Denmark is among the top-performers in Europe when it comes to completing university studies, reveals a new study by the EU Commission, reports Universitetsavisen.

Some 81 percent of students complete them compared to just 53 percent in Sweden. Norway also lags behind with just 71.5 percent finishing their bachelor’s and 67 percent their master’s.

Not a whole picture
However, Jakob Rathlev, the manager for higher education at the Danish Evaluation Institute, claims the report does not provide a comprehensive picture of what is truly going on in Danish education.
According to Rathlev, the EU study is based on incomparable data. While the Danish statistics are from 2000-2001, figures from Poland, for instance, are from 2008-2009.

Incentive to complete
Also, while some students may be registered as dropouts, they are, in fact, choosing another direction in their studies.

In 2013, the Danish government introduced the so-called progress reform, which made changes to the student grants scheme (SU) to promote and reward quick study completions.

Fast finishers
Starting this January, students who get their degree by a certain time will receive a stipend equivalent to half a month’s grant for every month they are early.
Newly-enrolled students must document progress in their studies more frequently otherwise the payments of their SU will stop.