Starting Your Semester A warm welcome to your studies at BTU!

In the summer semester 2020, courses will generally take place online. Since 18 May, it has again been possible to carry out laboratory practical training and similar practical exercises in attendance. Information about when these practical courses take place and how they are organized in compliance with the protection and hygiene regulations will be given by the lecturers.

It has been agreed between the federal states that the summer semester 2020 as an online semester will also be counted as a semester at a university or university of applied sciences and will therefore be taken into account for the statistics. The continued payment of BAFöG will be ensured, if the offering of online courses in the summer semester is taken up by the student.

It was also agreed between the federal states that students should not suffer any disadvantages from the continuation of the semester count on the individual level. The Senate has passed a corresponding resolution for the BTU. This resolution states that the semester will not be credited towards regulations in which the study progress and the regular duration of the study programme play a role. This applies in particular to the monitoring of the study time limits the granting of part-time semesters and the leave of absence, et al. Details will be published on the website of the Registrar’s and Admissions Office in due course.

Students entitled to BAföG do not suffer any disadvantages due to the postponement of classroom teaching. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research made it clear in a decree of 13 March that the extension of lecture-free periods due to the pandemic by postponing attendance courses has no effect on BAföG funding. However, as soon as the universities make an online course offer available in order to maintain the training company in this way, BAföG recipients are obliged to take part in this online course offer in order to continue to receive the respective BAföG benefits. The following applies to recipients of BAföG abroad: If entry abroad is not possible due to current entry restrictions in the country as a precaution against a pandemic, the above applies accordingly (i.e. initially BAföG continued support to the previous extent and obligation to participate in available online courses). Further information can be obtained from the BAföG offices of the Studentenwerke as well as the administrative districts and independent cities.

Furthermore, additional income will be exempt from BAföG Deduction, if it is generated in system-relevant areas (e.g. health system, social services, or agriculture). See also BMBF Press Release from 8th of April 2020 (German only).

The VBB's goodwill regulation for the semester ticket (see below) is currently valid until 31 May 2020, in parts until 28 June 2020 inclusive.

In the meantime it is also possible to update the chip card imprint. The validation stations in the university library at the Senftenberg site and in the entrance area of building 7 in Sachsendorf (also access library) are accessible during the current opening hours of the libraries.

The stations in the main building on the central campus and in building 2 in Senftenberg can be used from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The security guard provides access in each case.

Current goodwill arrangement

• VBB semester tickets for the winter semester 2019/20, which expired on 31 March 2020, will continue to be accepted as tickets for the use of public transport for the last time until 28 June 2020 inclusive. The prerequisite is that an original* certificate of enrolment for the summer semester 2020 can be presented. This also applies to the additional ticket to the Semesterticket Berlin.
• For first-year students in the summer semester 2020 who do not yet have a semester ticket, the original* certificate of enrolment for the summer semester 2020 in combination with the identity card will be accepted as entitlement to travel. This is also valid until 31 May 2020.

*Original matriculation certificate: physical original certificate or printout of an original digital certificate on white paper in original size.

If VBB-Semestertickets cannot be replaced in case of loss a regular ticket has to be bought at the time of travel. The same applies to students who have not received a semester ticket after a semester of leave of absence (winter semester 2019/20). The general ticket obligation still applies. A refund for these purchased tickets is not provided.

If students wish to inspect their written examination and the remarks by the examiners or the examination protocols after the announcement of an examination result, they must submit a corresponding application to the examiner by email. As before, this application must be submitted within four weeks of the announcement of the result. In the case of a final module examination, this period begins when the grade has been entered into the Admissions and Registrar’s Office system. If it is a partial performance in the Continuous Assessment, it begins after the announcement by the examiner.

Now that attendance examinations are once again possible under certain conditions, it is also possible to inspect the examination documents on site, provided both the examiners and the students agree. The pandemic action guidelines apply to the observance of hygiene and distance rules in the same way as for oral attendance examinations.

It is still permissible to organise the inspection within the framework of a video conference, in which the scanned documents are displayed. This should be used in particular if persons involved have comprehensible reasons (e.g. risk group) for not being able to attend a personal appointment.

(updated 03.07.2020)

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Subject-related counselling is also available during the online phase. Please take advantage of these offers and contact your subject-related counsellors, e.g. if postponed exams have resulted in changes to your individual study plan.

During the online mode, you can best reach your study advisors by email. If you need a personal counselling interview, ask for an appointment by email, if necessary also via the secretariat of the department. The conversation can then be conducted by telephone or video conference.

Since the winter semester 2019/2020 has not yet been completed with all examinations and there will probably be some time shifts in the course offerings in the summer semester 2020, BTU will not send out invitations to mandatory academic advisory sessions this semester. There will also be no automatic invitation to subject-related counselling.

In addition to the departmental student advisory service, the central student advisory service and counselling is of course also available by telephone and e-mail. Here you will receive assistance with general questions, e.g. regarding exam preparation or financing issues. Here, too, individual consultation appointments can still be arranged as video conferences.

Due to the loss of student jobs or financial problems of parents, students can also be affected by the financial consequences of the corona crisis. The Studentenwerk has collected a summary of helpful suggestions for this situation.

If you have not yet re-registered due to an acute financial crisis, please contact the Student Services immediately (infothek@b-tu.de). International students in crisis situations should  additionally contact Janine Wehrstedt at the International Relations Office (for Cottbus, janine.wehrstedt@b-tu.de) and Katja Ivanov (for Senftenberg, katja.ivanov(at)b-tu.de)  to receive further information and advice.