Active Participation 

All courses at CBS must conclude with an assessment, though not necessarily through a formal graded exam. Under the ‘Active participation’ exam format, students are assessed on a pass/fail basis, based on their engagement with the required learning activities.  The activities must be of a nature that allows the teacher to make an overall assessment of whether the learning objectives have been satisfactorily fulfilled, and the individual student therefore has passed the exam. The required activities must be outlined in the course description, which should also describe how the re-exam will proceed. 

In the ‘Active Participation’ approach, providing students with formative feedback throughout the course is essential. To achieve this, teachers must focus not only on designing engaging activities but also on carefully planning how to deliver meaningful and effective feedback. 

Important to know:

  • The pass grade in the ‘Active Participation’ format equals the Danish grade of 2 or above. 
  • Exam formats must be approved by the Study Board no later than 1 January for Bachelor programmes or 1 February for Master’s programmes. 
  • At programme level, a maximum of one-third of courses can use grade-free exam formats. This includes ‘Active Participation’ and other grade-free assessment methods.
  • Teachers implementing ‘Active Participation’ exam formats in 2025 are eligible to apply to their Study Board for 25 Prophix hours for their development. 
  • For more information on formal guidelines, see page on Share about the ‘Active Participation’ format: https://cbsshare.cbs.dk/eduservices/studieadministrationen/AdministrativePlanningUnit/eksamens-hub-for-tap/Pages/Aktiv-undervisningsdeltagelse.aspx.