2011.06.16 | Martin Strandby

The students at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, enjoy a well functioning study-environment. According to the newly published report Studiemiljø2011 (in danish), they are academically integrated and have a solid contact to both their fellow students and lecturers. Even though the study-environment has improved since 2007, there is still room for improvement, in particular for the foreign students.

4947 students from Business and Social Sciences answered a digital survey on their study-environment, in the spring of 2011. It is a continuation of the preceding one in 2007, and is conducted by the Centre for Learning and Education (CLU), a research- and development unit at Business and Social Sciences. But the digital survey covers all of Aarhus University, and with a response-rate of 37 percent, it is the largest ever.

Business and Social Sciences has a great study-environment

The report clearly states, that the main academic area has a great study-environment in general: More than 84 percent of the students feel very comfortable in their studies, and more than 83 percent are either satisfied or very satisfied with their studies.

The report also establishes which factors have the largest impact on the study-environment. The single most important factor is academic integration, so the students feel tied to their field of study in a community with others. It is also important that the teaching is adequately organized, and that the students have contact with both fellow students and lecturers.

There are differences between the various educations, but Business and Social Sciences performs well in all these areas in general, which is a major reason for the students enjoying a great study-environment.

An international Business and Social Sciences?

Less than 1 percent of the students have been exposed to harassment, bullying or discrimination, far below the average for a typical workplace. The situation is not entirely similar for foreign students however, as they are much more prone to discrimination and closedness from fellow danish students. This is a clear challenge for Business and Social Sciences in particular, if the objective of attracting skilled students and furthering internationalization, is to be fulfilled in the future.

Continued improvement of the study-environment

The study-environment has been improved since 2007, for instance by enhancing the level of feedback students receive, and by planning teaching and examination so they are more attuned to transparent academic requirements. There are, however, very few lecturers who actively make use of the digital possibilities in e-learning, thus only utilizing the tools as ‘digital post-offices’. Even though the students appreciate the physical study-environment in general, there is still a blatant lack of workspace - both individual study spaces and group-workstations. The report also showed a decline in the amount of work done in study groups - despite several educations doing an effort to strengthen the formation of study groups. This is not a one sided poor result, since it is naturally also a matter of temper, but experience shows that study groups are beneficial, especially in the early stages of education.

The study-environment at Business and Social Sciences is very good overall, but the work to improve it further, continues.

For additional information, contact:

Centre for Learning and Education,

Business and Social Sciences,

Aarhus University

Tåsingegade 1, Bygn. 1447, 1.

DK-8000 Aarhus C

Denmark

Tlf.: +45 8942 5349

mail: bt@clu.au.dk