by learning how to use certain tools or methods in every-day life.

Source: "Folkeoplysning" (liberal education) and folk colleges

There are different references to an Act regarding Special Needs, but according to the web site of the Agency, 800 people benefit from the compensations through an Act called theAct on Special Educational Assistance in Higher Education (Danish acronym SPS).

Source: the Danish Educational Support Agency / Styrelsen for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (EN)

Relevant Documents:

• The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons) / Center for Ligebehandling af Handicappede' wrote the Danish disability policy, ([www.clh.dk/pjecer/danskhandicappolitik/disabilitypolicy.doc EN - DOC]) and published the The Principles of Danish Disability Policy (EN - PDF / online)
• The Danish Disability Council / Det Centrale Handicapråd
• http://www.su.dk Statens Uddannelsesstøtte / State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme]
• Universities Denmark network > statistics of Danish universities (DK) with list of tables linking the statistical preparations for the years 2004/2005/2006/2007 with information about: Incomes / Costs / Personnel / Equity and balance / Buildings / Activity - and marketing information (Students) / Internationalization / Research / Cooperation with the world
• Universities Denmark network > English Publications.

Quality assurance, inspection and accreditation

Schools

The Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA)

In 1999, the Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) / Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut was established “as an independent institution under auspices of the Ministry of Education. It assesses and develops education and childcare and is the national knowledge center in the field of evaluation. From an international point of view, this institution is quite unique, as it has been given the task to undertake systematic and mandatory evaluations of teaching and learning at all levels of the education system from pre-school to postgraduate level. In order to develop the quality of teaching and learning and to examine whether the educational sector lives up to the objectives laid down, the Evaluation Institute systematically examines the education programmes separately as well as the relations between different programmes. The institute also develops and innovates evaluation techniques and methods and compiles national and international experience with educational evaluation and quality development.”

In 1999 the Act on The Danish Evaluation Institute was enforced, which empowers the Institute to initiate evaluations on its own initiative as well as at the request of the Ministry of Education, other ministries, advisory boards, local authorities and education institutions. Requested evaluations are conducted as revenue-generating activities.

In spring 2005, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education / Högskoleverket was entrusted with the task of externally evalua­ting EVA.

More information on EVA: fact sheet The Danish Approach To Quality Assurance.

CIRIUS Online - Qualifications frameworks

CIRIUS is an authority within the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation responsible for supporting the internationalisation of education and training in Denmark. It is the national agency for two EU education programmes, Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action, as well as for other similar programmes, including Nordic and Danish education programmes and initiatives. Furthermore, CIRIUS is also the central institution in Denmark where persons with foreign qualifications can get these assessed and recognised and the information centre concerning internationalisation of all the educational sectors.

Denmark has had a national Qualifications Framework for Higher Education since 2003: Qualifications Framework 2003 (PDF). The framework has been widely implemented and used by institutions of higher education. In 2006, the relevant ministries took the initiative to begin a revision of the Qualification Framework (QF).

Relevant Documents:

• European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) (EN - PDF), 2008
• New QF Kvalifikationsrammen for videregående uddannelser (PDF - DK), 2006.
• Framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area (PDF), 2005
• The previous Danish Qualifications Framework (EN - PDF), 2003
• CIRIUS Online - Quality assurance
• CIRIUS Online - Qualifications frameworks
• OECD - Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education

Post-secondary

The University Act prescribes internal evaluations at the universities, initiated and supervised by the Study Boards of the respective departments. The frequency of the internal evaluation is not regulated by law, but in overall terms the particular subjects/courses are evaluated by the end of each semester. Self-completion questionnaires to be filled in by the students represent the predominant way of collecting data for the internal evaluations. Foreign Qualifications are also handled by CIRIUS where students can find information on two different pages: How to get an assessment of your qualifications and Use your Danish qualifications abroad.

Source: Eurybase - The Database on Education Systems in Europe - 9. Ealuation of Educational Institutions and the Education System (EN), also in PDF

Information society

Towards the information society

"In Denmark two initiatives have been taken to encourage the use of ICT in education in general, and in open education in particular:

• 1. The Danish Electronic Research Library
  • Denmark's Electronic Research Library (DEFF) is an organisational and technological partnership between research libraries co-financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education. DEFF's purpose is to advance the development of a network of electronic research libraries that make available their electronic and other information resources to the patrons in a coherent and simple way.
  • E-learning is on of the six DEFF Programme areas
• 2. The Danish Virtual University
  • Denmark's Virtual University (DVUNI) was a co-ordinating body for Danish universities and higher further-going educational institutions which offer qualifying, academic programmes and post-graduate courses and additional training via flexible, net-based distance learning. (This is also mentioned in the Re.ViCa's wiki page on Virtual Initiatives in Denmark)

Source: FLUID – national report Denmark 2003, PDF - 36 pages, which also lists the main features and the obstacles of ODL in Denmark: Discussion of the main features, Blended Learning, Action Learning , Group/team work, The tutor/teacher in ODL – an obstacle of the mind, The Learners, Drop-out rates, The lack of support from the management, Learning materials.

Information society strategy

The National IT and Telecom Agency is responsible for central parts of the Government's IT and telecommunications policy (EN) and is part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (VTU). It published the Danish report: National strategy for ICT-supported learning - Efforts to promote the use of ICT-supported learning (DK), 2007 (news article or whole online publication (DK)): "The aim of the strategy is to increase the use and quality of e-learning to reinforce skills development broadly and to make Denmark a leading country in e-learning."

Web connectivity

The National IT and Telecom Agency published Key figures on Information society Denmark (EN) from 2005 onwards including Key Figures on the Danish Information Society 2007 (EN - PDF - 74 pages, 2007) which tells us that in 2006, about 83 per cent of the population had access to the Internet from home. The Key figures report also shows a graphic of the private use of the Internet for courses and education was 19% as a maximum.

Relevant documents:

• National IT and Telecom Agency and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (VTU)'s page on the Agency
• Wikipedia's page on Internet in Denmark
• The OECD Broadband Statistics with the Total broadband subscribers by country (XLS - June 2008)

ICT in education initiatives

Virtual initiatives in schools

This section needs content.

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education

The Virtual Campuses in Danish Higher Education are listed on a separate Re.ViCa wiki page called Virtual Initiatives in Denmark

References

1. Denmark.dk, the official site of Denmark
2. The Danish Ministry of Education
3. Ministry of Education - Key Figures in Education 2007
4. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
5. CIRIUS.dk, the Danish Centre for International Cooperation and Mobility in Education and Training
6. Statens Uddannelsesstøtte / State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme
7. The Danish Education System, PDF - 12 pages (823 kB).
8. The Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA)
9. The Danish Approach To Quality Assurance
10. OECD reports and publications on Higher education and adult learning > Information by Country > Denmark
11. FLUID – national report Denmark 2003, PDF - 36 pages
12. Education at a Glance 2008 - OECD Indicators, PDF - 525 pages
13. The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education - Key Issue, September 2004: National Virtual Universities
14. UddannelsesGuiden / the Education Guide
15. Hezel Associates: Global E-learning Opportunities for U.S. Higher Education: "A country study - Denmark" (free sample PDF uploaded on this wiki)
16. National Strategy for ICT-enabled learning in Danish
17. Eurydice National system overview on education systems in Europe, November 2011
18. Eurybase, The Information Database on Education Systems in Europe: The Education System in Denmark, 2009/10

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