FAQ Relating to the Corona Virus
Last Updates: Academic Education Operations in the 2021 Summer Semester; Start of Online Studies; Information for Student Teachers; Online Enrolment for International Students (As of April 8, 2021)
In order to manage the Corona crisis in the best possible way, the Executive Board of KIT has established the Corona Coordination Office as a successor to the Crisis Unit. The Corona Coordination Office ensures that measures taken at KIT in connection with the spread of the Corona virus are coordinated in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. The KIT provides information on imminent measures and recommendations on the KIT homepage, the “Studying” website, the intranet (employees portal), the students portal, and other channels, if applicable.
General Questions
General Questions
- What do the current Baden-Württemberg Corona ordinances and the Corona Ordinance on Studying and the Arts (CoronaVO Studienbetrieb und Kunst) of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts (valid from April 12, 2021) mean to KIT? (As of April 9, 2021)
- Will rapid antigen tests be conducted at the KIT? (As of March 26, 2021)
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Will the KIT Medical Services offer vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus? (As of March 26, 2021)
- What is the status regarding the nighttime curfew restrictions? (As of March 8, 2021)
- What do I have to consider when entering from foreign risk areas? (As of January 18, 2021)
- What is the status quo of the bistro and canteen on Campus North and the cafeterias and canteens on Campus South? (As of March 16, 2021)
- The Corona App shows me a warning, how should I react? (As of February 2, 2021)
- Data collection: What must be observed according to data protection legislation? (As of August 26, 2020)
- I am an external service provider (contractor/partner company) of KIT working on campus. What do I need to consider? (As of May 4, 2020)
- Why are the buildings on Campus South, West, and East locked? (As of June 10, 2020)
Face Masks
- Where are employees and students obliged to wear a face mask at the KIT? (As of March 8, 2021)
- What is public traffic? (As of February 2, 2021)
- I have a medical certificate exempting me from wearing a mouth-nose cover, what do I have to consider? (As of October 20, 2020)
Corona virus
- What is recommended from the medical point of view? (As of October 22, 2020)
- What is to be done in the case of a Covid-19 infection at KIT? (As of April 9, 2021)
- What should I do if I suspect corona symptoms or have a positive test result? (As of April 09, 2021)
- I have had contact with a person infected with the corona virus or have symptoms of an infection with the corona virus. What does this mean regarding my presence on campus? (As of April 9, 2021)
- Where and how is the risk of contracting the novel Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) highest? How rather not? (As of March 16, 2020)
- Where can I find information about the Corona pandemic in other languages? (As of February 2, 2021)
General Questions
What do the current Baden-Württemberg Corona ordinances and the Corona Ordinance on Studying and the Arts (CoronaVO Studienbetrieb und Kunst) of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts (valid from March 29, 2021) mean to KIT?
Following the decision of March 3, 2021 of the German Chancellor and the heads of the federal states to contain the Corona pandemic, the Corona ordinances of the state of Baden-Württemberg relevant to KIT have also been adjusted. The majjor rules resulting from this for the KIT are:
1. Employees shall continued comprehensive and consistent home office. Exceptions shall be made only where presence on the KIT premises is absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of KIT´s core tasks.
2. Change in the obligation to wear a face mask: Medical face masks or FFP2 face masks shall replace the community face masks.
Keeping the required minimum distance that was decided by the Executive Board and is based on the Baden-Württemberg Corona Ordinance shall continue to be one of the most effective measures to avoid infection transmission. The obligation for every KIT employee to maintain this minimum distance from other persons continues to apply without restriction.
Will rapid antigen tests be conducted at the KIT?
According to the resolution by the Federation and the Federal States, companies shall be obliged to make a COVID rapid self-test available at least once a week to every employee working on the premises.
To implement the COVID rapid testing services, the KIT Corona Coordination Office has developed a testing concept which has been approved by the Executive Board.
This concept includes:
- Occasion-based rapid antigen tests carried out by the KIT Medical Services (MED) as immediate infection protection measures in urgent cases, and
- the weekly distribution of self-test kits to employees working on campus and to students participating in on-campus events.
The Medical Services (MED) already perform occasion-based rapid antigen tests to quickly detect potential focuses of infection and prevent further infections.
This applies in particular to the following cases:
- While being at KIT, an employee is informed that on previous days, he or she has had contact with a person who has tested positive or is ill.
- An employee falls ill while being at KIT (e.g. fever, sore throat develop suddenly) and has had close contact with other persons in the past two days.
- Employees returning from business trips to foreign risk areas (quarantine can be shortened from 10 to 5 days by testing), or new employees arriving from risk areas/cross-border commuters.
MED is requested to immediately report any positive test results to the health authorities.
In addition, employees and students working in attendance will be provided with weekly self-tests. Further information can be found here:
Self-tests for employees working in presence
Self-tests for students with face-to-face courses
In addition, we would like to encourage numerous people to take advantage of the free "citizen test" (PoC antigen rapid test) available at pharmacies, doctors' offices and rapid test centers. You do not only protect yourself, but also your fellow citizens. For more information, visit https://www.lak-bw.de/service/patient/antigen-schnelltests.html.
Will the KIT Medical Services offer vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus?
Our Medical Services are ready to support the vaccination strategy of the Federal Government to the best of their ability as soon as this is possible and envisaged according to the valid ordinances. Doctors in private practice in Germany are to start routine vaccinations against COVID-19 immediately after Easter. Not so company physicians. The latter are not expected to be involved in the vaccination strategy before June 2021.
As soon as the framework conditions have been clarified and company physicians have been supplied with vaccines, MED will start vaccinating the group of people eligible at that time. There will be a concept for the order in which vaccinations will take place.
Read more about COVID vaccination at the KIT on the pages of the Medical Services.
What is the status regarding the nighttime curfew restrictions?
The current Corona Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg (as of March 8, 2021) provides for nighttime curfew restrictions from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. if the 7-day incidence rate of 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants has been exceeded for three consecutive days in the relevant urban or rural district and if, in addition, the competent authority determines that, taking into account all other protective measures taken to date, there is a significant threat to the effective containment of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is significantly threatened. The rural and urban administrations shall provide information on possible local restrictions.
Professional activities and activities of academic education that cannot be postponed (from KIT's point of view, this includes participation in exams and practical courses approved by the Executive Board) have so far been exempt from the curfew restrictions, so that this can also be assumed for any such restrictions in the future. If necessary, the individual organizational units´ form can either be used directly or be adapted. Students are requested to use the relevant on-campus exam registration confirmations. Read more at "What must be considered when doing exams?".
What do I have to consider when entering from foreign risk areas?
Generally, persons entering or returning from abroad from a risk area where they have stayed within the last ten days before entering are now obliged to immediately after entry quarantine themselves for ten days. The quarantine can be terminated prematurely after five days, provided that a negative test result has been obtained. Some groups of persons (e.g. commuters) are exempt from the test obligation.
Since January 11, 2021, there is also a mandatory test upon entry. The test required for this must have been carried out either a maximum of 48 hours before or immediately after entry.
After a stay in a risk area, before entering the country, travelers must, as before, complete a digital entry declaration. No later than 48 hours after entry, they must have proof that they are not infected with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus upon entry and present it to the appropriate authority upon request.
Those entering from a risk area where there are particularly high incidences* or belong to the so-called virus variant areas** must have the proof with them upon entry and present it upon request of the carrier upon departure, the competent authority upon entry or upon police control.
*High incidence areas: Incidence several times higher than that of Germany, but at least 200.
**Areas with a particularly high risk of infection due to widespread occurrence of certain SARS-CoV-2 virus variants.
If, in exceptional cases, it is not possible to make a digital entry declaration, a replacement declaration on paper must be filled out instead.
Please read more at our FAQ "What should be considered when returning or entering from foreign risk areas?" and "I expect guests from a designated international risk area. What should I consider?" (see "Employees" - "Travel / External Visits") and at https://www.med.kit.edu/254.php.
Further information can be found here in German, English and French.
Since October 1, 2020, differentiated travel instructions have again been in effect for all countries worldwide. For details, please refer to: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/covid-19/2296762
What is the status quo of the bistro and canteen on Campus North and the cafeterias and canteens on Campus South?
In accordance with the federal-state decision of January 5, 2021, the casino that is considered a company cafeteria - the cafeteria at the North Campus - will be closed for on-site consumption. Take-out food and beverages will still be permitted. Consumption of food in the casino or immediate area is not permitted. Please refer to the current menu at https://www.aserv.kit.edu/casino.php. Wearing a medical face mask or ffp2-mask is mandatory in accordance with the Corona Ordinance.
The bistro opens on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in restricted operation in accordance with the Corona Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg and analogous to other shopping venues: there is purely off-premise sales (take-away or to-go offers). Only packaged food and beverages and goods from the mini-market are offered. The consumption of food and beverages in the bistro rooms or in the immediate vicinity is not permitted.
Access to the vending machines in the canteen at the North Campus is possible at any time for KIT members with a card.
The guest casino remains closed.
In the casino as well as in the bistro, access is prohibited for persons who are or have been in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus, if 14 days have not yet passed since the last contact, or if they show typical symptoms of an infection with the coronavirus, namely fever, dry cough, disturbance of the sense of taste or smell. The ban on entry also applies to all persons who do not wear a mouth-nose covering.
The restaurant in the Guest Dozen Building at the South Campus will remain permanently closed.
For more information:
https://www.aserv.kit.edu/casino.php
The Mensa Am Adenauerring is closed. Only food and beverages To Go will be offered. More info at: https://www.sw-ka.de/de/.
The Corona App shows me a warning. What am I supposed to do?
Risk encounters are defined by the app as encounters with a person tested positive for the coronavirus. The threshold values of various measured values are being exceeded. Hence, the persons using the app are informed of their risk statuses as a function of these values. There are three status stages:
Low risk:
- You will be informed that the risk encounter check has not detected any encounters with corona-positive persons or that the defined threshold value has not been exceeded during any of your encounters.
- You will be informed of the general distancing rules and hygiene recommendations. Further measures are not necessary as long as no typical symptoms of corona virus infection occur.
Increased risk:
- You will be informed that the risk encounter check has detected an increased risk of infection because encounters with at least one corona-positive person have taken place within the past 14 days.
- You will be instructed to go home or to stay at home if possible and to reduce encounters, as well as to observe behavioral instructions when symptoms occur. You will also be instructed to contact your family doctor, the medical hotline 116117, or the Health Office to agree on further action.
- The decision on whether to issue a sick note or order home isolation (quarantine) is made after assessment by the attending physician or the responsible public health department. The mere warning "increased risk" by the app is not sufficient to be used as a certificate of incapacity to work.
Unknown risk:
- In case that your risk encounter check was not activated long enough, no risk of infection could be calculated at the time of warning, and your display will show "unknown risk".
Read more:
https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/WarnApp/Warn_App.html
Data collection: What must be observed according to data protection legislation?
According to the current Corona Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg (CoronaVO), there is an obligation to collect contact data (Art. 14, cl. 1 No. 1 and cl. 4 and Articles 10 and 6 CoronaVO). For KIT, this means that the participants’ contact data must be listed for meetings of two or more persons in a room for a period of more than 15 minutes.
Prior to the collection of the data, the persons concerned must be fully informed about this data processing (data protection information obligations, Article 12 ff. GDPR). This means that the information must be available before or at the latest when the contact data are entered in the list. In order to comply with these legal requirements, we have included the associated data protection declaration for your own information. If you as the responsible person collect contact data, this data protection declaration must be made available to the participants in a suitable form.
In addition, the following central requirements must be observed for data protection-compliant collection of contact data (more detailed information is available on the website of the Data Protection Staff Unit):
- Only necessary data may be collected.
- The data must be protected against access by unauthorized persons.
- The data must be kept for four weeks after collection and then be deleted in accordance with data protection regulations.
- The persons concerned must be informed comprehensively before the data are collected (see above).
- The data may only be transmitted in connection with and on request of the responsible health authority or the local police authority.
Further information & FAQs on this subject can be found on the pages of the Data Protection Staff Unit (DSB): https://www.dsb.kit.edu/479.php (in German only)
I am an external service provider (contractor/partner company) of KIT working on campus. What do I need to consider?
In order to protect the health of all persons involved, please make sure that the recommendations by Robert Koch Institute and the health authorities as well as the Corona Regulations of the state of Baden-Württemberg are observed:
Employees of external companies must not suffer from fever, cough, cold, or sore throat when working in KIT facilities. Furthermore, they must not have had contact with people who tested positive for Covid-19 during the past 14 days. If any such contact becomes known after work has been started, the KIT contact person must be informed immediately. Vice versa, your KIT contact person will inform you if any of the persons you have been working with at KIT have tested positive (this will be done in line with the Health Office’s procedure of contact person tracking in the case of a proven corona infection).
One of our new basic standards in Corona times is the compliance with infection protection (distance, small groups, washing hands, sneezing and coughing etiquette) in accordance with the requirements of the Corona Regulations of the State of Baden-Württemberg. Depending on the conditions at the workplace, protective measures may therefore be necessary, which you should take in consultation with your contact person (the relevant specialist officer, for example). Please note: KIT cannot provide external companies with personal protective equipment.
Why are the buildings on Campus South, West, and East locked?
Public access to the campuses is very limited according to the public Corona regulations. With the exception of approved courses, meetings of more than twenty persons remain prohibited. Therefore, access for persons from outside the institute and the public is regulated. Contact and information points for students and staff have switched their advisory services to telephone, email, and mail (and, if necessary, to the Microsoft Teams software). For this reason, access is no longer needed by persons from outside of the respective institutes and the public and is restricted to staff members. Guests and service providers with an appointment should contact their contact person in the building in advance by telephone or, if necessary, on the site via intercom to gain access.
Employees can still access the campuses via the SIPORT system (KITCard) (corresponding to the access options for nights and weekends). If necessary, additional authorizations can be requested promptly via DE FM (gm3-ses-cs∂fm.kit.edu).
Face Masks
Where are employees and students obliged to wear a face mask at the KIT?
According to the Corona ordinances relevant to KIT, medical mask or FFP2 mask must be worn at KIT
- in all workplaces and on all KIT premises as well as on all walkways and in all aisles inside buildings, for example, at doorways and in other entrance areas, in passageways, corridors, stairways, sanitary facilities, pathways at events, in kitchenettes, break rooms, and other venues,
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in enclosed spaces intended for public, general public, or student use,
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for and during exams and courses on the way to seats and when seats have been taken,
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during practical courses (e.g., lab rotation projects) and exams and during admission procedures,
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during activities which, according to a supervisor’s risk assessment, involve specific risks,
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in the KIT shuttle, at the canteen at Campus North, and on the premises of the KIT Medical Services.
There is no obligation to wear a face mask
- during activities and at workplaces where, according to a risk assessment, there is no need to wear a face mask, as is usually the case when maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 m from other persons.
As in public life, a medical mask or FFP2 mask must also be worn in the KIT Shuttle, at the canteen at Campus North, and on the premises of the KIT Medical Services. Please make sure to use FFP2 masks without exhalation valves. Since such valves are permeable to the exhaled air, such masks will not protect your fellow human beings and cannot be recognized as an adequate protective measure where wearing of a face mask is mandatory.
Read more at Recommendations of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices.
What is public traffic?
The special regulation in §3 Para. 2 No. 3 CoronaVO, in conjunction with §1i CoronaVO, stipulates that at least one medical mouth/nose protection must be worn if there is simultaneous public traffic during the performance of the activity, even if a distance of 1.5 meters to other persons can be safely maintained. This regulation ultimately aims to ensure that when people who do not have regular contact on a daily basis within their own work group (as defined by the Corona-ArbSchV) come together, the high-quality medical mouth/nose protection provided by the employer to its employees must be used. Especially under aspects of infection protection, this procedure makes sense. Therefore, in this sense, in the "Regulation on the Service Operation of KIT in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic", "public traffic" is understood to mean not only the colloquially meant contact with strangers or unknown persons, but also, in particular, with other KIT employees with whom this contact does not exist on a daily basis and within their own work group (in the sense of the Corona-ArbSchV). The determination of whether there is public contact in an individual case is made within the framework of the risk assessment.
If I have a medical certificate exempting me from wearing a face mask. What do I have to consider?
According to the Corona Ordinance of the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg (MWK), face masks must be worn on all walkways and in all aisles within buildings and at events at KIT.
A medical certificate from your attending physician is required to be exempt from the obligation to wear a face mask. Such certificate must clearly state the personal restrictions and consequences of your wearing a face mask.
General impairments are not medical reasons for exemption from the obligation, because, after long mask wearing periods, anybody might feel impaired or uncomfortable. In accordance with the pandemic rules applying at the KIT, exemptions can be granted only in the case of individual physical and/or psychological impairments that go beyond general impairments.
Please present the certificate to your superior who will weigh up and consider both your situation as an applicant and the situation of your colleagues who, due to such exemption, may be exposed to an increased risk of infection.
Please do not hesitate to contact the KIT Medical Services if you have further medical questions.
Corona virus
What is recommended from the medical point of view?
The Corona virus has arrived in Germany. Prevention and Attention are required, please follow the advice of the experts:
- The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) answers the most important questions relating to the current situation at:
https://www.rki.de/EN/Home/homepage_node.html - Information from the Federal Ministry of Health: https://www.zusammengegencorona.de/
- Information on prevention measures, such as cough and sneeze etiquette and a good hand hygiene, is given by the authorities on the following websites, for instance:
https://www.infektionsschutz.de/hygienetipps.html (in German) - The Medical Services of KIT also provide information:
https://www.med.kit.edu/246.php
In general:
- Please reduce your contacts to as few persons as possible.
- Please observe the hygiene rules.
- Please avoid touching your face, as pathogens enter the body through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes.
- Please maintain a distance of 1.5 meters to conversation partners.
- Please wear a community face mask.
- Please ensure regular and thorough ventilation. The Technical Regulations for Workplaces ASR A 3.6 recommend pulse ventilation of meeting rooms every 20 minutes for over 3 minutes to allow maximum air exchange through wide-open windows. Offices should be ventilated every 60 minutes. The minimum duration of pulse ventilation depends on the temperature difference between inside and outside (in summer up to 10 minutes, in winter up to 3 minutes).
- Please resort to telephone or video conferences (e.g. using Microsoft teams or the DFNconf services of DFN-Verein)
If you have questions or need advice, please do not hesitate to contact the hotline of the State Health Office at 0711-904-39555 (on working days between 9 am and 4 pm).
What is to be done in the case of a Covid-19 infection at KIT?
In the case of suspected Sars-CoV-2 symptoms, employees are requested to stay at home or, if suspected symptoms occur during work, go home immediately and inform their family doctor.
Since any respiratory symptoms, even just a cold, may indicate a SARS-CoV-2 infection, persons whose family doctor does not approve of a test should still act in such a way that transmission would be prevented if they were actually infected. . From a seven-days incidence of 35 per 100,000 inhabitants of an administrative district (“Landkreis”), this means in particular to quarantine oneself at home, to reduce one’s contacts for five days, and to have been free from symptoms for at least 48 hours before returning to work. In the case of deterioration, immediate testing for SARS-CoV-2 is recommended. A certificate of incapacity for work valid for up to seven days can be issued after telephone consultation with the family doctor and be sent by mail. If necessary, a one-off extension for up to another seven days can be obtained by telephone.
Please also inform your superior if you are ill with COVID-19 or have tested positive, so that he or she can take further steps. If superiors and/or colleagues learn from an employee that he or she is suffering from Covid-19 or is symptom-free but has tested positive, it must first be clarified immediately whether at KIT, there are possible close contact persons to be informed in good time in order to interrupt possible chains of infection.
Flow chart for contact person identification
In view of the current overload of the health authorities and the associated increasingly delayed official notification of those affected, the crisis management team has developed a procedure for contact person identification at KIT. This flowchart shows the steps to be taken in the case of infected persons when the public health authorities have not yet been notified in order to protect close contact persons and to interrupt chains of infection.
What should I do if I suspect corona symptoms or have a positive test result?
In case of suspected Covid-19 symptoms – What to do until the test result is known, and afterwards
- Please do not go to work but instead go home and inform your family doctor by telephone. According to §7 of the Corona Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg, typical symptoms include: Fever, dry cough, olfactory disorders, and taste disorders.
- In the case of symptoms, you are requested to obtain from your family doctor a certificate stating your inability to work. If you suffer from the above typical symptoms but cannot find a doctor who approves a Covid-19 test, we recommend that you contact the public health office responsible for your place of residence (by telephone or email. You can find out about the appropriate public health office at https://tools.rki.de/PLZTool/. The KIT company physicians (Tel.: CN 22069 or CS 44313) can also provide advice at any time.
- Until the test result is known, you are requested to stay at home and work from home, in agreement with your superior, even if no symptoms persist and thus no inability to work exists. If it is not possible for you to work from home, a paid leave of absence of at most three working days according to §29 (3) TVöD/TV-L can be granted provided that these days have not been used up yet in 2021.
- Superiors who become aware of a suspected Covid-19 case are requested to contact one of the KIT Medical Services (MED) company physicians (Tel.: CN 22069, CS 44313, outside of normal office hours MED-ambulance: 22070) to seek confidential advice and obtain recommendations for further action in accordance with the privacy standards.
In the case of a positive Covid-19 test result
The points listed here should only be observed if the employee was present at the KIT during the last 48 hours before the appearance of symptoms or the smear for the corona test.
- The attending physician or the diagnostic laboratory reports the result to the responsible public health office. The latter then first informs the infected person, identifies contact persons in his or her environment, and contacts the employer to arrange further measures. The infected person will remain in domestic isolation until released (as a rule by word of mouth) by staff of the public health office.
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The quarantine period is 14 days (initially for all) SARS-CoV-2 infected persons, regardless of whether with or without symptoms; in the case of a "no-mutation" laboratory result, the quarantine may be shortened to 10 days (provided a 48 h symptom-free period).
In case of a detection of a VOC (SARS-CoV-2 virus variant of concern), additional regulations apply, which the health office will inform about individually. -
In order to speed up the search for contact persons, employees with a positive Covid-19 test result are requested to immediately inform their superior who in turn is requested to contact MED (Tel.: CN 22069, CS 44313, outside of normal office hours MED-ambulance: 22070) to coordinate further measures. It is particularly important to inform the employer if the infected/positive-tested person does not live in the area of responsibility of the Karlsruhe Public Health Office.
- Identifying contact persons:
Persons who have had contact with a suspected person according to the criteria of the RKI must be registered as quickly as possible, and their names, addresses, and telephone numbers must be submitted to the public health office, unless the latter has already identified these persons on its own initiative through so-called containment scouts (if necessary, this procedure must be clarified with the public health office via the company medical services). - Hygiene measures in the case of a confirmed Covid-19 infection at the KIT: AServ-INFRA must be informed so that surfaces touched by the infected person (e.g. desk, keyboard, computer mouse) are thoroughly cleaned by trained cleaning staff before further use.
I have had contact with a person infected with the corona virus or have symptoms of an infection with the corona virus. What does this mean regarding my presence on campus?
Persons who have been in such close contact with a person infected with the corona virus within the last 14 days that they meet the criteria for close contact persons or exhibit the typical symptoms of an infection with the coronavirus (odor and taste disorders, fever, and sore throat) are neither allowed to enter the KIT campuses nor to participate in any KIT event. This prohibition of access and the resulting requirements must be clarified in such a way that persons entering the KIT premises or participating in KIT events implicitly declare that they do not fall within the group of persons whose access is prohibited. In the context of the data collection of the participants of an event, there should be an additional reference to the participation ban and its prerequisites.
The classification as a close contact person is made exclusively by the public health department; the latter also informs the persons concerned in cases where measures are required.
Where and how is the risk of contracting the novel Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) highest? How rather not?
The most important route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is considered to be a so-called droplet infection, in which the viruses are released into the air by infected people via droplets, e.g. when sneezing or coughing, and inhaled by bystanders. In special situations, transmission via aerosols (droplet nuclei, smaller than five micrometers) - for example when speaking - also seems possible. Furthermore, transmission via contact or smear infections cannot be ruled out. In this case, pathogens that are on the hands reach the mucous membranes of the nose or eye, where they can lead to infection.
Therefore, social distancing, observance of coughing and sneezing rules, wearing of protective masks and good hand hygiene are still the most important part of prevention.
The RKI continuously updates latest information on the Corona virus: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Steckbrief.html
https://www.infektionsschutz.de/coronavirus-sars-cov-2.html
Where can I find information about the Corona pandemic in other languages?
The Federal Government's Integration Officer provides up-to-date information in various languages on the following website:
https://www.integrationsbeauftragte.de/ib-de/amt-und-person/informationen-zum-coronavirus
Questions from Employees
Work
- I work at KIT in presence. Where can I get a self-test? (As of March 26, 2021)
- What does the current regulation on KIT service operation mean for mobile working from home? (As of March 24, 2021)
- I have requested vacation. Can I cancel? (As of October 27, 2020)
- I live abroad and commute to KIT. What do I have to consider? (As of October 19, 2020)
- How can I currently conduct job interviews? (As of June 18, 2020)
- Who can advise me on technical, organizational, health and psychological matters while working from home? (As of April 3, 2020)
- I am at home office and take part in flexitime. How do I get my times credited? (As of March 25, 2020)
- Information concerning LBV (State Office for Salary). (As of March 19, 2020)
- My user certificate for secure digital communication is expiring. How do I get a new one? (As of March 27, 2020)
Relatives
- Special paid leave or leave of absence for childcare due to current developments regarding the Corona virus (COVID 19). Please note the current information on care at daycare centres, primary schools. (As of April 8, 2021)
- Schools and daycare centers are closed in Baden-Württemberg. Under what circumstances can emergency care be requested? (As of January 11, 2021)
- I have relatives in need of care. Now their nursing staff is not available. What can I do? (As of June 9, 2020)
Travel / External Visit
- What must be considered when returning or entering from foreign risk areas? (As of February 1, 2021)
- I plan a business trip. What must I consider? (As of October 23, 2020)
- I expect guests from a designated international risk area. What should I consider? (As of January 18, 2021)
General
- What has to be considered during face-to-face meetings and other gatherings at KIT? (As of January 28, 2021)
- May the Corona App be installed on mobile work phones? (As of June 16, 2020)
- I am in a risk group. What are my possibilities regarding my work at KIT? (As of April 29, 2020)
- What am I supposed to do, if I or members of my household have been put in quarantine by order of authority? (As of March 25, 2020)
- I would like to wash my hands, but there is no soap in the next lavatory or paper tissues are lacking. What can I do? (As of March 10, 2020)
Work
I work at KIT in presence. Where can I get a self-test?
In accordance with the current resolution by the Federation and the Federal States, every employee working on campus at the KIT shall be provided with one rapid self-test each week. These tests will be made available to KIT by the state of Baden-Württemberg. Until the quantity of tests allocated to the KIT has been delivered, the KIT will purchase self-tests centrally as soon as possible. As soon as test kits are on hand, we will inform you about how we will distribute them. In this way, we at KIT as quickly as possible fulfill the employer‘s overall social responsibility addressed in the resolution of the Federal-Länder Conference. All employees working on campus are kindly requested to carry out their self-tests at home. In case of a positive test result, we ask you to isolate yourself immediately and to inform your family doctor or alternatively make an appointment for a PCR test by dialing the central number 116117.
In case of a positive test result, please isolate yourself immediately and inform your family doctor or, alternatively, make an appointment for a PCR test via the central telephone number 116117.
Please note in any case: Even all "negatively tested" employees must continue to comply with all measures according to the "Regulations on KIT Service Operations in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic" ("no test bonus"). This is for the safety of all.
Information on the event-related rapid tests carried out by the KIT Medical Services can be found here (page currently only available in German).
What does the current regulation on KIT service operation mean for mobile working from home?
All of us at KIT are jointly faced with the challenge - under the conditions of a "new normality" in corona times - to establish a way to maintain service operations while complying with the legal framework and the measures necessary for infection protection.
Therefore, the Presiding Board has adopted the "Regulation on KIT's Service Operation in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic. This regulation clearly focuses on the protection of all KIT employees, relatives, guests, and partners as well as students.
One of our established basic standards in corona times is the observance of infection protection (keeping distance, reducing contact, meeting only in small groups, washing hands, sneezing and coughing etiquette). Depending on the conditions at the workplace, protective measures may therefore be required, which the management of the organizational units will take after a risk assessment of the workplace has been completed. These include substitution, technical, organizational and personal protective measures - with priority in exactly this order - according to the so-called STOP principle. Examples of measures that maintain the basic standard are mobile working, if this is possible after consultation with superiors, moving to individual offices, and ensuring presence of only few persons at a time.
Comprehensive and consistent home office
The German Chancellor, together with the heads of government of the German states, extended existing measures to contain the Corona pandemic to the greatest possible extent. The regulation from the resolution stipulates that employers are asked to create generous home office solutions, in order to drastically reduce attendance at workplaces and to be able to implement the principle "We stay at home" nationwide.
In this context the basis of the "Regulations on KIT Service Operations in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic", the Presidential Board has decided to implement a comprehensive and consistent home office. Exceptions will only be made where presence is absolutely necessary to fulfill our core tasks. Please coordinate this with your supervisors.
Also, wherever possible, consistently avoid hybrid meetings and please conduct them exclusively online.
I have requested vacation. Can I cancel?
Already granted vacation can only be cancelled for valid reasons. Restricted possibilities for leisure activities or vacations due to the current situation are not reasons for cancellation.
I live abroad and commute to KIT. What do I have to consider?
According to the Corona Ordinance Relating to Quarantine upon Entry and Testing (Corona Verordnung Einreise-Quarantäne und Testung, in German Only) of the Ministry of Social Affairs of Baden-Württemberg, persons who enter Baden-Württemberg from abroad and have stayed in a risk area during 14 days prior to entry are subject to quarantine. However, this does not apply to entries from a risk area that are necessary for professional reasons (as, for example, in the case of commuters). A commuter certificate is also not required.
How can I currently conduct job interviews?
According to the "Guidelines on the Course of Business at KIT in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic", it is possible to conduct personal interviews face to face, observing the the infection protection measures and the current hygiene rules: Minimum distance 1.5 meters, cough and sneeze etiquette, regular thorough hand washing, well-ventilated and sufficiently large rooms. Please use the rooms provided for this purpose.
It is also still possible to conduct job interviews online. The DE PSE and the Data Protection Unit have compiled a list of things to be aware of here: https://intranet.kit.edu/6042.php
Who can advise me on technical, organizational, health and psychological matters while working from home?
Technical questions on the setup of home office and mobile work are answered by SCC, the Information Technology Center at KIT. SCC websites on access, programs, video conferences, e-mails, cyber security, etc.: https://www.scc.kit.edu/en/services/homeoffice.php
Not only for companies, the "First Aid Kit for Successful Distributed Working" of KIT‘s Institute for Information Systems and Marketing provides numerous practical tips and recommendations concerning, for example, communication rules, home office mission statement, the proper attitude or the right team spirit:
https://www.kompetenzzentrum-usability.digital/angebote/demonstratoren/social-distancing-social-awareness/erste-hilfe-kit-fuer-erfolgreiches-verteiltes-arbeiten
The KIT Health Network provides ergonomic tips and assistance for healthy working (not only) at home:
http://gesundheit.net.kit.edu/296.php
The KIT Health Network provides ergonomic tips and assistance for healthy working (not only) at home:
http://www.kmb.kit.edu
I am at home office and take part in flexitime. How do I get my times credited?
If you share data with ESS/MSS, enter your times using the clock-in/out corrections and have them approved by your supervisor using the system
If you do not participate in ESS/MSS, and are still on campus occasionally, please note down your daily working hours for one working week and have the list signed by your supervisor. Then scan and email the weekly total of your working hours to the time management staff at PSE-Zeitwirtschaft, stating your personnel number. Time reports can also be sent to PSE-Zeitwirtschaft as collective Business Unit or Staff Unit lists via the relevant secretariat.
If you do not participate in ESS/MSS and will not be coming to campus for the foreseeable future, please note your daily working hours for one working week in a list (Word/Excel) and email it to PSE-Zeitwirtschaft with your supervisor in CC. Time reports can also be sent to PSE-Zeitwirtschaft as collective Business Unit or Staff Unit lists via the relevant secretariat.
Information concerning LBV (State Office for Salary).
Due to the dynamic development in connection with the coronavirus, LBV has been closed for visitors since Wednesday, March 18, 2020, until further notice. KIT Employees who wish to contact LBV are requested to make inquiries via the customer portal. In particular, aid applications should be submitted via "Aid Online", since these digital applications can be processed more easily in telework. You will find the link to "Beihilfeantrag-Online" (Aid Online) in the customer portal under the menu item "Service".
My user certificate for secure digital communication is expiring. How do I get a new one?
The certification authority of SCC has adapted its procedures to minimizing the risk of infection. It provides information on the current process at: https://www.ca.kit.edu/english/index.php
Relatives
Special paid leave or leave of absence for childcare due to current developments regarding the Corona virus (COVID 19). Please note the current information on care at daycare centres, primary schools.
If, despite reopening of the daycare facility, there are serious problems with the compatibility of work and family life, please contact your supervisor or your superior to find out whether it is possible to extend working from home. Before contacting us, please check whether you have used up your remaining leave from 2020 or 2021 and your flexitime.
2) Core time
In order to enable flexible work, the core time regulation will be suspended until April 30, 2021 inclusive for the employees concerned.
3) How can I continue to stay at home for childcare purposes (without extending work from home)?
a) Unpaid leave of absence with compensation claim according to § 56 para. 1a IfSG in the amount of 67 % of the loss of payment (net pay).
Employees who have to look after their children due to the closure of schools or childcare facilities and who suffer loss of payment due to the resulting absence from work have a statutory right to compensation in accordance with § 56 (1a) IfSG. Please note the requirements for an exemption according to §56 paragraph 1 a IfSG.
This compensation currently amounts to 67% of the loss of earnings incurred, up to a maximum of € 2016 per month for a maximum of 10 weeks per parent. Based on a regular weekly working time of five days, ten weeks correspond to 50 working days. For single parents, it is 20 weeks.
If the 20 days of paid leave have already been claimed, the entitlement to compensation under § 56 (1a)(2) IfSG shall be exhausted. If you have not yet fully claimed the 20-day paid leave of absence, you can apply for unpaid leave of absence with compensation from June 2, 2020. The days already taken will be credited against this.
If you need unpaid leave, please fill out the form provided and send it to PSE Zeitwirtschaft through your supervisor. Compensation payments will be made to your payroll account. The application for compensation is initiated via the employer. For this application it is necessary to provide the name and location of the closed care facility.
Before the claim for compensation can be asserted, working time credits and remaining leave from 2020 must be claimed.
Please note that no statutory compensation shall be provided for in times when schools and childcare facilities are closed anyway (e.g. during the vacations).
Contrary to expectations, the planned vacation care for my child is not available: A claim for compensation according to the Infection Protection Act is not provided for vacation care - even if the planned vacation care fails to take place.
You should discuss with your supervisor wether or not from home is an alternative.
Mandatory prerequisites for compensation claims pursuant to § 56 (1a) IfSG are as follows.
- A community facility, such as a daycare center, major daycare center, parent-child initiative (or similar), or school, has actually been closed in response to the spread of COVID-19
- The children affected by the closure are under 12 years of age.
- An alternative care of the child or children cannot otherwise be guaranteed.
- There are no official reasons against granting such leave. In this case, coordination with the supervisor is required.
- The possibilities of mobile working are to be used as a matter of priority. Time off may only be granted if and to the extent that, in a specific individual case, no work can be performed by the employees in the home office or presence work. Employees who are able to perform a not insignificant part of their individual target working time due to the necessary childcare (e.g. pro rata mobile work or presence work) shall continue to be released within the scope of their individual target working time.
- Positive working time balances (extra work, overtime, and flexitime credits) must be settled and the leave remaining from 2020 must be taken primarily. (§ 29 (3) clause 2 TV-L/ TVöD).
Please use this form for applications for unpaid leave of absence with entitlement to compensation.
4) If, after having exhausted these possibilities further days off are required for childcare, a short-term leave of absence from work with a waiver of payment can be granted, § 29, subsection 3, sentence 2 TVöD, or special leave can be taken according to § 28 TVöD.
Neither for civil servants nor for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements is there a need for taking their leave of absence or special leave in one piece. It is possible to take individual days. If the regular weekly working time is not distributed over five working days, the proportion increases or decreases accordingly.
5) Illness of your child: If your child falls ill, 10 working days of paid time off for childcare will be granted in accordance with Section 45 (2) of the German Social Code, Book V (SGB V), upon presentation of a corresponding certificate from the statutory health insurers. In order to ensure that children can be cared for even during school closures, the federal government has announced a legal provision to grant child sick pay for an additional 10 days per parent (20 days for single parents) in 2021. As soon as KIT has the legal basis for this change, we will provide more detailed information in this FAQ.
Schools and daycare centers are closed in Baden-Württemberg. Under what circumstances can emergency care be requested?
Daycare has been closed since December 16, 2020. At the same time, emergency daycare will be provided in daycare centers and for students through grade 7. Graduating classes continue to have distance learning.
Children are entitled to emergency care if both legal guardians or the single parent are considered indispensable by their employer. This applies equally to face-to-face jobs as well as home office jobs.
Children whose well-being requires care are also entitled to emergency care.
If the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs issues any detailed regulations with changes at short notice, we will include them in the FAQ.
As we do not yet have any further information to provide you with, please contact your supervisor, who can confirm that you are indispensable for your employer.
In view of the current situation, we ask you to be particularly responsible when submitting your application, as there are currently only limited places available for childcare at the relevant facilities. Please be considerate of colleagues who may be even more affected than you.
An appropriate form is available for download.
However, the respective institution may require additional or different forms, so please contact them.
I have relatives in need of care. Now their nursing staff is not available. What can I do?
Please also note that in accordance with § 2 para. 1 of the Pflegezeitgesetz (home care leave act, in German only), employees have the right, to take up to ten days off without continued payment in order to organize appropriate care for a close relative in an acute care situation. Pursuant to § 44a, subsection 3, sentence 1, SGB XI (German Social Security Code XI), employees are entitled to a care support allowance for the lost payment. You can apply for this at your relative’s public health care or nursing care insurance. Please contact the public health care or nursing care insurance directly in order to clarify whether the prerequisites for your short-term inability to work are met according to § 2 of the Pflegezeitgesetz, and to receive your care support allowance.
Please note that civil servants who have to organize or provide for nursing of a close relative within the meaning of section 7 (3) of the Pflegezeitgesetz must be granted special leave with continued payment of their salaries for up to nine working days for each relative in need of care.
Travel / External Visit
What must be considered when returning or entering from foreign risk areas?
In principle, persons entering or returning from a foreign risk area within the last ten days prior to entry are now obliged to undergo a ten-day quarantine immediately after entering the country. The possibility to end the quarantine obligation prematurely by a negative test result exists in principle only after five days.
In addition, there is an obligation to test upon entry. The test required for this must have been carried out either a maximum of 48 hours before or immediately after entry.
Anyone entering from a risk area where there is a particularly high incidence or where particularly infectious virus variants are widespread must carry the proof with them on entry and present it at the request of the carrier on departure, the competent authority on entry or during police checks.
For countries where virus mutations are widespread (so-called virus variant areas), a transport ban has been in place since 30.01.2021. Transport companies, e.g. airlines or railroad companies, are not allowed to transport persons from these countries to Germany. Transportation is only possible in narrowly defined exceptional cases, in particular
- for persons with residence and existing right of residence in Germany,
- for persons who are only transferring in a transit area of a commercial airport, and
- in a few other special cases.
German nationals not resident in Germany should also not be denied boarding.
Even in these exceptional cases, a digital entry declaration and COVID-19 testing is required prior to entry. Travelers can find more information about the transportation ban on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior as well as on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health. The list of virus variant areas is published on the website of the Robert Koch Institute.
Some specific groups of persons (e.g. commuters) are exempt from the testing obligation. The exemptions applicable to Baden-Württemberg are listed in Section 2 of the Corona Regulation "Entry Quarantine".
As early as November 8, 2020, a digital entry notification is also required if you have stayed in a risk area for up to 10 days beforehand; if it is not possible to make a digital entry notification in exceptional cases, a substitute paper notification must be completed instead.
Segregation for entrants from foreign risk areas shall end no earlier than the fifth day after entry if a person has a negative test result related to coronavirus infection on paper or in an electronic document in English, French, or German and immediately submits it to the competent authority upon request within 10 days after entry.
Further information: https://www.med.kit.edu/254.php
Further information can be found here in German, English and French
Since October 1, 2020, differentiated travel instructions have again been in effect for all countries worldwide. For details, please refer to: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/covid-19/2296762
Payment information for persons returning from risk areas
- During quarantine, employees shall not be entitled to their collectively agreed payment if they cannot work from home during that time (§ 326 para. 1 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB).
- Instead of receiving their collectively agreed payment, persons returning from risk areas that were not yet classified as risk areas at the beginning of their journey are entitled to a compensation according to § 56 (1) of the German Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSG) (during quarantine in the amount of the net loss of payment), which is paid by KIT. To receive compensation, the order for quarantine must be submitted to PSE Zeitwirtschaft.
- Employees who travel privately to an area that was already classified as a risk area at the start of their journey are not entitled to compensation according to § 56 of the IfSG German Infection Protection Act because they could have avoided quarantine measures if they had heeded the travel warning.
In all cases listed above, flexitime credits may be used up or vacation may be taken to avoid loss of payment.
Civil servants
The duty to maintain one’s ability to work (§ 34 p. 1 of the Civil Service Status Act - Beamtenstatusgesetz - BeamtStG) requires that civil servants weigh up the necessity of the journey and the respective risk in a responsible manner. In addition, they must ensure that they can carry out their work with full commitment after returning from vacation. For this reason, the Legal Notes of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance on Civil Servants’ Dealing with the Corona Virus (Rechtliche Hinweise des Innenministeriums und des Finanzministeriums zum Umgang mit dem Corona-Virus für Beamtinnen und Beamte, in German only, as of May 27, 2020) expressly state that civil servants must clarify before the start of their journey how their ability to work after returning home can be ensured. In most cases, working from home will allow for this to be ensured.
In the view of the state government, one generally speaks of unauthorized absence from work under § 68 (1) of the Federal Law on Public Servants (Landesbeamtengesetz - LBG) if civil servants who have to stay in quarantine after returning from vacation in a risk area do not safeguard their ability to work. This only applies if the area was already classified as a risk area before the start of the journey. In such cases, the impossibility of carrying out one’s duty is caused in breach of duty. Therefore, flexitime credits or vacation or, if these are used up, vacation for other reasons, accepting loss of payment (§ 31 para. 3 of the Working Hours and Vacation Ordinance – Arbeitszeit- und Urlaubsverordnung - AzUVO) are to be used as a rule, if telework or mobile work are not possible. If this fails to be done, culpable absence from work during quarantine shall be assumed and shall lead to a corresponding reduction of payment (§ 11 (1) of the Baden-Württemberg State Pay Scale Law (Landesbesoldungsgesetz Baden-Württemberg).
I plan a business trip. What must I consider?
It cannot be ruled out that local authorities will take quarantine measures at the destination upon entry or during the further stay. The crisis management team therefore recommends refraining from business trips to high-risk areas and domestic hotspots or limiting travel to what is absolutely necessary. Discuss possible alternatives such as postponing the business trip or video conferencing formats with your supervisor(s).
If urgent business reasons make it necessary to travel to a foreign risk area, a compulsory occupational health provision in accordance with G35 is indicated in advance.
When returning from a foreign risk area, the entry regulations of the respective federal states must be observed.
There are no entry restrictions for travel returnees from hotspots within Germany.
Further information can be found on the pages of the KIT Medical Services:
https://www.med.kit.edu/254.php
I expect guests from a designated international risk area. What should I consider?
(International) exchange enriches scientific work at all levels. However, in view of the current situation, external visitors should not be received anymore. All activities involving external visitors should be postponed or canceled indefinitely.
In particular, persons who have stayed in a designated international risk area within the last ten days before entering the Federal Republic of Germany are obliged to quarantine themselves for ten days immediately after entry. The quarantine can be terminated prematurely after five days, provided that a negative test result has been obtained.
Since January 11, 2021, there is also a mandatory test upon entry. The test required for this must have been carried out either a maximum of 48 hours before or immediately after entry.
Some groups of people (e.g. commuters) are exempt from the test obligation. The exemptions applicable in Baden-Württemberg are listed in § 2 of the Corona Ordinance "Entry Quarantine" (Corona-Verordnung „Einreise-Quarantäne“, in German only).
Since November 8th, a digital declaration of entry (digitale Einreiseanmeldung, in German only) is also required if you have been in a risk area up to 10 days before entering. If, in exceptional cases, it is not possible to make a digital entry declaration, a replacement declaration must be filled out on paper.
General
What has to be considered during face-to-face meetings and other gatherings at KIT?
Note on the SARS-CoV-2 occupational health and safety regulation (as of January 25, 2021) Meetings on duty are to be reduced to the operationally necessary minimum. Please consistently switch to online meetings.
Meetings and discussions, which are to be limited to the absolutely necessary until 14.02.2021, must take into account certain requirements, which are set out in the "Regulations on KIT Service Operations in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic". The following measures, among others, must be observed: Adherence to the distance rule of at least 1.5 meters between persons, sensitization of participants in advance and behavior tips or posting, keeping a list of participants, regular ventilation, larger event room, and others. In addition, the wearing of a mouth-nose covering (MNB) is strongly recommended for the protection of the participants.
Particularly noteworthy is the obligation to collect data for all meetings of two or more persons in a room for a period of more than 15 minutes. The universities are explicitly required and authorised to carry out this duty of documentation (§14 CoronaVO). This also applies to joint lunch breaks, for example in the team room or the communal kitchen. Decisive for the scope of data collection is that the person responsible for the meeting is put in a position to support the health authority, if necessary, especially in tracking the contact persons. If address and telephone number are already available (usually assumed for KIT employees and students), the data need not be collected separately. In this case, it is sufficiently suitable to record which groups of persons have stayed in a room. In case address or telephone number are not available, these data have to be collected additionally. The collected data must be kept for 4 weeks and then deleted.
Random encounters which are only of very short duration compared to the aforementioned period of time are not included (e.g. in the corridor). In order to fulfil the information obligations under data protection law (Articles 12 ff DS-GVO), we request you to observe the data protection declaration.
More information on data collection can be found at: https://www.dsb.kit.edu/479.php (in German only)
The crisis management team has been asked repeatedly to answer questions regarding the necessity of keeping lists of participants. The following examples are to illustrate when a list of participants is usually necessary and under which circumstances it is possible to do without one. In the case of a confirmed infection of an employee in the relevant organizational unit, it is of paramount importance to find out who else in the working group has had contact with the infected person during the last few days.
As a rule, no participant list is required for:
- Persons with permanent workplaces (e.g. several people who always work at the same workplace/office), provided that it is known which persons were present on which days in the previous four weeks.
- Persons with permanent laboratory workplaces (e.g. laboratories that are only used by a certain working group or other group of persons), provided that it is known which persons were present on which days in the previous four weeks.
- Groups of persons who regularly work together on certain days (e.g. working groups, workshops, trainees and their supervisors, directors of institutes and their assistants, etc.).
- All meetings, where participants are listed in the minutes of the meeting.
In contrast, participant lists are required in the following cases:
- At workplaces or in laboratories and rooms that are used jointly (e.g. that can be used by all members of an institute or by several working groups - usually irregularly), daily participant lists with attendance times must be kept, provided that the individual persons have stayed/will stay in the respective room for more than 15 minutes.
- All meetings lasting longer than 15 minutes with persons with whom there is no daily contact must be documented.
Our basic standards applicable in times of corona include the compliance with infection protection (distance, washing hands, sneezing and coughing etiquette, no suspected infected persons). Basically, the Corona Ordinance sets an upper limit of 100 persons. However, risk assessments are necessary in any case. Depending on the number of persons and the activities, protective measures may therefore be necessary, which the management of the organizational units will take after having assessed the risk at the relevant workplace or after having discussed the individual situation.
Currently, consistently avoid face-to-face meetings and please conduct them exclusively online. The Microsoft Teams software for online collaboration of groups of employees (chats, meetings, video conferencing, taking and reading notes, joint file editing and exchange, and to-do's) is available at: https://www.scc.kit.edu/dienste/ms-teams.php
For scientific users, the DFNconf service provided by DFN offers video, audio, and web conferences (while capacities last).
Recommendations for action on online communication services can be found at https://www.isb.kit.edu/132.php (in German only).
May the Corona App be installed on mobile work phones?
The Corona-Warn-App of the Federal Government is an important helper to trace and interrupt infection chains. Only if as many people as possible use the app can it unfold its effect.KIT’s risk assessment-based protection concept rests on the fact that the minimum distance is always and as far as possible maintained for preventing infections. There is no question, however, that the Corona App is especially helpful on the way to work and in many other situations. For this reason, it is possible and permissible at KIT to install the Corona Warning App on service mobile phones. The installation is voluntary in every respect. For reasons of IT security, please make sure that the latest available operating system or the current version of the app is installed on the service mobile phone when using the Corona App.
I am in a risk group. What are my possibilities regarding my work at KIT?
In times of Corona, all of us at the KIT are jointly faced with the challenge of establishing a “new-normality“ way of gradually resuming regular life in compliance with the legal framework and the necessary infection protection measures.
Our new basic standards in times of Corona include the compliance with infection protection (distance, small groups, handwashing, sneezing and coughing etiquette). Depending on the conditions at your workplace, additional protective measures may be required. After workplace risk assessment, these will be provided for by the management staff of the relevant organizational unit. The Medical Services (MED) or Experts for Work Safety (FAS) can be consulted too for workplace risk assessment.
It is not possible, moreover, to give a general answer to the question as to whether a specific person is exposed to an increased risk of a serious course of disease due to certain pre-existing conditions. An individual assessment by a physician, taking into account both the individual health requirements and the working conditions, is necessary. In cases where there is a possible individually increased risk of a serious course of COVID-19, the Medical Services (MED) are also available for occupational health consultation/preventive care.
What am I supposed to do, if I or members of my household have been put in quarantine by order of authority?
A quarantine order is issued by the local health authority. The orders given by the health authority must be obeyed. Only if an official quarantine order has been issued by the authorities, is the respective person entitled to continued payment of remuneration for up to a maximum of 6 weeks in the event of an incapacity to work in accordance with Article 56 of the German Infection Protection Act. According to Article 19 BBiG, this also applies to trainees.
If you are put in quarantine, please send the corresponding order document by email to your superiors and PSE-Zeitwirtschaft (PSE Time Management) immediately. If only members of your household (but not you yourself) are put in quarantine, you are not a contact person according to the classification by the Robert Koch Institute and will continue to go to work as usual. The same applies to “isolation at home" as recommended by the Robert Koch Institute.
I would like to wash my hands, but there is no soap in the next lavatory or paper tissues are lacking. What can I do?
Our colleagues of DE ASERV (General Services) and the contracted service providers continuously take care of the lavatories and toilets on our campuses. Especially in high-use lavatories, however, it may happen that soap and tissues are used up or that some users do not leave the lavatories in a way we would want them to do.
In buildings used by a large number of people, such as the Library or Audimax, cleaning staff controls the rooms and the amounts of soap and paper tissues several times per day. If soap or tissues are lacking, please use another lavatory and notify the need promptly.
Our colleagues responsible for these matters will be happy about a short information with the number of the building, the floor, and the room number of the lavatory. The technical support staff of KIT can be reached by calling +49 721 608 5555 (internally, calling 5555 will be sufficient) or by mailing to stoermeldung-cn∂fm kit edu (Campus North) and stoermeldung-cs∂fm kit edu (Campus South, West, East). In addition, employees and partners having a KIT account can use the web form of the ticket system in the Intranet. (Please note: The current ticket system was launched just a few days ago. If you have problems, let them know to your colleagues of DE FM (Facility Management). Click here for short instructions.
On the following websites, you will find information on when and how to wash hands as well as on reasonable prevention methods, such as cough and sneeze etiquette:
• https://www.infektionsschutz.de/haendewaschen.html#c6354 (in German)
• https://www.infektionsschutz.de/hygienetipps.html (in German)
Questions about Studying and Teaching
Start of the Semester & Online Teaching
- What is planned regarding studies in the summer semester of 2021? (As of April 8, 2021)
- How to start online studies? (As of April 08, 2021)
- What is the state of affairs for the winter semester 2020/21 with regard to classroom teaching? (As of January 11, 2021)
- How long is the lecture period in winter semester 2020/21? (As of December 1, 2020)
- I am a lecturer. Where can I find help, for example, on the subjects of online teaching, digital course preparation, and everyday university life? (As of April 15, 2020)
Examinations & Courses
- What are the general conditions for oral online exams via video conferencing? (As of February 22, 2021)
- Will exam deadlines and program durations be extended (again) in the winter semester of 2020/21? (As of March 25, 2021)
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How will deadline extension affect the re-registration period? (As of February 17, 2021)
- What must be considered when doing exams in the winter semester 2020/21? (As of March 8, 2021)
- Which Arrangements Have Been Made for On-campus Academic Education in winter term 2020/21? (As of January 11, 2021)
- May Courses Take Place on the Campus again? (As of January 11, 2021)
- I would like to use the prior master's account. What are the current regulations? (As of October 5, 2020)
- What are students supposed to do when they develop symptoms of a Covid-19 disease in the waiting area prior to admission to the examination room or during the examination? (As of August 28, 2020)
- What has to be considered for the exams in the summer semester 2020? (As of July 21, 2020)
- What is the planning state for the examinations in the 2020 summer semester? (As of July 7, 2020)
- Will the deadlines for students be extended? (As of June 17, 2020)
- I am studying in a degree program that is being phased out. What do I have to consider? (As of May 20, 2020)
- Where can I find information as a student teacher? (As of April 8, 2021)
- When and how can I make up for my cancelled state examination? (As of April 28, 2020)
Studies & General Issues
- I study at KIT and take part in a face-to-face event. Where can I get a self-test? (As of March 26, 2021)
- What does the Baden-Württemberg Higher Education Law stipulate with regard to the regular period of study? (As of March 25, 2021)
- Where at KIT is wearing a face mask mandetory? (As of March 8, 2021)
- To what extent can the services of the KIT library and the study and work places be used? (As of March 9, 2021)
- Can I use emergency tutoring to prepare for exams? (As of January 11, 2021)
- Am I allowed to move to Karlsruhe from a corona hotspot / risk area? (As of October 19, 2020)
- Is it possible to enter Germany from third countries? (As of July 21, 2020)
- NO group formation rules in academic education (As of October 19, 2020)
- I study with a child. Whom can I turn to in the current situation? (As of August 31, 2020)
- How can I update my personal data in the Studierendenportal? (As of August 17, 2020)
- What are the plans for the upcoming winter semester? (As of August 28, 2020)
- I am a foreign student and need a certificate of compulsury presence to apply for a visa or to enter Germany. Can I get such certificate from KIT? (As of July 21, 2020)
- What has to be considered for future studies at the KIT? (As of July 13, 2020)
- What does legislation of Baden-Württemberg provide for in terms of the standard period of study? (As of June 26, 2020)
- Do I still have to pay tuition fees as an international student? (As of May 22, 2020)
- Whom can students turn to for psychotherapeutic help? (As of April 3, 2020)
- I will not be able to keep up with the prescribed period of study. Whom can I turn to for help? (As of April 6, 2020)
- I am an international student. Can I enroll online? (As of April 8, 2021)
- How can I obtain the KIT library's and KIT department libraries' seals stating that I have cleared my library accounts prior to my being removed from the register of students? (As of October 27, 2020)
Start of the Semester & Online Teaching
What is planned regarding studies in the summer semester of 2021?
Hygiene, distancing rules, and traceability of contacts will continue to be necessary for on-campus studies also during the summer semester.
The following rules will be valid for studies at the KIT in the summer semester of 2021:
- As a rule, studies will continue to take place online.
- Practical courses, exams, or practical parts of final theses will take place on campus.
- As in the winter semester, courses will start at 8 am, 10 am, 12 am, 2 pm, 4 pm, and 6 pm.
- In the course of the semester, on provision that the relevant requirements are fulfilled, on-campus offerings may be extended for students to meet and get to know each other on the campus.
- All courses starting digitally in the summer semester of 2021 will be continued digitally until the end (online guarantee).
- Since March 10, 2021, students of KIT, HsKA and DHBW Karlsruhe have been able to book learning spaces. Since March 1, 2021, it has been possible for KIT students to use the "Online Reading Room" as a virtual learning space based on MS Teams. Read more:
https://www.bibliothek.kit.edu/english/corona.php
We wish everyone a successful semester despite the continued restrictions!
What is the state of affairs for the winter semester 2020/21 with regard to classroom teaching?
The current decision by the federal and state governments means that study operations at KIT will in principle remain converted to online teaching until at least January 31, 2021. Unfortunately, no reliable statements can yet be made for the period after January 31, 2021, as this depends on the legal framework conditions.
The current CoronaVO Studienbetrieb und Kunst provides that there may be exceptions for examinations and practical courses.
In the spirit of the contact restrictions desired by federal and state politicians, KIT made arrangements between December 16 and January 10 that went beyond the requirements of the state. For example, in order to minimize contact as far as possible, attendance events (practical events, written exams, etc.) at KIT were completely suspended during this period.
Effective January 11, 2021, KIT will now return to a mode practiced by other universities in the state. This means:
- As before, study operations will continue to take place online as a matter of principle.
- Exceptions to this will only be made on the basis of a decision by the KIT Presidium for examinations (incl. written examinations) and for mandatory practical courses. Both are exceptionally permitted again as of 11.01.2021. Infection protection always has priority for all exceptional approvals.
Please note in this regard: Due to statewide curfew restrictions, no practice teaching sessions or face-to-face exams will be allowed between the hours of 8:00 pm to 5:00 am. When scheduling, particular care must be taken to ensure that both lecturers and students are able to return home in good time.
How to start online studies?
Due to the current pandemic situation, the lecture period at KIT will start online on April 12. We have summarized the relevant links and information for you in the following. We ask all students not to come to the campus for lectures or studying and to attend all courses online instead.
After logging in with your personal KIT account, you will find access and help pages:
How to ILIAS - Introduction to KIT's Learning Management System for students: https://ilias.studium.kit.edu/goto.php?target=crs_635565&client_id=produktiv
Help for students using ILIAS: https://ilias.studium.kit.edu/goto.php?target=cat_947332&client_id=produktiv
Online course catalog of the KIT: https://campus.studium.kit.edu/events/catalog.php#!campus/all/fields.asp?group=Vorlesungsverzeichnis
In case of technical problems with ILIAS, please contact: ilias∂studium.kit.edu
In addition, MS Teams and/or ZOOM can be used to conduct seminars and lectures in the form of video conferences (information about which systems are used in the respective course can be found in the relevant ILIAS workspace).
Information on the use of MS Teams: https://www.scc.kit.edu/dienste/ms-teams.php
Within the scope of its possibilities, KIT endeavors to use online teaching solutions that comply with the data protection regulations. Since the existing services cannot be scaled, cloud-based online setting must be used instead. The lecturers and students are free to decide whether they want to use a cloud-based service or not, knowing which data protection concerns exist, on the one hand, and how uncertain the availability is of using cloud-based service, on the other hand. In accordance with the resolutions of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, the KIT ensures that not using cloud-based services will not be sanctioned (such ensuring is provided for e.g., by guaranteeing that students will not be blamed for exceeding deadlines due to not using cloud-based courses or exams).
KIT has taken extensive measures to raise the use of cloud-based services to an acceptable level under corona-related circumstances. For example, the use of Zoom at KIT is based on a contract data processing agreement that has been adapted to the KIT requirements. In particular, KIT has succeeded in drafting the section on the possibility of passing on personal data in conformity with the data protection regulations. In addition, attitudes and recommendations for a data-saving use and for minimizing risks from an IT security point of view were elaborated and implemented. This means, for example, that students can participate in the sessions without activating their microphones or webcams and without having to give their real names. The students are informed comprehensively about data processing via a data protection declaration.
Information on the use of ZOOM: http://www.zml.kit.edu/corona-live-vortrag.php
Help for students with technical questions about MS Teams and ZOOM: servicedesk∂scc.kit.edu
If you have organizational questions, please do not hesitate to contact your lecturers and the deans’ offices. We kindly ask you to familiarize yourself with the services and tools available to you, if you have not already done so. During the initial phase, bottlenecks may occur, both in KIT's own and in KIT's external IT and communication infrastructure. We ask everyone for patience, calmness, and cooperation in this special situation.
How long is the lecture period in winter semester 2020/21?
Due to the handling of the corona pandemic, the start of lectures of the winter semester 2020/21 at KIT has been postponed to November 2, 2020. Thus, the KIT has followed the recommendation of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs. Lectures will end on February 20, 2021, and over the Christmas holidays and New Year, lectures will be free from December 24, 2020, to January 6, 2021.
The KIT still plans to start the next summer semester on April 12, 2021, thus reducing the semester break between the end of the winter semester 2020/2021 and the beginning of the summer semester 2021 by one week from eight to seven weeks.
Since the handling of the corona pandemic requires the continued flexibility of the study operation, the KIT is preparing a long-term plan for the study operation in the coming semesters.
Please note that our plans for the 2020/21 winter semester are subject to the following Corona-caused provisions:
- The lecture period will start on November 02 (see https://www.sle.kit.edu/english/imstudium/697.php).
- The course catalog for the 2020/21 winter semester can be found on https://campus.studium.kit.edu/events/catalog.php). Shortly before the start of the lecture period, please check the courses chosen by you for short-term changes.
I am a lecturer. Where can I find help, for example, on the subjects of online teaching, digital course preparation, and everyday university life?
The Center for Technology-Enhanced Learning at KIT operates a portal on online teaching:
http://www.zml.kit.edu/english/4531.php
The business units SLE, INTL, and HAA answer further questions asked by lecturers on everyday university life, admissions, examinations, and fees on their FAQ pages:
https://www.sle.kit.edu/wirueberuns/informationen-corona.php (access for lecturers via KIT account)
Examinations & Courses
What are the general conditions for oral online exams via video conferencing?
With the revision of § 32a and § 32b of the Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges, the framework conditions for oral online exams via video conferencing have been amended.
Oral online exams via video conferencing are now permitted even in the absence of infections provided that the oral exams are suitable for online video conferencing as regards content-related, didactic, or other aspects (e.g. the exam subject matter). Please read more on the relevant organizational, legal, and technical framework conditions and on the processing of personal data here.
Will exam deadlines and program durations be extended (again) in the winter semester of 2020/21?
The Corona pandemic continues to impair studies. With the revision of § 32 para. 5a of the Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges (Landeshochschulgesetz – LHG), arrangements have been made for extending exam deadlines and program durations for students in the summer semester of 2020 and winter semester of 2020/2021. The relevant statutory rules, however, do not apply to all students and degree programs.
Please note the following extensions set out in the LHG:
Preliminary exam
- The deadline for taking the preliminary exam shall be extended by two semesters for first-year students of the winter semester of 2018/19 and first-year students of the winter semester of 2019/20, provided that they were enrolled in the same degree program during both semesters.
- For first-year students of the winter semester of 2020/2021 or for students who have changed their degree program for the winter semester of 2020/2021, the deadline for taking the preliminary exam shall be extended by one semester.
Maximum duration of studies:
- For students who were enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree program in the summer semester of 2020 and winter semester of 2020/2021, the maximum duration of studies specified in the study and examination regulations in the respective degree program will be extended by two semesters.
- For students who were only enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree program in the summer semester of 2020 or winter semester of 2020/2021, the maximum duration of study specified in the study and examination regulations in the respective degree program will be extended by one semester.
The extension shall only apply to the degree programs in which the students were enrolled in the respective semesters and shall be implemented centrally without the need of submitting applications.
The above does not include students who will reach or have already exceeded the (extended) maximum duration of studies at the end of the winter semester of 2020/2021. Please contact the responsible examination board or the Students Office.
For questions regarding extended resit deadlines, please contact the responsible examination board.
How will deadline extension affect the re-registration period?
Students who wish to continue their studies at KIT are required to re-register. The re-registration period ends on February 15, 2021. After this date, re-registration is usually only possible with a late fee until March 10, 2021. Since extensions were made on short notice, the late fee will be suspended in this re-registration period.
In view of the above, please re-register until March 10, 2021 paying the regular semester fee without any additional charges.
What must be considered when doing exams in the winter semester 2020/21?
KIT has updated and enhanced its developed hygiene and safety concept and has adapted it to the applicable regulations to be able to conduct examinations planned for the winter semester 2020/2021 while ensuring the protection of all students and supervisors.
In the winter semester 2020/2021, written exams, which will be done mainly during the semester break from February 22 to April 10, 2021, still cannot take place on the usual premises. Additional external rooms have been rented, and digital exam formats have been enabled. Special rules thus have to be observed when doing exams under corona conditions.
Therefore, please note the following instructions if you plan to participate in exams:
- Please carefully read the enclosed information sheet on exams under corona conditions during the winter semester of 2020/21.
- Please take note of the information sheet on the prohibition of participation and admission and act accordingly.
- Please bear in mind to use a medical face mask or ffp2-mask. Wearing a face mask is obligatory on all walkways and aisles and during the exam.
- The previous distancing and hygiene rules are still valid.
- Please note that students (examinees) are not allowed to gather in front of the lecture hall or outside the building before or after exams. Please leave the exam location one by one after the examination and move away quickly.
- Please follow the instructions of the supervisor.
You can find an overview of the developed online scenarios as well as an extensive collection of materials with instructions and templates here.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your examiner or the responsible examination board.
Which Arrangements Have Been Made for On-campus Academic Education in summer term 2021?
Note: Studies will continue to take place online. Exceptions to this will only be made for examinations (incl. written examinations) and for mandatory practical courses. Both of these will be permitted again by way of exception as of January 11, 2021. Infection protection always has priority for all exemptions. (Status: 08.04.2021)
It can be assumed that a gradual expansion of the face-to-face study operation can take place in the course of 2021. In order to then enable lectures, exercises, seminars, and tutorials in compliance with infection control, KIT has made the necessary arrangements in several working groups.
Which Arrangements Have Been Made for On-campus Academic Education?
Centrally administrated lecture halls and rooms will be equipped with signs of the distancing, hygiene, and mask rules (in German: AHA-Regeln), regulations on the prohibition of access and participation according to Article 7, Corona VO, and accessories for cleaning the tables and chairs. When entering the room, students are to take along cleaning cloths from the racks available and to clean their seats. When leaving the room, these cloths must be disposed of in the waste bins available.
Tracking of potential infection chains is the responsibility of the Health Authority. KIT must support these efforts by collecting data for contact tracking. For each course, participants must be documented in order to be able to transmit the contact data to the Health Authority at request.
For this purpose, KIT has developed two electronic solutions based on either the KIT card or a QR code:
KONKIT (KOntaktNachverfolgung am KIT, contact tracking at KIT) is designed to reliably collect contact data of participants of courses in compliance with data protection legislation by placing the KIT card onto the scanner.
Attendance may also be documented by a QR code at the venue or in addition to KONKIT registration.
Personal data are transmitted in encrypted form in principle, the relevant contact data will only be retrieved in case of a suspected infection.
Information is also available on the following webpage: https://www.kon.kit.edu/index.php
If neither the KONKIT device nor the QR code is available in the rooms used, the teacher is obliged to collect the contact data of the participants in proper form and to keep the data for four weeks.
How to Proceed after a Positive Test Result?
If you have been tested with a positive result, the Health Authority will ask you for the contacts and the events and courses attended. Ideally, you will inform the Health Authority about the course attended, the teacher, the day, and the time. The Health Authority will then contact the teacher of the course and ask for the hygiene concept and its observation.
We would also like to pass on a request from the Karlsruhe Health Office to the students:
Students who have received notification of a positive test from an external health department and who had personal contacts in Karlsruhe during the period in question should contact the Karlsruhe health department immediately so that contact person tracking can be started quickly.
We thank you very much in advance for your cooperation and wish you a good start of the new semester in spite of the pandemic!
Lecturers will find further information on the corresponding pages of SLE: https://www.sle.kit.edu/wirueberuns/informationen-corona.php
Will there be courses on campus again?
KIT will continue to offer online courses until January 31, 2021. Exceptions to this are only made for examinations (incl. written examinations) and for mandatory practical courses. Both of these will be permitted again by way of exception as of January 11, 2021. Infection protection always has priority for all exceptional approvals.
I would like to use the prior master's account. What are the current regulations?
With the prior Master's transfer account, KIT enables students to earn Master’s credits during their Bachelor's degree programs and have them credited later in their Master's degree programs. The prior Master's transfer account is limited to 30 ECTS points. In order to mitigate possible disadvantages due to the Corona crisis when changing from Bachelor’s to Master’s, the prior Master's transfer account is increased to an unlimited extent. Until further notice, this extension applies to the summer semester of 2020. A further prerequisite is that students meet the minimum requirements for the prior Master’s transfer account as laid down in the study and examination regulations applicable to their respective Bachelor's degree program. If you have questions regarding the registration or crediting processes, please contact your academic advisors.
According to § 6 of "Satzung des Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (KIT) zur Ergänzung der Studien- und Prüfungsordnungen, der Zulassungs- und Immatrikulationsordnung sowie
einzelner Auswahl- und Zugangssatzungen für die Dauer der Corona-Pandemie" the prior Master's transfer account is also increased to an unlimited extent during winter term 20/21.
What are students supposed to do when they develop symptoms of a Covid-19 disease in the waiting area prior to admission to the examination room or during the examination?
If students develop symptoms of a Covid-19 infection in the waiting area prior to admission to the examination venue or during the examination, examiners are obliged to immediately exclude these persons from the respective examination. This must be documented by the examiner or supervising person and the responsible examination committee must be informed accordingly. The excluded examinees are recommended to contact the responsible examination committee, if they have questions regarding the further proceeding (e.g. repetition of the examination, grading of the examination).
Exclusion from the examination will not be deemed to be an unexcused absence or withdrawal without giving any good reasons. The examination attempt shall rather be deemed to have not been made, even if it has already started. The number of examination attempts to which the students are entitled shall remain the same.
In case the persons affected can prove by a medical certificate that they suffer from a chronic disease or allergy causing Corona-specific symptoms, KIT shall strive to permit participation in the examination, if possible, in a separate room or with the candidate wearing a mouth-nose mask. To take suitable organizational measures, these examination candidates are requested to contact the examiner in due time
What has to be considered for the examinations in the summer semester 2020?
For the initially suspended examinations of the 2019/2020 winter semester, KIT developed a hygiene and safety concept to ensure protection of all students and supervisors. This concept has now been adapted to the current situation and the amended legal provisions.
For written examinations in the summer semester 2020, which will take place in the semester break from July 27 to October 31, 2020, it still will be impossible to use the usual venues. For this reason, external venues have been rented. Organization of written examinations under Corona conditions is subject to special rules.
Please note the following information for participation in examinations:
Please read the declaration enclosed (Annex 3, Declaration on the Absence of a Suspected Corona Virus Infection), sign it on the date of the examination or shortly before it to confirm your current state of health for the examination. Bring it along for the examination. Blank forms may also be obtained from the supervisors.
Persons entering and leaving the examination rooms are obligated to use a mouth/nose protection.
From July 27 to July 31, the seating positions of the examinees must be documented in the examination centers in which more than 100 examinees can be seated. For this purpose, students will find a form on their numbered table, which must be completed and handed over to the examiner.
Students (examinees) are not permitted to assemble in front of the lecture hall or the building before or after the examination. After the examination, students must leave the building separately and go away quickly.
Instructions of the supervisors must be obeyed.
Declaration on the Absence of a Suspected Corona Virus Infection in an Examination of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): https://intranet.kit.edu/downloads/declaration-examination.pdf
Deviating from the KIT Studies and Examination Regulations and due to the special situation with regard to the Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), it is now possible to unsubscribe in writing from all examinations in the current examination phase without giving reasons. Such a cancelation can be made by email to the responsible examiner and is possible in the short term, i.e. until directly before the examination. No medical certificate is required.
Please note: If still possible, candidates are requested to deregister from their relevant examination in the Campus Management System. Please do not deregister by mail in these cases. If deregistering by email with your examiner, please use your KIT email address to ensure that your deregistration can be assigned clearly and securely. Please state your student ID number and the name(s) and number(s) of the examination(s) from which you wish to deregister.
Information on how to get to dm-arena for examinations: Due to track work in Rheinstetten during the examination period, tram line S2 will stop at Mühlburger Tor. From there, an alternate bus will run every 10 minutes during peak periods (please exit at: Forchheim, Leichtsandstraße/Messe Karlsruhe). Depending on the expected number of examinees, KVV will try to increase the frequency of the buses. Students are advised to use their cars or bicycles, if possible. Parking lot P1 at Messe Karlsruhe is available free of charge.
What is the planning state for the examinations in the 2020 summer semester?
The corona pandemic requires to observe the distance and hygiene rules during all meetings. This will also apply to written examinations in the 2020 summer semester, which will take place during the semester break from July 27 to October 31, 2020. Due to the corona situation, however, rooms and facilities of KIT cannot be used in the usual way. For this reason, both examination dates and locations were rescheduled. Other rooms and premises, including a large tent in front of the Audimax and, on a temporary basis, the dm-Arena, will be used in addition to the lecture halls of KIT. These measures build on the experience gained when repeating the cancelled examinations of the winter semester 2019/20.
When planning the new dates, KIT tried to adhere as much as possible to the schedule drawn up before the corona crisis in order to minimize postponements.
Planning of all exams is completed now. Currently, the exams are being input in the Campus Management System and the corresponding confirmations are sent to the examiners. The examiners will then inform the students about the exam dates. As the total number of exams will exceed 500 (far more than the exams postponed in the past winter semester), booking will take some time, which is why some students have already been informed about their exam dates while others still have to wait.
It is expected that all students will be informed by their examiners about their examination dates in the 2020 summer semester by the end of calendar week 28 (July 6-12, 2020). The examination dates and locations will then also be available in the Campus Management System.
Will the deadlines for students be extended?
The postponement and cancellation of examinations since March 17, 2020 due to the requirements of the Corona Ordinance have effects on the deadlines set in the study and examination regulations for the orientation examination, the maximum duration of studies, and the re-examination. As per a letter dated March 10, 2020, students have been allowed to apply for an extension of the deadline due to the postponement of examinations in the winter semester of 19/20. Since it will probably not be possible to resume normal studies and examinations in the summer semester of 2020, the examination boards have decided to extend the above deadlines for all students as follows:
- The deadline for taking the orientation examination will be extended by one semester each for WS 18/19 and WS 19/20 first-year students. .
- The deadline for taking the Bachelor's or Master's examinations (maximum duration of studies) will be extended by one semester in the winter semester of 20/21 for students in the highest permissible semesters.
- If the study and examination regulations stipulate a deadline for taking the re-examination, this will be extended by one or two semesters, depending on the course of study.
Currently (June 17, 2020), the state government has introduced a bill to amend the state higher education law to extend the examination deadlines for all students by a flat rate of one semester.
The above shall be implemented centrally; there is no need to submit applications.
Where can I find information as a student teacher?
Information on the handling of state examinations in the context of the current situation can be found on the corresponding pages of the Ministry of Culture and the LLPA:
https://km-bw.de/,Lde/Startseite/Ablage+Individual pages+mixed+topics/FAQS+School closings
http://llpa-bw.de/,Lde/Startseite/Aussenstellen/1_+Staatspruefung+_+Gymnasium+and+vocational+schools
KIT‘s Center for Teacher Education (Zentrum für Lehrerbildung) also collects all information on the current situation relevant to KIT student teachers:
https://www.hoc.kit.edu/zlb/823.php
When and how can I make up for my cancelled state examination?
All students whose state examination is due in the period of spring 2020 have to register bindingly at Landeslehrerprüfungsamt (LLPA) Karlsruhe by May 6, 2020, 4 p.m. In the email to Mrs. Christine Engelhardt (christine.engelhardt∂rpk.bwl.de cc: kristin.wolf∂rpk.bwl.de), please indicate whether you decide to take the spring or the autumn examination. A feedback by email is necessary in any case!
Information on the handling of state examinations in the context of the current situation can also be found on the corresponding pages of the Ministry of Culture and the LLPA:
https://km-bw.de/,Lde/Startseite/Ablage+Individual pages+mixed+topics/FAQS+School closings
http://llpa-bw.de/,Lde/Startseite/Aussenstellen/1_+Staatspruefung+_+Gymnasium+and+vocational+schools
KIT‘s Center for Teacher Education (Zentrum für Lehrerbildung) also collects all information on the current situation relevant to KIT student teachers:
https://www.hoc.kit.edu/zlb/823.php
I am studying in a degree program that is being phased out. What do I have to consider?
The deadlines for taking the last study and examination credits of the expiring diploma courses are regulated in the transitional regulations for Bachelor's and Master's courses. Upon expiry of these deadlines, the diploma courses of study have finally expired and there is no possibility of taking further examinations. The deadline regulations do not provide for an individual extension for individual students. If the deadline for taking examinations is to be extended for the remaining students of the diploma courses, an amendment of the study and examination regulations (SPO) is necessary. If you have questions, please contact your KIT faculty directly and not the examination boards.
The same applies to the deadlines for the last possible examination in the expiring examination regulations of the Bachelor and Master courses of studies, if the students of these courses of studies are to be enabled to take the examinations on the basis of the old study and examination regulations. In contrast to diploma students, students still enrolled in the "old SPOs" automatically fall under the new study and examination regulations when the examination deadlines expire, so that the regulations of the new SPOs apply with regard to examinations to be taken, deadlines, etc.
The deadlines for taking the last examinations within the Diplom degree programs that are being phased out are stated in the transitional Bachelor's and Master's regulations. Upon expiry of these deadlines, the Diplom degree programs will not exist anymore and there will be no possibility of taking further examinations. The deadlines do not provide for individual extensions for individual students. The extension of examination deadlines for the remaining Diplom students would require an amendment of the study and examination regulations (SPO). If you have questions, please directly contact your KIT department. Please do not contact the examination boards.
The same applies to the deadlines for the last examinations based on expiring Bachelor’s and Master’s examination regulations, if the students in these programs are to be enabled to take examinations on the basis of the outdated study and examination regulations. In contrast to the Diplom students, students still enrolled in the outdated SPO upon expiration of the examination deadlines automatically fall under the new study and examination regulations.
Studies & General Issues
I study at KIT and take part in a face-to-face event. Where can I get a self-test?
On a weekly basis and regardless of the time of the event to be attended, we would like to provide self-tests to all students who wish to attend on-campus events as laid down in the applicable CoronaVO Studienbetrieb und Kunst (Corona Ordinance on Academic Education Operations and the Arts) of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Science, Research, and the Arts. These tests will be made available to KIT by the state of Baden-Württemberg. As soon as the self-test kits are available, we will start distributing and will inform you about all details regarding the distribution. Please note that these self-tests are not yet available at present.
Dear students, we kindly ask you to apply your tests at home once tests kits are available and have been handed out. Until further notice, such tests will not be conducted on the occasion of on-campus events or during any other time spent on the premises of KIT. This means: There will be no link between university events, such as exams, and self-tests to be carried out, since currently, there is no legal basis for such a link. In case of a positive test result, we ask you to isolate yourself immediately and to inform your family doctor or alternatively make an appointment for a PCR test by dialing the central number 116117.
Please note: Even all employees and students “tested negative“ are obliged to continue to comply with all measures according to the "Guidelines on the Course of Business at KIT in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic.“ For the safety of all, there will be no preferential treatment of tested persons.
In addition, we would like to encourage numerous people to take advantage of the free "citizen test" (PoC antigen rapid test) available at pharmacies, doctors' offices and rapid test centers. You do not only protect yourself, but also your fellow citizens. For more information, visit https://www.lak-bw.de/service/patient/antigen-schnelltests.html.
What does the Baden-Württemberg Higher Education Law stipulate with regard to the regular period of study?
The Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges provides for an extension of the regular periods of study for all students enrolled in the summer semester of 2020 or winter semester of 2020/2021. The regular period of study will be extended by two semesters for students who were enrolled in a degree program in the summer semester of 2020 and winter semester of 2020/2021 and by one semester for students who were only enrolled in the winter semester of 2020/2021. This course of action will extend the maximum BAföG funding period that is linked to the regular period of study and will thus increase students’ planning reliability and avoid corona-related hardships during studies.
Where at KIT is wearing a mask mandatory?
According to the Corona regulations relevant for KIT, there is a duty to wear medical or FFP2 masks at KIT in principle:
- On all traffic routes and traffic areas within buildings, for example doorways and other entrance areas, passageways, corridors, stairwells, sanitary facilities, routes at events, tea kitchens, break rooms and other meeting areas.
- In enclosed spaces intended for public or general public use, including student use.
- At examinations and teaching events, including when the seat has been taken and on the way there.
- During practical events (e.g. laboratory practicals) and examinations as well as access and admission procedures.
- In the KIT shuttle, in the casino at the North Campus, and at medical services.
The obligation to wear a mouth-nose covering does not apply:
- In activities and at workplaces for which a risk assessment has not determined the need for a protective mask. This is usually the case if a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from other persons is maintained.
When using FFP2 masks, make sure that they do not have a valve. Since such a valve is permeable to the exhaled air, such masks are not suitable for protecting your fellow human beings and cannot be recognized as an adequate protective measure where the wearing of mouth-nose covering is prescribed.
To what extent can the services of the KIT library and the study and work places be used?
The KIT Library will reopen the reading rooms for studying and working for fixed period of time as of Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The reading rooms may only be used after prior reservation of a time slot (KIT Library South: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 10 pm, KIT Library North: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 3 pm). Medical face masks or FFP2 face masks must also be worn at the workplace.
There will be no access to the group rooms, cafeteria, lockers, and PC workstations.
As before, media can be ordered online in advance and be picked up at the libraries. This service is independent of a seat reservation.
From Monday to Friday, books and other media can be ordered via the catalog and picked up from the KIT Library on the following workday from 9 am to 3 pm. During this time window, it is also possible to return borrowed media. Here, the regulation is to wear a medical mask or FFP2 mask.
KIT Scientific Publishing and the KIT Media Center are closed as well.
The KIT Library at Campus North, among others, offers a wide range of digital services that can be used from home via a VPN connection. Please click here to find out more: https://www.bibliothek.kit.edu/cms/corona-digitale-angebote.php
More information can be found here.
Can I use emergency tutoring to prepare for exams?
Emergency childcare will again be provided for children in daycare centers and daycare facilities, as well as for students in grades 1 to 7 whose parents are absolutely dependent on childcare. Students who are prevented from attending care due to exam preparation can also make use of emergency care.
Children are eligible for emergency care if both legal guardians or the single parent are considered indispensable by their employer or are in the exam preparation phase.
In view of the current situation, we ask you to be particularly responsible when submitting your application, as there are currently only limited places available for childcare in the relevant facilities. Please be considerate of colleagues and fellow students who may be even more affected than you.
A corresponding form is available for download here.
However, it may be that the respective institution requires additional or other forms, so please contact them.
Am I allowed to move to Karlsruhe from a corona hotspot / risk area?
Yes, you are allowed to move, but please follow the usual distancing and hygiene rules. If you move to Karlsruhe from a foreign crisis area, you are obliged to observe the Baden-Württemberg Quaran-tine Ordinance (Quarantäneverordnung, in German only).
Is it possible to enter Germany from third countries?
The DAAD and HRK have made available information on the (re-)entry of international students and researchers from third countries to Germany for studies or research. These DAAD and HRK forms can be used by the KIT institutes.
NO group formation rules in academic education
Section 2 (2) of the Corona Ordinance provides exceptions from the obligation to maintain a minimum distance. This may be the case for, e.g. a permanent class-type group (group formation principle) of up to 35 persons. Due to the increasing number of infections and the urgent appeals from the German federal and state governments to comply with the distancing rules, the KIT refrains from implementing the group formation rules in academic education.
I study with a child. Whom can I turn to in the current situation?
Students who have questions about studying with children are welcome to contact the Zentrum für Information und Beratung: https://www.sle.kit.edu/imstudium/besonderelebenslagen.php (in German only)
How can I update my personal data in the Studierendenportal?
The Corona Ordinance as of August 6, 2020 does not provide the possibility anymore of collecting email addresses for the purpose of contact tracking and of passing them on to the health authorities (§ 6 Corona Ordinance).
In view of the current and future examination periods as well as on account of the fact that on-campus teaching partly takes place again, we would like to ask you to check and, if necessary, update your data stored in the Studiportal.
In particular, we would like to ask you to provide a telephone number where you can be reached by the health authorities if necessary. This is in your own interest: If no telephone number is provided, the health authorities can only reach you via your postal address stored in the Studiportal. This will cause considerable delay.
You can update your data in the Studiportal as follows:
- How is it done?
Go to: https://campus.studium.kit.edu/personal/index.php. Enter updates under Personal Information – Address/ Telephone number and save (“Speichern”).
- How can I check whether the data has been saved?
Go to: https://campus.studium.kit.edu/reports/studyreports.php. Click on and print the check form “Datenkontrollblatt” under Reports – Study Reports.
Please contact the student service via the contact formula in case of problems
What are the plans for the upcoming winter semester?
At the moment, it can be assumed that attendance in the winter semester will not yet be possible, as it was "normal" before the start of the Corona pandemic. Digital teaching and learning formats will continue to play a very important role. However, there will be face-to-face courses - within the framework of the infection protection regulations and the available space. The KIT intends to use these possibilities especially for courses specifically aimed at first-year students in order to make it easier for them to start their studies, where getting to know the campus and social exchange among each other are particularly important. A further focus is on practical courses in all phases of study that require special equipment or working environments (e.g. laboratory internships, field exercises).
Based on current planning, the KIT assumes that the conditions and boundary conditions in the winter semester will be similar to those of today (but at least aggravated by the colder season). The use of the KIT premises and thus the presence teaching will be restricted by at least the three infection prevention measures specified today: a. Hygiene regulations (including cleaning of the places), b. Documentation obligations (who was present?), c. Distance rules (currently 1.5 meters). Measures a and b require time and may restrict the net periods during which classroom teaching can take place. Measure c requires space and reduces the maximum number of participants per event.
Please note that our plans for the 2020/21 winter semester are subject to the following Corona-caused provisions:
- The lecture period will start on November 02 (see https://www.sle.kit.edu/english/imstudium/697.php).
- Planning of the courses is still under way and will only be completed largely in the course of the month of September.
- The course catalog for the 2020/21 winter semester will presumably be published on September 30 in order to reflect the latest state of planning (see https://campus.studium.kit.edu/events/catalog.php). Shortly before the start of the lecture period, please check the courses chosen by you for short-term changes.
I am a foreign student and need a certificate of compulsory presence to apply for a visa or to enter Germany. Can I get such certificate from KIT?
International students from third countries can ask at the International Students Office for certificates for (re-)entering Germany for studies. This applies both to students already enrolled and to students newly admitted for the winter semester. The certificates will be lodged on the application system.
What has to be considered for future studies at the KIT?
The Corona Ordinance as of July 1, 2020 contains some alterations with regard to the number of persons allowed to attend courses: Until July 31, 2020, events with up to 100 persons are possible under compliance with the measures for infection protection and the collection of participants’ data. Up to 250 persons are permitted if, in addition, seats are being allocated and an event program has been set up in advance. From August 1, 2020, events with up to 500 persons will be permitted.
At KIT, this maximum possible number of persons is restricted by the limited availability of space. Due to the hygiene regulations and the requirement to keep distance, far fewer people than usual are now allowed to stay in the rooms. This applies to events as well as to examinations or to studying and teaching. Due to these restrictions, KIT applies the criteria for prioritizing central events as laid down in the "Guidelines on the Course of Business at KIT in Times of the SARS-CoV-2 (Corona Virus) Pandemic”. In principle, priority is given to courses of study.
Even if courses of study have priority in the allocation of rooms, students and teaching staff must continue to be prepared for largely digital studies due to infection protection measures (in particular compliance with the minimum distance) and the resulting limited availability of rooms.
In the case of face-to-face on-campus events, the obligation to document participants’ data must be observed. This obligation is mandatory for all universities. Universities are explicitly authorized to collect such data (§14 CoronaVO). This obligation to collect data applies to all meetings of two or more persons in one room over a period of more than 15 minutes. Random encounters (e.g. in hallways) that are only very short as compared to the above period of time are not included.
What does legislation of Baden-Württemberg provide for in terms of the standard period of study?
The Baden-Württemberg government has decided to extend the standard period of study by one semester for all students enrolled in the 2020 summer semester. As a result, the maximum period of BAföG support, which is linked to the standard period of study, is extended as well. This is intended to give students planning security and prevent corona-related hardships of students during their studies.
Further information can be found in the press release of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts (in German): https://mwk.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/service/presse/pressemitteilung/pid/regelstudienzeit-wird-in-baden-wuerttemberg-pauschal-verlaengert/
Whom can students turn to for psychotherapeutic help?
During the time of the Corona crisis, the Psychotherapeutic Counseling Center for Students (PBS) of Studentenwerk Karlsruhe will advise you on the phone and can be reached as usual to make an appointment: Monday to Friday between 9 and 12 a.m. at 0721 933 40 60.
https://www.sw-ka.de/en/beratung/psychologisch/
I will not be able to keep up with the prescribed period of study. Whom can I turn to for help?
The Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has decided that students who are unable to achieve their credits due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting limited range of courses will not, in principle, suffer any disadvantages if exceeding the prescribed period of study. The KIT very much welcomes the fact that the federal states will encourage the federal government in finding flexible regulations for e.g. BAföG, family allowances, or health insurance that take into account the realities of student life in times of the Covid 19 pandemic. Please inform your relevant contact persons about this decision and, if necessary, ask for their goodwill until corresponding regulations have been implemented at the state level.
https://www.kmk.org/aktuelles/artikelansicht/kmk-sommersemester-2020-findet-statt.html
I am an international student. Can I enroll online?
International students can enroll online. Please send the required documents to your official in charge (see letter of admission). Read more.
How can I obtain the KIT library's and KIT department libraries' seals stating that I have cleared my library accounts prior to my being removed from the register of students?
Please send your routing slip as a digitally filled PDF document by e-mail to - infodeskQwv6∂bibliothek kit edu. After checking your library account, the staff will digitally sign the routing slip and forward it to the student service. The authorized signatories are deposited there. Please note: Your library account must not show any fees or loans.
Alternatively, you can come to the KIT Library South in person during our service hours (Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.).
Archive
Archive
Studies & General Issues
Why is there no so-called "discretionary semester" at KIT? (As of June 23, 2020)
Studies & General Issues
Why is there no so-called "discretionary semester" at KIT?
Since the suspension of the regular course of studies in March 2020, there have been discussions in Germany about the introduction of a "discretionary semester". On April 15, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia issued "guidelines on coping with the challenges posed to university life by the Corona virus SARS-CoV-2 epidemic" (Verordnung zur Bewältigung der durch die Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2-Epidemie an den Hochschulbetrieb gestellten Herausforderungen, in German only), which introduced the "discretionary semester" at North Rhine-Westphalian universities. Students there have their individualized standard periods of study extended by one semester and the summer semester is not counted as a term (irrespective of a leave of absence). In addition, students will not be credited with failed exams, but will be allowed a "free trial". In North Rhine-Westphalia, exams taken and considered "failed" or "insufficient" in the summer semester 2020 will be deemed not to have been taken.
The state government of Baden-Württemberg has been taking a different line and has not issued any such guidelines so that there is no legal framework that would allow Baden-Württemberg universities to proceed in the same way. At all universities in Baden-Württemberg, the summer semester 2020 is considered a term.
However, an amendment to the Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges, which is currently in the process of being passed, provides for general extensions of the standard periods of study and exam deadline for all students enrolled at a Baden Württemberg university in the summer semester 2020.
Due to the corona crisis, KIT has made its own regulations to ensure within the legal framework applicable in Baden-Württemberg that students will suffer as few disadvantages as possible through the summer semester 2020. See also the following FAQs:
- Will the deadlines for students be extended?
- I would like to use the prior master's transfer account. What are the current regulations?
- Will the deadlines for final papers and term papers be extended?
- Will exams postponed due to the corona crisis have to be canceled or will students themselves have to cancel these exams online?
Already before the corona crisis, KIT had arranged for its students to be particularly free in organizing their studies: For example, students who cannot come to KIT basically have the possibility to take exams in a modified form. § 6 (3) of the study and examination regulations allows for the type of examination to be changed in agreement between the examinee and the examiner. In addition, especially for students from abroad, there is the possibility to apply for a semester off in the case of travel restrictions, etc. According to § 14 (7) of KIT’s Admission and Enrollment Regulations, most of the exams can be taken during a leave of absence.
International students of the KIT can apply for a waiver of tuition fees at the International Students Office of the Business Unit International Affairs on condition that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have got into an emergency situation after starting their studies and are therefore not able to pay the tuition fee. Applications for waiver of tuition fees may also be submitted for the winter semester 2020/21. In addition, students who are unable to enter the country or who had to or have to re-enroll due to the cancelation of final exams in March and April 2020 are entitled to request waiver of the fee. Please ask at the International Students Office for the appropriate application form. Further information: studiengebuehren∂intl.kit.edu
More information and contact persons
- https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
- https://www.rki.de/EN/Home/homepage_node.html
- https://www.landkreis-karlsruhe.de/gesundheitsamt
- https://sozialministerium.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/gesundheit-pflege/gesundheitsschutz/infektionsschutz-hygiene/informationen-zu-coronavirus/
- https://www.med.kit.edu/240.php
- https://www.forschung-und-lehre.de/recht/was-tun-bei-coronavirus-verdacht-an-der-uni-2568/
In case of a justified reason, KIT members are free to call the company physicians, the general practitioner, or the health authority for personal telephone consultation.
Questions relating to work at home are answered by your superior and the officer responsible for you at DE PSE. Here, we are focusing on the more intensive use of existing possibilities of telework or mobile working.
Lecturers with questions about study operations can get information here (in German only). If you have questions with respect to examination legislation please contact their departments or DE HAA.
Students are free to contact their lecturers, the deans’ offices, or the staff of the Students Office.
Suggestions for the maintenance of this FAQ can be directed to Monika Landgraf monika.landgraf∂kit.edu (SEK-Gesamtkommunikation) and Timo Schreck timo.schreck∂kit.edu (SEK-GK).
If you have any further questions, contact the Corona Coordination Office (Gerhard Frank (SUM), Andrea Stahl (MED), Boris Stegmaier (SUM), and Klaus Umstadt (FAS)): corona∂sum.kit.edu