Studying and teaching

Face-to-face teaching is not possible at FAU until further notice.

The lecture period in the summer semester 2020 begins on 20 April 2020 and will end officially on 7 August 2020.

However, there may be deviations in certain faculties or schools:

In the School of Business, Economics and Society, the lecture period will end on 25 July 2020.

The summer semester 2020 will count as a regular semester which means that the semester will count both as a full semester studied towards a degree programme and a further semester that the student has studied at university. Despite rumours to the contrary, the standard duration of studies is not affected!

What has been changed is how the deadlines for completing your GOP or degree programme are handled. Full details of this are available on the Examinations Office website.

The University Library already offers a number of additional online services to support research and teaching, and we are constantly adding more.

Since Monday, 20 April 2020, it has been possible to borrow and return printed media in the Main Library and the branch libraries. Further information is available on the website of the University Library.

The University Library has also drawn up a detailed FAQ paper on all questions relating to borrowing, fees and renewals.

Students who are intending to travel to Germany for their first semester in summer semester 2020 or students who returned to their home country in the lecture-free period and are now ‘stuck’ there due to travel restrictions are facing a particularly difficult situation. We will do our best to help you as much as we possibly can.

If you are anxious about missing part of the semester here, please rest assured that you are of course entitled to use any of our digital teaching resources, provided you have access to the internet where you are.

If you have any individual problems, please either contact your lecturer directly or the Student Advice and Career Centre ibz@fau.de. Our colleagues will be happy to help you.

All that is included on your final academic record and your degree certificate is the date you sat your final examination (achieved the degree of XYZ on xx.yy.zzzz). There is no mention of how many semesters you actually studied or whether or not you exceeded the standard duration of study.

Graduation documents will still be prepared by the Examinations Office provided all achievements required for the relevant degree programme have been completed. These are then forwarded to the respective Examinations Committee for signing and sent by post, provided we have been given an address. Due to the current situation, delays can occur as several institutions are involved in issuing the graduation documents. Please contact the relevant member of staff at the Examinations Office if you urgently require confirmation that you have passed the degree programme.

You need the right equipment to be able to study online. Students who do not have their own laptop or one that is equipped for online learning can contact fau4fau-laptops@fau.de and apply to borrow one. An appeal for donations has been launched.

With DFNconf, a Jitsi-server operated locally at the Erlangen Regional Computing Centre (RRZE), MS Teams and Zoom, FAU has various web conference platforms at its disposal.

An overview is available on the RRZE website .

Important help and information about Zoom is available on the schnell-digital page.

The ILI team can offer you a Zoom coaching session to help you switch over to online teaching as quickly as possible. Experienced colleagues at FAU are available to walk you through the basic functions of the software live in a Zoom meeting. You can cover any questions you have during the 30 minute video conference, and then you should be able to start straightaway with your first session. You can book an appointment online.

• If you are planning a class for up to 300 students, you should use the ‘meeting’ function in Zoom, which is available to all members of staff at FAU. ‘Meetings’ are designed to be a collaborative event in which all participants are able to share their screens, switch on their audio and video and see and hear other participants, provided they have also switched on their audio and video.
• If you are planning a class for more than 300 students or if you have special requirements for your classes, you will need to request the ‘webinar’ option. Please contact schnell-digital@ili.fau.de, writing ‘Zoom webinar’ in the subject line.

This applies in particular to: laboratory courses, sports courses, fine arts courses (theatre, music, art education) and field trips. Conducting practical classes and research activities in special laboratory or work rooms including workshops at FAU must follow the practical guidelines that you will find on the Occupational Safety website.

If you would like to hold a practical class, please complete the form included in the practical guidelines from the Occupational Safety website which must also be signed by the individual responsible and send it via email to your Occupational Safety representative. Your representative will contact you should they require further details or grant you permission to hold the class.

Online courses can and should continue to run throughout the semester even if attendance in person is possible again. This will allow students caring for relatives or children, vulnerable students or ill students as well as students who have chosen not to travel to their place of study this summer semester to continue to attend classes.

The same regulations apply for attendance of online teaching as for attendance of regular face-to-face classes. Attendance cannot be made compulsory if the face-to-face class did not meet the legal requirements for this either.

In addition, we would explicitly ask you to pay special consideration to students who are classed as being at-risk or who are in a special position due to caring for children or helping out in hospitals.

Generally speaking, an effort should be made to give students enough time to relax after the lecture period.

However, there is nothing against offering the originally planned laboratory courses as block seminars, provided they do not collide with regular examination periods.

The degree programme structures stipulated in the degree programme and examination regulations are always only a recommendation. As a rule, they are not obligatory for students. At FAU, however, we have to ensure as smooth a progress through the degree programme as possible. The answer to the question depends on whether the laboratory course/internship/placement is organised by FAU or whether it is organised independently by students outside FAU. However, generally speaking, there is nothing against being flexible.

That is not a decision that FAU can take. It is up to the institution in question to decide whether or not the placement can go ahead.

This is up to the organiser of the event to decide on their own responsibility.

The aim of the appeal fund ‘#FAU4FAU – Staff for Students’ is to help students who are now in financial need due to the coronavirus pandemic so that everyone can use the digital learning services being offered by FAU during summer semester 2020. Students who are enrolled at FAU in summer semester 2020 and who are currently facing financial difficulties as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic can apply for financial help.

Information from the city of Erlangen: Due to the special rules regarding minimising the consequences of the pandemic, students can also receive Arbeitslosengeld II unemployment in the form of a loan until further notice. An application must be made to the Jobcenter of the city in which you are registered. In Erlangen, this is currently only possible by telephone.

More information is available on the City of Erlangen website.

• Jobcenter in Erlangen
• Jobcenter in Nuremberg
• Jobcenter in Fürth

• Students in need can apply to Bürgerstiftung Erlangen for financial assistance.
• From the start of May, Students can apply for an interest-free loan of 650 euros per month from the KfW bank.

The University Administration will of course process all incoming requests for employing a part-time assistant, no matter whether they are for new positions or an extension of an existing position. Remuneration will also continue to be paid via the State Finance Office.

However, in view of the emergency situation facing us at the current time, we would ask you to be patient and bear with is if it takes longer than usual for employment contracts to be drawn up.

If the place where you are intended to work as an assistant is currently not staffed, you can initially scan the signed employment contract and send it electronically. However, the original contract still has to be submitted at a later date.

Office P3 (HR Services for Part-Time Academic Staff) are currently happy to accept requests for employment electronically together with all necessary employment documents concerning a new position for or continued employment of part-time assistants. The four week deadline for submitting employment documents still applies.

From 4 May, Student Services will offer a take-away service for snacks and warm lunches in selected student restaurants in Erlangen and Nuremberg.

More information is available on the Student Services’ website.

The social work, psychological and legal counselling services run by Student Services can be reached by telephone or e-mail. The psychological counselling service also offers appointments for a video chat.

Social work unit

sozialberatung@werkswelt.de
Phone: + 49 9131 800275

Psychological advice

Phone: + 49 9131 8002-750 Mon-Fri 8.30-12.00 to arrange an appointment
Appointments are currently only available by telephone or video chat.
The drop-in consultation service is offered via this phone number on Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 4.30pm for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

Legal advice

rechtsberatung@werkswelt.de