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Teaching and studying – General information
Yes, the Coronavirus Ordinance has been extended to cover winter semester 2020/21 by continuing the rules and regulations that applied during the summer semester of 2020.
Coronavirus Ordinance winter semester 2020/21
The version valid for the summer semester 2020 can be found here:
Coronavirus Ordinance summer semester 2020
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.).
Please also refer to the information provided by the Centre for Teacher Education (Zentrum für Lehrerbildung – ZfL):
On a side note, the name ‘Coronavirus Ordinance’ is a short form of ‘Ordinance to Enact the General Implementing Provisions at Saarland University’.
This semester will not be counted when assessing whether a student has reached or exceeded the relevant standard period of study or the maximum period of study. As set out in Section 8 of the Coronavirus Ordinance, any deadlines linked to the standard period of study will be extended by one semester for students enrolled in the winter semester of 2020/2021. This also applies to cross-enrolled students and to students on leave of absence in that semester.
When assessing student academic progress, any constraints or issues that affect a student’s academic performance within the standard period of study will be taken into consideration.
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.).
During the pandemic, the university is operating on the basis of its pandemic response plan. All important university activities and functions are either being conducted on site or by university staff working from home. For more details about the guidance and assistance provided by the various advisory services, please refer to the information on the Saarland University website:
You will also find information on the best way to get in touch with these services so that everyone stays safe.
Der Service der Kontaktstelle Studium und Behinderung (KSB) stehen den Studierenden und den Lehrenden über Microsoft Teams, Telefon und E-Mails (statt in persönlichen Gesprächen) zur Verfügung. Studierende können sich an uns wenden, um den Nachteilsausgleich zu beantragen sowie Lernmittel für Hybrid- und Online-Unterricht auszuleihen. Wir sind hier, um zu verhindern, dass Ihr Studium aufgrund von Barrieren gestört wird. Wir bitten Sie, sich früh mit uns in Verbindung zu setzen, wenn Sie der Meinung sind, dass Sie möglicherweise einen Nachteilsausgleich beantragen müssen. Wenn Sie auf dem Campus sind und einen ruhigen Raum zum Ausruhen oder Arbeiten benötigen, können Sie Zugang zu unserem „Diversity Raum“ im Gebäude E1 2 erhalten.
- Die neuesten Aktualisierungen und weitere Informationen finden Sie auf der KSB-Website.
- Sie können sich auch an Ihre*n Dozent*in oder Ihr Fach wenden, um einen Nachteilausgleich vorzubereiten oder Ihre Lernbedürfnisse zu besprechen.
Because of the infection prevention and control measures currently implemented, only a few student workspaces are available on the Saarbrücken campus. A small number of self-study work spaces are available in the central library building (SULB), which can be reserved no more than 24 hours in advance. Work spaces can be booked for a maximum of two hours, although a few work spaces can be booked for up to eight hours. For more information, please visit the SULB website.
SULB - Work spaces and technical equipment
Please try and arrange your study schedule so that your in-person and remote learning sessions are combined in a manageable way. As far as possible, please only come to campus when you need to attend an in-person teaching activity. Please also make use of the available digital learning resources, which allow you, for example, to view recordings of lectures at a time convenient to you.
Enrolment and re-registration
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, some of the deadlines for application and enrolment procedures for the winter semester of 2020/2021 have been changed nationally. As a result, universities have a much shorter period than normal in which to complete student application and enrolment procedures. This may mean that it takes longer than usual for us to process your application or request or that we are unable to respond to your enquiries as quickly as we would like. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. You can track the status of your applications in the SIM portal.
Information on application and enrolment procedures is available here:
You will receive an IT account notification letter (Kennungsschreiben) containing your UdS ID code and the information you need to log in to the university’s IT systems. If you are enrolling at Saarland University for the first time, you can download your IT account notification letter as soon as you have completed the enrolment process. Please note that this does not apply to those degree programmes for which applications have to be submitted via the hochschulstart portal, i.e. medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, biology and psychology.
Downloading IT account notification letter
Applicants who already have a UdS ID code from an earlier programme of study will not see a notification letter in the SIM portal. In such cases, the document will need to be generated by the HIZ service desk (HIZ: Saarland University IT Centre).
In addition to the option of downloading the IT account notification letter, students enrolling for the first time at Saarland University will usually also be sent their IT account information together with their UdS Card by post (if their postal address is in Germany, France, Luxembourg or Switzerland).
Sources:
FAQ on application and enrolment procedures (compiled by the Central Student Advisory Service)
The re-registration procedure remains unchanged. Nevertheless, the transition to the new SIM portal and the shortened application and enrolment periods during a major pandemic means that the university is facing significant challenges at the present time. Certain processes may take longer than usual to complete and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
Teaching activities / Online and digital teaching
- Start of the semester: 1 October 2020
- Courses start: 2 November 2020
- Non-teaching period: 21 December 2020 – 1 January 2021
- Courses end: 5 February 2021
- End of the semester: 31 March 2021
Exceptions:
Different dates may apply for students studying pharmaceutical science, medicine or dentistry. Please refer to the relevant webpages for further information:
Semester dates for students of medicine
The courses offered in the winter semester of 2020/2021 are listed in the online course catalogue (HIS-LSF portal):
Important:
- All courses are generally held online until the end of March 2021.
- For infection prevention and control reasons, you must register before taking part in an in-person teaching activity. Please register via the online course catalogue (HIS-LSF) unless students on your study programme have been told to use another method of registration.
Please refer to the online information provided for your programme of study.
Die Hochschulleitung hat vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Entwicklungen im Kontext der Corona-Pandemie beschlossen, dass Lehrveranstaltungen im Wintersemester 2020/21 grundsätzlich online stattfinden (Regelung verlängert bis 31.03.2021).
Ausgenommen hiervon sind Praxisformate, die nicht in digitaler Form durchführbar sind. Hierzu zählen Labor- und Werkstattpraktika sowie praktischer Unterricht in medizinisch-klinischen Studiengängen und Kleinstarbeitsgruppen (max. 10 Teilnehmer*innen). Ausnahmen jenseits von Lehrveranstaltungen sind weiterhin Einführungsveranstaltungen sowie Beratungsangebote für Studienanfängerinnen und Studienanfänger.
Bitte achten Sie darauf, dass Sie über die von der UdS vergebene studentische E-Mailadresse erreichbar sind. Hier erfahren Sie, wie Sie eine Weiterleitung an eine private Mailadresse einrichten können:
As a precautionary measure during the current pandemic, you must register before taking part in any in-person teaching activities (see ‘How do I register for a course that is being taught in-person?’).
Please note: Courses are generally held online until the end of March 2021.
It is compulsory to wear face coverings within the buildings as well as when participating in courses or exams at all locations of the university. It is strongly recommended to wear face coverings in outdoor areas. In all areas where there is an increased gathering of people outside, including when entering and leaving the buildings and in waiting areas, the face coverings should be used.
All participants* should wash their hands before entering the premises.
For information on what to do if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and for information about all the other measures required to ensure compliance with the hygiene rules, please refer to the regularly updated FAQs that are published on the dedicated Saarland University coronavirus webpage.
Please register for an in-person teaching activity using the registration function in the online course catalogue (HIS-LSF portal).
For some courses, registration is not done via the HIS-LSF portal. In these cases, your programme coordinator will notify you about the registration procedure to be followed.
Instructions on how to register for a course in the online course catalogue (HIS-LSF portal) are available here:
Examinations and academic assessments
As a precautionary measure during the current pandemic, you must register before taking part in an in-person examination or assessment (see ‘How do I register for an in-person examination?’).
When inside a building, you are required to wear a face covering (i.e. a mask that covers your mouth and nose). You may only remove your face covering when seated in the classroom or examination room. Once you have taken your seat in the classroom or examination room, you may remove your mask, but only if the applicable hygiene and physical distancing rules are observed. All course participants are required to wash their hands before entering a classroom or exam room.
For information on what to do if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and for information about all the other measures required to ensure compliance with the hygiene rules, please refer to the regularly updated coronavirus FAQs.
The usual examination registration procedure for your degree programme applies. If registration for an examination has not always been compulsory, please contact your Examination Office to find out how the compulsory registration for in-person examinations, which is a preventive measure in the context of the current pandemic, is being handled.
No, you do not need to take the examination in person. As provided for in Section 3(4) of the Coronavirus Ordinance, a candidate may withdraw from an in-person examination even after the withdrawal deadline has passed, if they can demonstrate that they are particularly vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.). If you have questions about special rules that apply during the coronavirus pandemic, please contact your programme coordinator.
In accordance with Section 6 of the Coronavirus Ordinance, no academic progress checks will be carried out for winter semester 2019/2020, summer semester 2020 and winter semester 2020/2021. However, students may still receive notification of their academic progress for information purposes only.
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.).
Yes, according to Section 3(2) of the Coronavirus Ordinance, completion times for individual written academic assessments, such as essays, term papers, Bachelor’s theses, Master's theses or theses in state-examined subjects shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the challenging conditions that students have faced during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.).
No, you do not need to take the examination in person. As provided for in Section 3(4) of the Coronavirus Ordinance, a candidate may withdraw from an in-person examination even after the withdrawal deadline has passed, if they can demonstrate that they are particularly vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.). If you have questions about special rules that apply during the coronavirus pandemic, please contact your programme coordinator.
Yes retakes are allowed. According to Section 7(1) of the Coronavirus Ordinance, if you took an examination or assessment for which the associated teaching activity was in the summer semester of 2020 or the winter semester of 2020/2021 or the examination or assessment was originally scheduled during the campus shutdown period (17 March 2020 until 4 May 2020) and you were awarded a fail grade, you may submit a request to the relevant examination board to have the examination or assessment reclassified as ‘not attempted’. The decision to grant the request rests with the examination board whose members will consider applications favourably whenever reasonable grounds exist. However, this does not apply to seminar papers or final-year theses.
Please note that Covid-19 disease in your social environment or the previous number of examination attempts is not decisive for the possibility to apply. The Coronavirus Ordinance does not apply to degree programmes that are governed by regional or national regulations (medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical science, law) nor to programmes that lead to the award of a Master of Laws qualification (LL.M.).
Rules and regulations governing on-campus activities
If you are due to take an in-person examination, you should contact the examinations office and your examiner without delay. If you have a teaching activity that you are required to attend in person, you must contact the course instructor. If you are not scheduled to take an in-person examination or to attend a mandatory in-person class during this period, no notification is required.
If you are unable to attend a mandatory in-person teaching activity or examination and if no alternative arrangements have been put in place (e.g. online examinations or remote teaching resources), your failure to attend will be treated similarly to absences due to illness. In such cases, the relevant supporting document is the email notification you received informing you that a case of coronavirus infection had occurred.
Please follow the instructions issued by your local health authority (Gesundheitsamt).
If you are scheduled to take an in-person examination or to attend a mandatory in-person teaching activity during your period of self-isolation, please submit a doctor’s note at the earliest opportunity to the relevant examinations office and to the examiner, or to your course instructor.
Get well soon!
Quarantine restrictions can only be imposed by the local health authority.
However, the university has the right to determine who may access university premises. In order to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, the university has ruled that all persons who were present in the same room as an infected person may not enter university premises for the period provided for in the quarantine regulations in force at that time (currently 14 days or five days on submission of a negative test result).
For more details, please refer to the university’s coronavirus FAQs.
A coronavirus telephone hotline is available for students and university employees. For more information, please refer to the university’s coronavirus FAQs.
Rules for dealing with coronavirus infections
However, the university has the right to determine who may access university premises. In order to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, the university has ruled that all persons who were present in the same room as an infected person may not enter university premises for the period provided for in the quarantine regulations in force at that time (currently 14 days or five days on submission of a negative test result).
For more details, please refer to the university’s coronavirus FAQs.
Other topics
If the Federal Foreign Office has issued a tourist travel warning for a particular country or region, the university strongly advises you not to travel to that country or region for study-related activities. However, it may well be reasonable to spend a study abroad period within the greater Saar-Lor-Lux region. If a tourist travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office is in place, careful and thorough preparation is essential before travelling to that country or region for study-related purposes. When planning a study trip abroad, please remember that health and safety must always be your priority.
The laws and regulations of the host country must also be observed at all times. In the event of an emergency while staying abroad, you should contact the relevant German diplomatic mission in the host country. If you are planning to spend an extended period abroad, please register with the elefand database maintained by the Federal Foreign Office (https://elefand.diplo.de/elefandextern/home/login!form.action).
Please take note of the following information:
- Entry restrictions for the host country and/or quarantine rules after entry
- Conditions/restrictions that apply when studying, working or staying at the host institution
- Letter from your insurance provider confirming that you have adequate health insurance, personal accident insurance and public liability insurance for the relevant region (we recommend taking out repatriation insurance covering transportation back to Germany in the event of illness or injury)
- - Availability of transport services for the outbound and return journeys (please note that the cost of travel may have increased); travel tickets should be purchased with a ticket cancellation and refund option
- The Federal Foreign Office has announced that it will not be organizing any further repatriation flights for German nationals abroad.
- Anyone returning to Saarland from a stay abroad must comply with Saarland’s health and quarantine regulations.
- Funding bodies such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will not be providing funding for study abroad trips to regions for which the Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning. If you are nevertheless currently planning a DAAD-funded study abroad period, please note that force majeure cannot be used as the basis for cost refund claims.