All academic regulations are prepared in accordance with the requirements of the relevant and current ministerial orders and thus describe how a degree programme is composed of compulsory elements, optional elements, local requirements regarding support, directions, specialisations, elective courses etc. The individual academic regulations consist of a legal document (the framework) and the associated course descriptions.

All academic regulations are created using a template to ensure that all requirements specified in the ministerial order are met, and that the structure meets the requirements for digital publication at AU and the interaction between the studies administration systems.

All new academic regulations are approved by the relevant board of studies. The board of studies confirms that the regulations comply with the requirements set out in the ministerial order, as well as any local agreements concerning e.g. directions, specialisations, elective courses etc.

Each board of studies can decide on a framework and terminology for degree programmes falling within the scope of the board’s responsibilities, meaning that the definitions of, e.g., track, direction, specialisation, elective course packages etc. may vary.

Academic regulations can be revised jointly and across all degree programmes under one or more boards of studies in connection with decisions on major structural changes – e.g. the transition from a quarterly structure to a semester structure.

The academic regulations are named after the title of the degree programme and the year the regulations enter into force.  The framework section of the academic regulations can be valid for several years, regardless of changes being made to the course offerings covered by the regulations.

However, certain changes will always require a new set of academic regulations:

• changes to the compulsory programme in the form of new courses – a course also counts as a new course if there are changes to the title, ECTS or ownership.
• changes to the structure and order of courses.

Certain changes can be made within an existing set of regulations:

• new elective courses can be approved and offered.
• changes to already approved compulsory or elective courses (e.g. lecturer, textbooks, number of lessons, linguistic adjustments to learning outcomes, aids permitted in examinations)

In addition, external requirements – new ministerial orders – may require new academic regulations to be created.

The academic regulations’ framework description is approved once a year and the course catalogue twice a year, immediately before course registrations take place.

• The board of studies sends out a request for draft course descriptions and possible changes to the academic regulations
• The academic regulations and the course catalogue are discussed by the education committees.
• In the event of major changes, the education committee involves the department management team, academic staff members, students and the employer panel. The chair of the education committee is responsible for ensuring that this happens.
• The chair of the education committee forwards full drafts to the board of studies.
• The board of studies considers the proposed drafts in close dialogue with the relevant education committees.
• The board of studies submits a draft for final approval by the dean
• The dean approves the academic regulations
• Approved academic regulations are published on the AU website and usually enter into force on 1 September
• Approved course descriptions are published by the Studies Administration in AU’s course catalogue.

There is a clear framework for when changes must be approved by the boards of studies and which changes can be approved by the education committee. These frameworks, process guidelines and course description templates can be found on the staff portal (see link to Process for changing courses and academic regulations).

Ongoing follow-up on the academic regulations and course quality takes place via:

• Figures from the directors of studies, year group statistics and other data concerning student programme completion rates.
• Teaching evaluation.
• Annual status review and degree programme evaluation.

Key persons taking part in the evaluations are the course coordinators, the heads of degree programme, the directors of studies, the boards of studies, the vice-dean and the dean. The dean is ultimately responsible for the quality of the degree programmes.

Processes regarding course offerings are digital.

The ongoing quality assurance of the structure of the degree programmes and their course offerings is typically initiated by the local education committee chaired by the head of degree programme (where students and student counsellors are also represented). The quality assurance is typically based on ongoing discussions with the degree programme management, the regular degree programme evaluations, the annual status reviews, meetings with employer panels, reports from co-examiners, semester discussions, meetings with year groups of students etc. and in connection with the employment of new teachers.

Course descriptions are based on the SOLO taxonomy. For each individual course, the teaching methods, learning outcomes and type(s) of examination must be aligned so that teaching methods allow students to achieve the learning outcomes that are tested at the exam. All courses must contribute to fulfilling the qualification framework of the degree programme.