Information on the consequences of the corona crisis on studies and teaching

Will the office hours at the Student Affairs Division take place?

There are no personal office hours at the Student Affairs Division at the moment. Please refer to the website of the respective services for phone hours and advising via Zoom. We kindly ask you to send your questions via e-mail. All questions and requests will continue to be answered by us as quickly as possible. Please make sure to include your student ID number and use your university e-mail account!

Where can I find information and advisory services on “digital studying”?

You can find lots of information on digital learning in our knowledge base. You can also find contact persons on these pages, who can help you with any further questions.

Can I hand in forms and documents in person?

Please make use of the letterbox of the Division to submit all documents. It will be emptied several times a day. In everyone’s interest, please refrain from making any unnecessary personal inquiries.

Can I also send forms or other written documents via e-mail?

In general, it is still required to hand in documents in a written format. We would like to point out that stamps can also be purchased electronically, so that it is not absolutely necessary to visit a post office. If you have access to special e-mail technology that meets the legal requirements of the German De-Mail-Act, you may use this method of sending documents if you attach the signed document.

If you are unable to send documents in a letter for exceptional reasons (e.g. illness, quarantine, avoidance of social contacts due to contact with infected persons, membership of a risk group), please send the signed document as an attachment in advance via regular e-mail. Please use this e-mail to explain why it is not possible for you to send the application in a letter. If these reasons are accepted as sufficient, we will inform you and ask you to send the original documents as soon as it is possible for you to do so. Requests that do not need to be implemented immediately will not be processed until the subsequent submission of the original document, but will be considered to be within the deadline. The date of receipt of the document will be the date it was received electronically.

Please note that deadlines may already have expired if your application is implemented at a later date. As an example, we would like to mention the application for enrollment in connection with the registration deadlines for courses. Processing can only take place when the required documents, which were submitted in another format within the deadline, are available in the required format. The regular deadline for registration for, enrolling in or withdrawing from courses ends on November 30. After that date it is no longer possible to register for most courses. Only for block courses, which might be offered at a later date, would registration still be possible. Since this can lead to considerable disruptions in the course of your studies, we would like to point out these consequences.

The BAföG office is asking me for a certificate of corona-related restrictions to my studies during the summer semester 2020. Where can I get one?

For BAföG funding during the regular funding period, no special certificate about corona-related restrictions of your studies during the summer semester 2020 is required. Separate certificates from the University of Potsdam are only required if students are not able to present the required transcript of records according to § 48 BAföG as of the summer semester 2020 or the winter semester 2020/2021 or if they have already exceeded the maximum funding period at the beginning of the semesters mentioned above and have therefore applied for funding beyond the maximum funding period and justify this with the pandemic. In this case, the BAföG office must know exactly to what extent students could not meet their study obligations, e.g. closed laboratories, postponement of courses, closed libraries, etc. The BAföG commissioners for the respective degree programs are in charge of these certificates.

You can find further information about BAföG on the website of the Association of Student Affairs.

Can I still reach Potsdam’s Association for Student Affairs (Studentenwerk) for any questions I might have?

All in-person office hours at the Studentenwerk Potsdam are currently cancelled. However, you can reach the departments by e-mail and telephone if you have questions.

Who can I contact if I have financial problems?

Please contact the social counseling service of the Studentenwerk Potsdam directly.

Information on the federal bridging aid for students in financial emergency situations

What consequences will the regulations on individual standard periods of study from the Pandemic Ordinance for Higher Education (Hochschulpandemieverordnung) have on my studies?

With its Pandemic Ordinance for Higher Education (Hochschulpandemieverordnung) the state of Brandenburg has introduced an individual standard period of study for students who were enrolled during the summer semester 2020. According to this and deviating from Section 18 (2) of the Brandenburg Higher Education Act, there shall be an individual standard period of study which has been extended by one semester.

This has an impact on deadlines which are linked to the length of the standard period of study.

In particular, this applies to examination deadlines according to Section 7a BAMA-O and regulations for the discipline-specific non-binding exams according to Section 13.

1. Role for the calculation of examination deadlines according to Section 7a BAMA-O/BAMALA-O

a) Summer semester 2020

The individual standard period of study was introduced to avoid the creation of disadvantages for students in terms of examination regulations due to the special circumstances of the summer semester 2020. For this reason, the summer semester 2020 will not be taken into account when calculating the examination deadline according to Section 7a of the BAMA-O/BAMALA-O.

This means: The examination deadline will be extended by one semester for all students who were enrolled in the summer semester 2020, regardless of when the examination deadline will come into effect.

b) Winter semester 2020/2021

The University of Potsdam has made the decision to compensate for the additional burden put on students by the necessary hybrid semester also with regard to the winter semester 2020/2021 by extending the examination deadline accordingly.

This means: The examination deadline will be extended by one semester for all students who were enrolled in the winter semester 2020/2021, regardless of when the examination deadline will come into effect.

c) Examples to clarify

For students who were enrolled in the summer semester 2020 and the winter semester 2020/2021, a total of one year will be added to the examination deadline.

1. Examination deadline originally ended on September 30, 2020 (with or without an existing extension); first, the examination deadline will automatically be extended to March 31, 2021; if the student was enrolled in the winter semester 2020/2021, another extension to September 30, 2021 will be carried out.
2. Examination deadline will end on March 31, 2021. Due to the two automatic extensions, the examination deadline will now end on March 31, 2022.

Invitations for departmental advising for those whose examination deadline will end on September 30, 2021 according to the new calculations are expected to be sent out at the beginning of the summer semester 2021. Should there be any changes in this regard, you will be informed on this page.

d) Exceptions

Students who were on a leave of absence in the summer semester 2020 or the winter semester 2020/2021 are the only ones who are excluded from these regulations.

2. Role of the summer semester 2020 with regard to non-binding exams according to Section 13 (3) BAMA-O/BAMALA-O

If the relevant study and examination regulations for the degree program or subject provide for a non-binding exam in case of a failing grade and/or to improve a grade, this only refers to examinations that were taken within the standard period of study.

The extended individual standard period of study will therefore lead to the following application of Section 13 (3) of  BAMA-O/BAMALA-O:All students who were enrolled during the summer semester 2020 can still use their non-binding exam option as defined in the discipline-specific study and examination regulations for an examination that was taken in a regular semester of study (“Fachsemester”) following the end of the standard period of study.

Example to clarify:
A student has been studying in a Bachelor’s program for the standard period of study of six semesters as of the summer semester 2020. Contrary to the provisions in Section 13 (3) BAMA-O/BAMALA-O, the student can still use their non-binding exam option in the winter semester despite having reached their seventh semester of study by following the usual procedure.

Students who had already surpassed their standard period of study by one semester in the summer semester 2020 will be informed separately.

How will the summer semester 2020 be counted in other contexts?

In statistics, the summer semester 2020 will be registered as usual and counted in accordance with the applicable regulations as a semester of study (“Fachsemester”) and also count towards your total number of semesters in higher education (“Hochschulsemester”). Consequences regarding matters on which the University cannot make decisions, such as BAföG regulations, renting agreements in apartments of the Studentenwerk, matters of student’s health insurance or child allowance payments, will be handled by the competent authorities. Please refer to the information provided by the respective authorities.

The following information only applies to students whose examination administration is linked to the Examination Office of the Student Affairs Division. Students at the Digital Engineering Faculty and the Law Faculty as well as students in a continuing education Master’s program are asked to refer to the relevant bodies.

How are examinations requiring attendance conducted during the corona pandemic?

At the University of Potsdam, examinations requiring attendance are carried out both on site in compliance with the applicable hygiene and distance regulations and in online formats. The respective teaching staff member will inform you about the format of such examinations at the beginning of the instructional period. Should new developments in relation to the corona pandemic require adjustments, these will be communicated by the teaching staff as early as possible.

Can I participate in an on-site examination if I suspect an infection with the coronavirus or if I have been in contact with an infected person?

No, we urgently ask you to refrain from participating in an on-site examination under these circumstances. We also urge you to refrain from taking part in the examination if you have symptoms that could indicate an infection with the coronavirus and have not been medically assessed, or if you have been in contact with other contact persons or corona patients.

What happens if I register for an examination requiring attendance but do not participate in it?

The following applies for examinations for the winter semester 2019/2020 that took place after March 16, 2020 and for every examination that will take place in the summer semester 2020: Non-attendance will be considered a withdrawal from the examination. No documents (e.g. doctor’s note) need to be handed in as proof (simplified withdrawal). The student will not receive a 5.0 grade for the examination. Please don't be alarmed: once your non-attendance has been registered, you will first see a 5.0 grade or “failed” in your transcript of records. However, this grade will disappear when the cancellation has been processed by the Examination Office. Please understand that this may require a few days' processing time.

Updated: August 28, 2020
These regulations also apply to examinations that will take place in the winter semester 2020/21.

If you wish to take the exam at a later point in time, you will consequently need to re-register for the new examination date.

Examinations requiring attendance are generally examinations scheduled for a certain point in time such as written and oral exams, which require short-term attendance and are usually conducted under supervision. Online examinations are also considered to be examinations requiring attendance.

Do I have to complete my work on other examination components that do not require my presence at the University (such as term papers)?

• Yes. Despite the suspension or limitation of teaching operations and the possible cancelation of examinations requiring attendance you are still required to complete tasks for which you have registered, for which an individual submission deadline has been determined and for which attendance at a certain point in time is not required. Such examination formats do not fall within the scope of the provisions for simplified withdrawals mentioned above. If the paper is not submitted on time, it will receive the usual 5.0 grade. For module term papers, the faculty member who determined the deadline for the paper must be informed of any delays and the reasons behind them. An appropriate extension of the deadline, which takes the circumstances into consideration (closure or limited services of libraries, no available childcare options, quarantine), is to be granted.
• The same applies to the registered final thesis.
  • Updated on December 15, 2020: Deadlines for final theses will all be extended by one month if the original deadline was on December 15, 2020, or later.
  • Updated on March 17, 2020: Deadlines for final theses will all be extended by another month - a total of two months if the original deadline was on March 16, 2020, or later.
  • Updated on March 16, 2020: Deadlines for final theses will all be extended by one month if the original deadline was on March 16, 2020, or later.
    
    It is not necessary to confirm this with the examining board. The deadline extension will be granted by the Examination Office and, once it has been processed, will be visible in your academic transcript on the PULS platform.

Can I register my final thesis?

Should you wish to register for your final thesis despite the current situation and restrictions, you can do so by following the regular procedures. The usual submission deadlines apply in this case. The respective examining board will decide upon request if a possible extension of the submission deadline will be granted due to corona-related restrictions for a final thesis that was registered in the summer semester 2020. An extension of up to two months could be granted on a case-by-case basis for theses registered in the summer semester 2020.

Can I hand in my final thesis in a digital format?

Updated: December 11, 2020
Final theses with a deadline up to and including March 31, 2021 (postmark) can be sent as a PDF file via e-mail to pruefungsamtuni-potsdamde instead of handing in three bound copies. It is also possible to give the Examination Office access to the file via Box.UP. The PDF file will be forwarded to your referees exclusively by the Examination Office. If it is not possible to send the file via e-mail, please check the attachment size and try to reduce it if possible. As soon as it becomes possible again, you will have to hand in a printed copy in order to ensure that the five-year obligation to preserve records can be complied with. If you do not do so on your own initiative, you will receive a request from the Examination Office to hand in a bound copy of your thesis once the situation has gone back to normal. Apart from your thesis, please also send in the required declaration of originality in a digital format. In case of a digital submission, a wet signature of the document will not be necessary for the time being. However, a wet signature with reference to the date of the digital submission must be added when you hand in the printed copy of your thesis, which must correspond to the digital version.

For final theses that are handed in from April 1, 2021 (postmark) onwards, regulations of the BAMA-O/BAMALA-O (General Provisions for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs) will apply again. That means that three printed/bound copies will have to be handed in.

What do I do if my examination deadline ends according to Section 7a BAMA-O?

Due to the introduction of individual standard periods of study, there are pandemic-related deviations from the standard procedure for the calculation of examination deadlines. For more details, see “Consequences on your studies due to the introduction of individual standard periods of study”.

Do the restrictions due to the corona pandemic lead to an extension of the deadline for the completion of the expiring teaching degree programs (LSIP, LSIP/SP, LG)?

No. The degree programs must be completed by the end of the 2022 summer semester (September 30, 2022). The deadline is fixed by law (§ 18 (4) BbgLeBiG) and cannot be extended by the University of Potsdam. An extension on the basis of hardship cases or the like is also not possible. The teaching-related (expiring) master's degree program for the education of teachers for “Gymnasium” secondary schools (LG) can be taken up for the last time in the winter semester 2020/2021 and for teaching degrees for education at secondary level I and primary level at general education schools (LSIP, also with focus on primary level) for the last time in the summer semester 2021, in order to guarantee the 4 or 3 semesters considered the standard period of study. Further information on this and on the possibilities of changing from the expiring degree programs to the new ones can be found here.

Do the restrictions due to the corona pandemic lead to an extension of the period of study in cancelled degree programs?

No. Cancelled degree programs must be completed by the respective specified end date. An extension due to cases of hardship or the like is also not possible in these special cases. You can find an overview of the affected degree programs and the end dates here.

What are the current plans for the winter semester 2020/2021?

The upcoming winter semester will be a hybrid semester with about a quarter of courses taking place in face-to-face formats on campus. Due to the dynamic situation, the arrival event will not take place, but we recommend that you arrive and move into the student residence on October 19, 2020 – if possible. The orientation and welcome events of the International Office will be held contactless and digitally between October 20 and 28, 2020. From October 1, 2020 on, you will find detailed information on the start of your studies on the website for program students. The instructional period begins on November 2, 2020 and ends on February 12, 2021. If you do not have to attend any compulsory courses on-site, it is also possible to remain in your home country and study digitally. Should you decide against studying at the University of Potsdam after all, it will be possible to revoke your enrollment by December 31, 2020. Since we cannot foresee how the pandemic will develop, we kindly ask for your understanding for the fact that short-term changes may have to be announced here due to the pandemic.

How can teaching staff communicate the examination results and course completion records of program students?

Teaching staff may send the examination results of program students to the International Office preferably by e-mail instead of using a paper "Schein"/certificate. Teaching staff must use their university e-mail address (@uni-potsdam.de) and the e-mail should contain the following information:

• name of the student
• student's registration number
• name of the teaching unit/course
• semester
• hours/week per semester
• grade
• ECTS points
• type of examination (indicate "none" if applicable)
• name of the teacher

Send to: transcript-incominguni-potsdamde
Subject: name of the student

The respective student may be cc’d, so that he/she also receives the examination results. For data protection resons, please do not send the results of several students in one e-mail with students cc’d.

Do I have to go into quarantine if I enter Germany from abroad?

You can find more information on this page.

Is it possible to apply and enroll for the upcoming semesters?

In case there are any deviations from the standard application or enrollment procedure for the upcoming semesters, we will inform you about this here.