Coronavirus

Dear students,

The coronavirus pandemic continues to severely restrict normal teaching and studying routines despite the initial easing of restrictions. Developments are still dynamic, requiring constant adjustments from the university. In addition, we are still faced with the challenge of ensuring that the current online semester is carried out in the best possible way. We are very aware of how much the special situation has affected you both privately and in your studies. Please rest assured, we are working hard to improve conditions for you—always within the framework of the current hygiene and safety regulations. The 2020/21 winter semester will certainly also not be an onsite semester as we were used to having before the pandemic. We assume that teaching will continue to take place predominantly in the form of online and ‘distance learning’ courses. Whether and to what extent onsite courses will then become possible, however, is currently completely open.

In the past few days, the Rectorate, the administration, and those responsible in the faculties have initiated further concrete measures and regulations. Today, as announced, we want to inform you about how things stand at present, especially with regard to carrying out teaching courses and examinations.

The following regulations and measures are particularly important for you as a student:

Lecture periods

• The lecture period of the current semester will end regularly on 17 July 2020.
• The lecture period of the winter semester 2020/21 will begin on 26 October. First semester students will start on November 2.  February 12, 2021 has been set as the end of the lecture period.

Teaching and examinations in the current summer semester

• Until 30 September 2020, courses will be held exclusively online or in the form of ‘distance learning’. Oral examinations and written examinations for up to 25 persons can also be held digitally with the Zoom video conference system. Further digital solutions for larger examination cohorts are currently being examined. Your teachers will inform you accordingly with regard to courses and examinations if they have not already done so.
• The only exception is practical courses that require special laboratory and work rooms and cannot be replaced by digital formats. These are above all laboratory internships, practical sports events, or artistic coaching. It goes without saying that all hygiene and infection prevention measures must be observed. Hygiene protection concepts have been and are being developed for this purpose with the respective departments and coordinated with the local health authority.

According to the regulations of the NRW State Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs, oral and written examinations that are not possible online may also be held onsite. Therefore, binding hygiene protection concepts have also been drawn up in coordination with the local health authority for holding oral and written examinations in person. Examinations with up to 5 persons can be held in central and also in decentralized seminar rooms of the faculties and institutions. Examinations with significantly more than 5 persons (medium examination format) can be held in designated lecture halls and centrally managed seminar rooms. A comprehensive hygiene protection concept for large examination formats is currently being developed with the local health authority. The university canteen [Mensa], the Lokschuppen concert hall, the sports hall, and the Stadthalle city concert hall are to be used for this purpose. Your teachers will keep you informed in a timely manner.

• Work on Bachelor's/Master's degrees and research in laboratory teams is still possible.
• On May 12, 2020, on the basis of the Corona Epidemic Higher Education Ordinance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Rectorate issued the regulations for coping with the challenges posed by the coronavirus epidemic in study, teaching, and examinations. These were developed in consultation with the faculties in order to create legal bases—especially for the conversion to online formats. The Corona Order can be found here.
• A ‘small’ student survey is currently being carried out to assess first experiences with the current online semester along with direct needs in this semester. Please complete the survey; your feedback is important. The regular general student survey will take place as usual at the beginning of the 2020/21 winter semester. This will also address experiences with the previous online semester.

Further Information

• The individual standard period of study has been extended by one semester for all students enrolled in the 2020 summer semester. At Bielefeld University, this also applies to students on leave of absence.
• In cases of exceptional hardship, students will be allowed to work at individual student workplaces in faculty rooms. If in need, please contact your teachers or the deans of studies. Registration is mandatory. Further possibilities of offering you workstations on campus are still being examined.
• The library will continue to operate with limited opening hours only for lending and short catalogue searches. Interlibrary loans are possible. Important: Student workstations in the reading rooms are still not available.
• For single-parent students taking their final exams, the Studierendensekretariat [Student Office] can issue a certificate for emergency care in childcare facilities. Here you can find more detailed information on the requirements.
• For students in financial difficulties (e.g. due to loss of job, etc.) the Federal Minister of Education has launched a bridging aid in the form of an initially interest-free loan from the KfW Bank - see www.kfw.de/studienkredit-coronahilfe. In addition, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has made emergency aid funds available to the student unions. These emergency aid funds are allocated as non-repayable support to students in particularly acute need in line with the funds’ usual regulations. Unfortunately, a starting date for applications has yet to be announced. To obtain support with living costs in these difficult times, you can also turn to the Social Fund of the AStA.

We now have a much better overview of the consequences we need to draw for university operations in the face of the pandemic. Nonetheless, much still remains to be done. We thank you very much for your patience and your openness towards the new online formats. Despite all the challenges, we wish you a good lecture period in this special semester. We shall inform you about all further measures and regulations in a timely manner.

Stay healthy!

 

With best regards

 

Prof. Dr-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer, Rector

Dr Stephan Becker, Chancellor

Prof. Dr Birgit Lütje-Klose, Vice-rector for Studies and Teaching

Dear teachers,

The coronavirus pandemic continues to severely restrict normal teaching routines despite the initial easing of restrictions. Developments are still dynamic, requiring constant adjustments from the university. In addition, we—and above all you as teachers—still face the challenge of organizing and carrying out the current online semester in the best possible way for all concerned. At the same time, we have to start planning for the coming winter semester 2020/21—even though we have yet to receive any decisions or clear signals from the state government.

In the past few days, the Rectorate, the administration, and those responsible in the faculties have initiated further concrete measures and regulations. Today, as announced, we want to inform you about how things stand at present, especially with regard to carrying out teaching courses and examinations.

Lecture periods

• The lecture period for the summer semester 2020 began on April 20, 2020 and will end on July 17, 2020.
• The State Ministry of Culture and Science has responded to the request of the universities and agreed to postpone the start of the lecture period for the winter semester 2020/2021 until November 2 for all first semester students and until October 26 for all other students. The end of the lecture period has been set at 12 February 2021.

Teaching and examinations in the current summer semester

• The summer semester remains (almost exclusively) an online semester. Until 30 September 2020, courses will be held exclusively online or in the form of ‘distance learning’. Oral examinations and written examinations for up to 25 persons can also be held digitally with the Zoom video conference system. Further digital solutions for larger examination cohorts are currently being examined.
• The only exception is practical courses that require special laboratory and work rooms and cannot be replaced by digital formats. These are above all laboratory internships, practical sports events, or artistic coaching. It goes without saying that all hygiene and infection prevention measures must be observed. Hygiene protection concepts have been and are being developed for this purpose with the respective departments and coordinated with the local health authority.
• According to the regulations of the NRW State Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs, oral and written examinations that are not possible online may also be held onsite. Therefore, binding hygiene protection concepts have also been drawn up in coordination with the local health authority for holding oral and written examinations in person. Examinations with up to 5 persons can be held in central and also in decentralized seminar rooms of the faculties and institutions. Examinations with significantly more than 5 persons (medium examination format) can be held in designated lecture halls and centrally managed seminar rooms.
• In order to use centrally administered classrooms, you must register via the central room allocation system. Please contact your Dean of Studies or ekvv representative. Registrations will be collected and coordinated there before being forwarded to the central room allocation office.

A comprehensive hygiene protection concept for large examination formats is currently being developed with the local health authority. The university canteen [Mensa], the Lokschuppen concert hall, the sports hall, and the Stadthalle city concert hall are to be used for this purpose. Further information will follow.

• Work on Bachelor's/Master's degrees and research in laboratory teams are to be permitted in accordance with the regulations for research work. However, this will also require a supplementary risk assessment from the laboratory managers.
• On May 12, 2020, on the basis of the Corona Epidemic Higher Education Ordinance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Rectorate issued the attached regulations for coping with the challenges posed by the coronavirus epidemic in study, teaching, and examinations. These were developed in consultation with the faculties in order to create legal bases—especially for the conversion to online formats. They also contain regulations on examination procedures and on applications/enrolment, flexibilizations of regulations on the transition from Bachelor to Master, and regulations on the necessary requirements for attending follow-up modules or courses. Further details can be found in the regulations
• A ‘small’ student survey is currently being carried out to assess students’ first experiences in the current online semester along with their direct needs. The regular general student survey will take place as usual at the beginning of the 2020/21 winter semester. This will also address experiences with the previous online semester.
• A ‘small’ teacher survey is currently being prepared in order to gather information on initial experiences and needs in the current semester. A large survey and in-depth interviews are planned at the end of the semester in order to look back on the experiences gained and draw conclusions for future semesters and digital teaching as a whole.

Teaching and examinations in the winter semester 2020/21

• The winter semester 2020/21 will also not take the form of the onsite semesters we were used to before the pandemic. Teachers can therefore plan and offer the digital course and examination formats already planned and implemented for the current semester along with other courses in the coming semester in this form. Exceptions and regulations for carrying out onsite courses in the winter semester, especially for students in their first semester, will cooperatively developed.

Employment law information for teachers

• All forms of ‘distance learning’ continue to be possible: teachers can use mixed forms of online, text work, zoom small groups, and self-study. To reduce group sizes, courses can be duplicated and credited separately in accordance with the Teaching Responsibilities Ordinance (LVV). The crediting of teaching formats is, moreover, currently analogous to that for classroom teaching otherwise provided to the same extent.
• To support digital teaching formats, it is possible to increase the number of working hours of already employed assistant staff at short notice or to hire new assistant staff. For these short-term requirements, the usual period of four weeks to the 1st or 15th of a month does not apply. Please contact the administrative management of your faculties and institutions to obtain advice and support if you wish to hire or increase the number of staff.
• For teachers whose fixed-term employment contracts run between 1 March and 30 September 2020, the maximum fixed-term contract period is being extended by six months (in line with WissZeitVG). The principal 6-year period before or after a doctorate is then being changed to a qualification period of 6.5 years.

Specific information for students to know

• The individual standard period of study has been extended by one semester for all students enrolled in the 2020 summer semester. At Bielefeld University, this also applies to students on leave of absence. For all students studying ‘Rechtswissenschaft mit Abschluss erste Prüfung’ [law with a first examination], the 2020 summer semester will also not be taken into account when calculating the Freiversuchsfrist [free attempt period].
• In cases of exceptional hardship, students will be allowed to work at individual student workplaces in faculty rooms. If in need, please contact your teachers or the deans of studies. Registration is mandatory. Further possibilities are still being examined.
• The library will continue to operate with limited opening hours only for lending and short catalogue searches. Interlibrary loans are possible. Student workstations in the reading rooms are still not available.
• For single-parent students taking their final exams, the Studierendensekretariat [Student Office] can issue a certificate for emergency care in childcare facilities. Here you can find more detailed information on the requirements.
• For students in financial difficulties (e.g. due to loss of job, etc.) the Federal Minister of Education has launched a bridging aid in the form of an initially interest-free loan from the KfW Bank—see www.kfw.de/studienkredit-coronahilfe. In addition, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has made emergency aid funds available to the student unions. These emergency aid funds are allocated as non-repayable support to students in particularly acute need in line with the funds’ usual regulations. Unfortunately, a starting date for applications has yet to be announced. If students ask you for advice, you can also refer them to the Social Fund of the AStA.

We now have a much better overview of the consequences we need to draw for university operations in the face of the pandemic. Nonetheless, much still remains to be done. We thank you very much for your commitment, but we do ask you to continue to be patient.

 Despite all the challenges, we wish you a continued good lecture period in this special semester and we shall inform you about all further measures and regulations in a timely manner.

Stay healthy!

 

With best regards

 

Prof. Dr-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer, Rector

Dr Stephan Becker, Chancellor

Prof. Dr Birgit Lütje-Klose, Vice-rector for Studies and Teaching