If you have a short lasting illness (e.g. influenza) and your illness does not coincide with your examinations, you do not need to inform SDU about your absence.  

You have become ill just before or during an examination
If your illness prevents you from attending and examination shortly before or during the examination, there is no need to use an examination attempt.  In stead you need to let SDU know. You must be able to document your illness, e.g. with a doctor's note.

Read more about what you need to do if you are ill just before or during and examination under section 5 in the list Rules about the exam.

You are ill for a longer period of time
If you know that you will be ill for a longer period of time months before you begin a semester, and therefore know that you will not be able to take all the courses in that semester, you can choose only to enrol in the courses that you have the energy to take. However, you must make sure to comply with the Active Enrolment requirements and Maximum Period of Study.  

If, during the semester, you realize that illness prevents you from attending one or more examinations, you must apply for an exemption to be withdrawn from the courses.

Read more about what you need to do if you know in advance that you will not be able to attend an examination.

You can adjust your study plan
If your illness means that you need a break from your studies or need to reduce the intensity of study for a period of time, you can do that as long as you comply with the rules, e.g. the Maximum Period of Study. If you cannot comply with the rules, you must apply for an exemption.  

Read more about taking a break or reducing the intensity of study under section 5. 

Individual study plan
If you are delayed in your programme e.g. due to illness, it is a good idea to make an individual study plan.

SU's rules about study activity
Take notice of SU's rules about study activities. If you are delayed in your programme because of illness, you can apply for extra SU-clips.

You may find yourself in situations that take your focus off of your studies for a period of time. Read more about how to deal with the various situations:

Illness and deaths in your immediate family
... is considered to be exceptional circumstances, i.e. circumstances for which you are not to blame. If you are not able to attend the examinations in the courses that you are enroled in, or that you are unable to comply with the Active Enrolment Requirements or the Maximum Period of Study, you need to apply for an exemption.

Work
... is not regarded as an exceptional circumstance and therefore does not justify exemption. If you would like to work more for a period, you must be very clear in your prioritizations.

Relationship problems, parents’ divorce, family problems, financial difficulties, difficult living conditions, illness and death of a distant relative
... are all examples of situations that may take up a lot of your time and energy, and therefore affect your studies. At the same time, however, they are also situations that may not as a rule be regarded as exceptional circumstances. I.e. it’s not certain that they are justification enough to be granted exemption from your studies. If the situation affect you to such a degree, that your doctor assesses that you are ill and not able to study, it is equated with other types of illness. 

You can adjust your study plan 
If your current situation outside your studies means that you need a break from your studies or need to reduce the intensity of study for a period of time, you can do that as long as you comply with the rules, e.g. the Maximum Period of Study. If you cannot comply with the rules, you must apply for an exemption.  

Read more about taking a break or reducing the intensity of study under section 5. 

Individual study plan
If you are delayed in your programme, it is a good idea to make an individual study plan.

If illness, failed examinations or other circumstances have meant that you are now delayed in your programme, you need to be aware of 6 things:

1. Active Enrolment Requirements and Maximum Period of Study
   If you are delayed in your programme, you need to make sure that you comply with the Active Enrolment Requirements and Maximum Period of Study to be able to finish your programme. If you do not comply with the rules, you must apply for an exemption. 
   
   
2. Courses are phased out and curriculum's are changed
   Programmes are adjusted continuously. If you are absent there is a chance that you will no longer be able to attend lectures in the courses that you are missing, that the course has been moved to another time of year etc.
   
   
3. You must follow the newest version of the course
   If changes to a course occurs, e.g. to examination requirements or the syllabus, you must follow the newest version of the course. Keep yourself up to date in the course descriptions.
   
   
4. Academic progression
   Take a look in your process model to check if there is an academic progression in your programme you need to take into consideration.
   
   
5. When is the course offered?
   Look in the list of current courses  to see if a course is offered in the spring or autumn semester, og thus when you can attend the course.
   
   
6. Attending the lectures or only taking the examination?  
   Are you missing an examination from a previous semester? You decide yourself, whether you would like to attend the lectures again or just take the examination. If you failed the examination, it may be a good idea to attend the lecutres again. See the examination rules and regulations.  If you are enroled in courses from different semesters, there may be an overlap in lecture times. If that is the case you need to prioritize which lectures are that most important to attend.

Individual study plan
If you are delayed in your programme, it is a good idea to make an  individual study plan.

If you do not pass your 1. examination attempt, you must take an examination in the course again. You have a total of 3 attempts to pass each course. Before you go to the exam again, be sharp on what you need to do better next time. For example, by contacting your teacher and getting feedback.
 
How to get to the exam again
It is your own responsibility to sign up for the 2. (and maybe 3.) examination attempt. Often you have the option of deciding whether you want to take the examination in the same exam period as a reexamination or you want to wait until the course is offered again and the ordinary examination is held. 

Read more about what you need to do if you do not pass an examination.

Get help managing examinations
If you need help managing the exam situation there are multiple options. Read more under Prepare for exams.

Individual study plan
If you fail more than one exam and you are delayed in your programme it is a good idea to make an individual study plan.

As a full-time student, you must to live up to the Active Enrolment Requirements and Maximum Period of Study.

You can adjust your study plan - as long as you comply with the rules
If you need to make small adjustments to your study plan, e.g. reduce or increase the intensity of study for a semester, you can as long as you stay within the permitted framework. You can e.g. choose to postpone a course to another semester or take a summer course, to give yourself some free time in a semester.

You can be exempted from requirements in exceptional circumstances
You can only be exempted from these requirements in case of exceptional circumstances, e.g. illness, disability, illness/death in your immediate family, compulsory military service, maternity/paternity leave etc. 

Are you going on maternity/paternity leave?
Take a look at our maternity/paternity leave page  and read about the special conditions that apply when you become a parent.

3 options, when you need to diverge from the normal study plan
If you need to decrease the study intensity for a period of time, you have 3 options: You can adjust your study plan within the permitted framework, apply for an exemption from the rules or apply for a leave of absence. 

Individual study plan
If you adjust your study plan and take courses in a different order than normal, you need to make what we call an individual study plan. In making this you need to be aware of 6 things.

Congratulations! You are of course entitled to maternity leave with your new baby.

What do you need to do?
Parental leave options for students are quite flexible. You have plenty of options to organise your parental leave to suit your needs and wishes. "Parental leave dispensation" (as we call the most flexible option) means that we push back your deadlines and programme deadlines by up to a year. This way you can flexibly organise your maternity leave. 

Another option is the so-called "Maternity Conditional Leave". This is less flexible. Here you also lose the possibility of SU, but you can receive unemployment benefit if you have earned the right to it.

Read more about applying for parental leave in Situations where you may need an exemption, point 5: "You must be a parent"

What do you do when you return from parental leave?
When you return to your studies, it may be a good idea to make an individual study plan for the rest of your study time, i.e. which courses to take and when.

Extra SU for parental leave
When you have a child while studying, you get extra SU credits so you can take parental leave with peace of mind. See www.su.dk or contact the staff at the SU office if you need further information or help in connection with SU. Find their contact information's here. 

Is it the right programme you are studying? Would another programme be better suited in view of your interests?

If you have thoughts like these, it may be a good idea to talk to someone and figure out why you are having doubts. Contact the Student Guidance Service if you need to talk to someone about your doubts.

Should you decide that you want to change your programme, you will most likely have to apply again and start over. If you want to start over in a new programme, it may be a good idea to continue your current programme until you know whether you have been admitted to the new programme. This way, you’ll be sure to remain in your current programme, if, for some reason, you are not admitted in the new one.

You must apply for credits
You may apply for credits, and if the new programme has subjects that correlate to the ones you have passed in your previous programme, you’ll get credits. Getting credits means that some or all of the subjects that you have passed in your previous programme, will be transferred to your new programme. That way, you may be able to reduce the completion time on your new programme. If you apply for a new programme and are admitted, you must apply for starting credit. 

SU
Please note, that if you continue in your current programme, until you are admitted at the new one, you ‘ll be using your SU

Do you feel that you are not thriving in your programme? If that is the case, it's a good idea to find out why. It is important to talk to someone about the challenges you are faced with. You are e.g. welcome to contact the General Study Counseling, who can help you clarify why you are not thriving and what you can do to change your situation.

Withdrawing from your programme is a big decision and should be considered very carefully. It may be a good idea to talk to your family, friends or a student counsellor about your thoughts. You are welcome to ask for counselling. Sometimes there may be other and better options than withdrawal available to you. E.g. taking a break or reducing the intensity of study for a period. Read more in section 5.

Important rules concerning withdrawal
Before you finally decide to withdraw, we recommend that you check the rules concerning withdrawal.

Find the withdrawal form here.

You would like to enroll again
If you have withdrawn from your programme and at some point in time would like to be re-enrolled in the same programme again, you must be aware of the rules for re-enrolment.

You may, of course, apply for admission to a completely different programme, too. In that case you must apply through SDU's coordinated admission (UKOT).

SU and student accommodation
Please be aware that your SU will cease upon withdrawal. Contact the employees at the SU office if you are uncertain about the deadlines and so on. To be eligible for most student accommodation you are required to be studying actively. Ask your housing association, if you are in doubt about their rules.

It is not possible to start over on your programme. However, you may attend courses again in subjects that you have previously failed. In other words, you may attend the course when it is available again. Keep in mind, however, that the examination attempts you have already used, count as part of the three examination attempts you have, to pass each exam.

Read about what happens if you do not pass.

You cannot sit the exam again in a subject that you have already passed, e.g. in order to get a better grade.

Illness is the reason for you not passing the exams
If you do not pass any exams during your first year due to illness, you may attend the courses again the following year. However, you must remember 2 things:

1. To apply for exemption to be withdrawn from courses, so that you do not use any examination attempts.
2. Take note of the Active Enrolment Requirements and Maximum Period of Study.

Individual study plan
If you are delayed in your programme e.g. because of illness, it is a good idea to make an  individual study plan.

Talk to a student counselor, if you would like to start over and hear about alternatives.