Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

New regulations from 25.05.2020

Bachelor and Master Thesis

1. All interrupted Bachelor and Master thesis should be continued from 18 May onwards. As a generous compensation for the corona pandemic interruption, the processing time will be extended by 12 weeks if the work can be continued without any restrictions.
   1. In the case of bachelor's theses, the uniform deadline for submission is 10.08.2020, calculated from 18 May onwards.
   2. In the case of Master's theses, the original submission date shall be extended by 12 weeks.
2. If facilities which are currently not yet open (e.g. certain laboratories) or can only be used to a limited extent (e.g. libraries) would have to be used for the work in progress, the compensation for disadvantages for the Bachelor's or Master's thesis can be extended by a maximum of 18 weeks upon written application (informally to the examination board).
3. If the processing times are nevertheless insufficient, further extensions can be granted in accordance with the Examination Procedure Regulations §12 (4), whereby the extension by a maximum of twice the original processing time is possible.
4. All students can withdraw from the processing of their Bachelor and Master theses without giving reasons and receive a new topic upon request.
5. All Bachelor theses can also be carried out as purely theoretical work. This regulation is relevant for subjects in which the Bachelor thesis is typically written in a laboratory.
6. All necessary decisions shall be made by the chairperson of the examination boards with the involvement of the supervisors.

Courses and examinations

1. Face-to-face courses may be held after a hygiene concept has been drawn up for the respective course and forwarded to the dean's office, and the students have been given sufficient time to travel to Kiel The general hygiene plan must be observed.
2. All other courses that have already been started online must also be continued in this format (requirement of the state government).
3. Detailed information about the new examination periods was sent by email:
   • 1st examination period summer semester 2020: 3.8.-22.8.2020
   • 2nd catch-up period for WS2019/20: 7.9.-26.9.2020
   • 3rd second examination period summer semester 2020: 5.10.-24.10.2020
4. The Corona Statutes stipulate in §3 that with the written consent of the Dean, attendance courses can be replaced by other types of courses. Since the necessary decisions are best made in agreement between the person responsible for the module and the examination board of the subject, the following procedure is established for the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences:
   • In agreement between the person responsible for the module and the respective examination board, a list of the attendance courses to be replaced by different course types will be determined.
   • This list may also include attendance courses which cannot be carried out under corona conditions (e.g. work placements) and are therefore assessed as having passed without an examination (without a grade).
   • The list is submitted to the dean for signature.
   • With the signature of the dean the list is legally valid and must be made known to the students of the subject.
   • Complaints from students must first be addressed to the responsible examination board. If the examination board rejects the complaint, the students can contact the Dean of Studies.
5. In the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities of the Christian-Albrechts-University, an examination taken in the summer semester 2020 and not passed is considered an open attempt. This regulation applies to all students of both faculties.
6. All students should continue to inform themselves about the courses taking place on the websites of their subjects. Almost all lectures are now offered online. The websites for the subjects can be found here:
   • Biochemistry: https://www.bimo.uni-kiel.de/de/bcmb
   • Biology: https://www.biologie.uni-kiel.de/de/aktuelles
   • Chemistry: http://www.chemie.uni-kiel.de/de
   • Geography: http://www.geographie.uni-kiel.de/de
   • Earth Sciences: http://www.ifg.uni-kiel.de/de
   • Mathematics: http://www.math.uni-kiel.de/de
   • Marine Sciences: https://www.geomar.de/studieren/
   • Pharmacy: https://www.pharmazie.uni-kiel.de/de
   • Physics: http://www.physik.uni-kiel.de/de
7. Field Trips:
   • This year's excursion week from 02 - 05.06.2020 will not take place.
   • If necessary, the excursions can be made up at a later date. The period of the excursion week will be used for regular events.
   • Instead of the excursions, substitute services are also conceivable. However, according to § 3 of the Corona Statutes for Studies and Examination of April 24, 2020, a written approval by the Dean is required for this.
   • The excursion offer for the period from July 2020 onwards is to be maintained for the time being. A decision on these excursions will be made at the end of May 2020.
   • If the excursions are part of modules that are supported by lectures and seminars, these lectures and seminars should be offered online if possible, although the excursions cannot take place for the time being. Exceptions are possible if these lectures and seminars directly relate to findings from an excursion.
   • Cancellation fees do not have to be paid by the students, but can be paid out of the excursion allowance.
8. The examination offices and the student advisory service are currently closed to the public. Counselling is only available online or by telephone.
9. There are modules which, according to the subject examination regulations, can only be taken if another module has been successfully completed. Students will also be admitted to courses /modules in the coming summer semester if, due to the current situation in the 2nd examination period of WS 19/20, it was not possible for them to take an examination for the completion of a module that is specified in the subject examination regulations as a prerequisite for participation in a subsequent module. Excluded from this regulation are, however, modules for which safety-relevant knowledge must be given in order to enable safe laboratory operation.

Doctorate

1. The administration and registration procedure for dissertations has been completely converted to an online procedure Further information can be found at https://www.mnf.uni-kiel.de/de/promotion-habilitation/prom.
2. The forms should only be filled in electronically. Under no circumstances should they be printed out, filled out by hand or signed and then scanned. This hinders further processing in the dean's office.
3. Up to now all pending disputes could be conducted under strict observance of the rules of hygiene and distance. Only the examiners* and the candidate* may be present during the disputation. As a rule, the disputation continues to take place as a classroom event.
4. The university public will be formally re-established for disputations after 1.6.2020:
   • Due to the above rules of hygiene and distance, this can only be done via video conference. Due to the strict privacy rules, Zoom or Skype may not be used. Only BigBlueButton or the DFNconf service can be used.
   • With the announcement of the interpretation ridge of a dissertation, Mrs. Koberg informs about the day and time of the corresponding disputation. Persons who want to participate in the disputation as listeners have the possibility to register.
   • The doctoral candidate must hand over a list of the intended audience to the Chairperson of the disputation at least 48 hours before the disputation. Only members and relatives of the CAU and, if applicable, of the non-university research institute (GEOMAR, MPI or similar) at which the dissertation was written are admitted - but not relatives and friends who do not belong to this group of people.
   • The doctoral candidate* is responsible for the technical execution of the dissertation.
   • This procedure is binding for all disputes from 1.6.2020. Exclusion of the university public must be applied for in writing or by email to the responsible Vice Dean (Prof. Dr. H. Kersten).
   • Before the start of the disputation, the participants in the video conference must be compared with the list of listeners registered in advance.
   • Only the lecture and the questioning may be transmitted, but not the consultation of the commission. Recordings of the disputation are prohibited.
5. In justified exceptional cases, a disputation can also take place as a video conference at the request of the Chairperson. This must be agreed with Ms Koberg.

Libraries

1. The faculty libraries and collections may be reopened to all users, subject to compliance with the general hygiene plan of the university and after submission of a separate hygiene concept for the respective institution.

Committee meetings and appointment procedures

1. Meetings of the section committees, the study committee, the doctoral committee and the habilitation committee may be held as face-to-face meetings with a maximum of 50 persons. The general hygiene plan must be observed. However, it is still strongly recommended to hold meetings as video conferences.
2. Meetings of the appointment committees are held as video conferences at the invitation of the Dean. Starting in June, we will conduct presentation colloquia as face-to-face meetings. We are currently developing a concept for this.
3. Introductory talks in the context of appointments will be possible again from 1.6.2020.
4. Wherever possible, these should take place as face-to-face events on CAU premises. Purely videoconference applications must be clearly justified and require the approval of the Dean.
5. Special precautionary measures must be taken due to the corona pandemic. Hygiene and distance rules must be observed at all times. The regulations of the framework hygiene plan must be observed.
6. The university public shall be appropriately involved. Due to the limited room capacities, this can be done, for example, by means of a BigBlueButton. Persons who wish to participate must register in advance. Organisational responsibility lies with the institute in which the respective professorship is advertised.
7. Applicants from abroad who cannot participate due to travel restrictions and persons at risk must be enabled to participate via video conference. The regulations of data protection must be observed.
8. For lecture halls, the maximum occupancy rates determined by the building management apply (approx. 10% of the actual room capacity).
9. The discussions between the candidate and the commission must take place in sufficiently large rooms.
10. Drinks and food buffets are expressly prohibited during these meetings.

Research

1. Research is still basically unrestricted, but it is also subject to the applicable distance and hygiene rules.
2. For all employees, it is still the case that work is to be carried out in the home office in consultation with superiors, unless on-site presence is necessary for the basic maintenance of operations.
3. Employees whose work cannot be carried out at home may resume their activities at the university, subject to the rules of distance and hygiene and the risk assessments. This does not apply to persons at risk.
4. Hazard assessments must be prepared and kept up to date for all facilities. The form prepared for this purpose by the Safety Engineer's Office must continue to be used. https://www.sicherheitsingenieur.uni-kiel.de/de/themen/corona.
5. The general hygiene plan must also be observed: https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/coronavirus/rahmenhygienekonzept#c337057
6. The employees must be instructed accordingly by their superiors. The staff unit Safety Engineer provides appropriate assistance on its website and advises employees and superiors.
7. The Corona website is authoritative for the prevention and protection measures currently in force at CAU. All members of the CAU regularly inform themselves there about the applicable regulations.

Corona website and risk persons

1. The CAU's Corona website is continually revised and updated: www.uni-kiel.de/corona.
2. Special requirements apply to members of risk groups. For the company's practice of assessing special risks, this means in particular that the pre-existing conditions mentioned there (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, immunodeficiency), but not, for example, age alone, are relevant to the decision. Employees affected by these risks indicate to their supervisor that they belong to one of the risk groups mentioned in these notes; a certificate is not required. If in doubt, please contact the company physician. https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogruppen.html