Copenhagen University admissions rules have been changed again after criticism from students and Denmark’s higher education authorities, allowing applicants who must take a sickness exam in August to be considered for a study place this year.
The University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet, KU) confirmed the reversal shortly before the quota 1 (kvote 1) application deadline on Sunday 5 July at 12:00. The decision affects applicants who were ill during their final upper-secondary exams and will only receive their final exam certificate after the ordinary deadline.
Copenhagen University admissions rule is reversed
KU had recently changed its practice so that applicants who did not have their final exam certificate by 5 July at 12:00 could not be considered for admission this year. That included students who had documented illness during their final exams and therefore had to take a sickness exam (sygeeksamen) in August.
The university has now reversed that line for this year’s intake. KU says applicants who must take a sickness exam can still apply, provided they submit the required documentation and upload their full exam certificate no later than 31 August.
The change means that affected applicants can again be considered for a place through quota 1, Denmark’s main grade-based university admissions route.
Eight applicants were directly affected
KU says it has been in contact with eight applicants who were directly affected by the short-lived change in practice. The university is also trying to identify and contact other possible applicants who may have received the earlier information and therefore decided not to apply.
“For this group, the University of Copenhagen will administer the application deadline leniently,” the university said, according to DR.
KU has also urged anyone who may have been affected to contact the university. It says it is working “at high pressure” on guidance and case handling before the quota 1 deadline.
Student criticism and agency pressure pushed KU to change course
The reversal follows criticism from the Danish Students’ Council (Danske Studerendes Fællesråd, DSF), which had warned that the sudden change created an uncertain situation for applicants and raised concerns over equal access to higher education.
The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen) also urged KU to disregard the new practice for this year’s admissions round. The agency said the university’s previous guidance had given applicants with sickness exams a reasonable expectation that they could still apply for admission this year.
The controversy centred on conditional admission, a system that allows applicants to be considered even if some documentation is submitted after the ordinary deadline. Danish universities can decide whether to use conditional admission, but they must apply the rules consistently.
KU had initially changed its practice because its earlier handling did not comply with the common admissions rules. Under those rules, universities cannot offer conditional admission only to selected groups, such as applicants waiting for sickness exams.
Sickness exam applicants now have until 31 August
KU’s updated guidance now states that applicants who receive their final exam certificate after 5 July because of a sickness exam can still apply for admission.
They must apply through optagelse.dk before the 5 July deadline, attach temporary grade documentation and provide proof that they are registered for a sickness exam. They must then upload their full final certificate as soon as they receive it, and no later than 31 August.
The university’s new position brings KU closer to the practice already used by other Danish universities, including Aarhus University (Aarhus Universitet) and the University of Southern Denmark (Syddansk Universitet, SDU), where applicants with sickness exams can still be considered under specific documentation requirements.
A late correction with broader consequences
The case has become a small but significant test of how Danish universities balance legal consistency, administrative clarity and equal access.
For KU, the reversal avoids a situation in which documented illness during final exams could cost applicants an entire study year. For student representatives, it also shows the importance of clear guidance when admissions rules affect decisions that students cannot easily change at the last minute.
The immediate crisis appears to have been contained for this year’s applicants. But the university will still need to clarify how it intends to handle conditional admission in future admissions rounds, especially for students whose final documentation is delayed for reasons beyond their control.
