Introduction activities have been evaluated

Students have been very satisfied with this year's introduction activities at CBS. Evaluations have been reviewed, and 9 out of 10 students have responded "good" or "very good", while the out-of-house camps have been ranked 4.5 or 5 on a scale of 1-5.

- Generally, our students have been very satisfied with the introduction activities. Festivities have been more low-key this year; however, we are looking into a few incidents, says Vice Dean Annemette Kjærgaard.

Last year, CBS learned of a few episodes that included offensive behaviour during the introduction camps. Such behaviour is a violation of CBS' code of conduct, and as a consequence, the initiative A Good Start at CBS was launched with a view to rethink the introduction activities.

- Our aim was to place a larger focus on the academic content and socially integrating activities. We highly appreciate the tremendous efforts put forth by the intro guides and the study boards to ensure that new students have felt welcome at CBS, says Annemette Kjærgaard. She refers to the new guidelines: The duration of the introduction camps have been limited to a maximum of three nights, it is not allowed to consume alcohol before 17:00, and liquor above 16 pct. is not allowed either.

All evaluations have been scrutinised. 23 responses assess the introduction camps as "poor" or "very poor", the reasons being for instance lousy bathing facilities, not enough food, bad food, childish team songs, moody intro guides and too much idle time between activities.   

In addition, there are 20 free text comments, which CBS is looking further into. Some of the comments relate to the same event. Other comments relate to activities that required alcohol consumption (or had an overly focus on alcohol), activities that were experienced as offensive, including activities with a sexual or religious content, or complaints about inappropriate or unkind behaviour by intro guides. The specific comments pertain to drinking wine through a tampon, a reverse Jewish wedding and a so-called clothes chain.

- The evaluation comments are anonymous and we have not received any formal complaints. We are now looking into the incidents under the auspices of the individual study programmes. As soon as they have been investigated, we will decide whether there will be any consequences for the implied students or intro guides, says Annemette Kjærgaard:

- In general, we are under the impression that there have not been any cases similar to last year's incidents. The students have embraced the new rules. However, with 2700 new students going on introduction camps, a violation of the guidelines is practically inevitable. So A Good Start at CBS continues, says Annemette Kjærgaard.

For more information, please contact Vice Dean Annemette Kjærgaard amk.ikl@cbs.dk or CBS' Press Contact.