Coronavirus (Covid-19): current information for members of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences FAQ

The university management regularly informs students, lecturers and staff via email about the current situation and how to proceed.

April 2020

March 2020

The lecture are held online among other things. Students will be informed by email from their teachers about how the course content will be made available by April 19, 2020. It is our target that the exams take place at the end of the semester as planned.

All research activities are maintained at its own discretion. The recommendations of the RKI for increased hygiene and keeping people apart should be applied. Please avoid group meetings. Follow the same procedure as for all application procedures in online mode.

The Studentenwerk Osnabrück has closed all canteens and cafeterias in Osnabrück and Lingen by order of the city of Osnabrück. This regulation applies up to and including April 19, 2020.

It is not yet clear whether and when summer sports courses can start. The university sports team provides information about further developments at www.zfh.uni-osnabrueck.de.

If you have any technical questions, the ServiceDesk staff will be happy to help you.

All locations of the library are also closed until April 19, 2020. It will not be possible to borrow media during this period. We continue to provide literature for students in examination phases, further information can be found at: www.bib.hs-osnabrueck.de/de/formulare/ausleihe-fuer-pruefungszwecke/ 

Extensions beyond the 5th extension are now possible. Reminder fees are currently waived.

The Student Secretariat is available to you by e-mail and by phone for questions about exams, extension options for processing times, deregistration from exams, withdrawals from exams and all matriculation matters.
Please address your concerns directly to the course administration responsible for you:
www.hs-osnabrueck.de/de/wir/organisation/organisationseinheiten/studierendensekretariat/
 

Even practical project work cannot take place in the laboratories. The continuation of started project work will be postponed until April 19, 2020. The laboratory internships failing until April 19, 2020 will not be made up for. Provided that the normal apprenticeship from April 20, 2020 the remaining laboratory dates will take place. The laboratory event is then considered to be successfully completed as a whole according to the study regulations (achievement of the credit points).

Many students are currently completing compulsory curricular practical projects in companies and non-university institutions. There, the respective management teams partially limit the student's job opportunities. If the companies prescribe “home office” for the students because they can continue to work there, this has no effect on the recognition of the course achievements. The same applies if the projects are put on hold and are to be continued after the work restrictions. In this case, the students should inform the student secretariat and the supervising teacher. If the companies terminate the project contracts without notice, the course work will still be recognized if at least two thirds of the work has been completed. Otherwise, a suitable additional task can be set by the university if this is the responsibility of the supervising teacher. If this is not the case, the project must be started again later.

Current information on the extension of the processing time for final theses, the form of final theses and the implementation of colloquiums in online format can be found on the website of the Student Secretariat.

Please make sure that you do not organize personal study groups in private rooms or on campuses, but that you also use formats such as chats or video conferences.

The child emergency care is unfortunately suspended from now up to and including April 19, 2020. In addition to the general recommendations of the health authorities and the instructions of the regional church, the state's decision on the school and daycare closings unfortunately also has an impact on the child emergency care project.
The family service in the Equal Opportunities Office continues to offer advice and exchange. Feel free to contact the Equal Opportunities Office to describe specific challenges or to design support options together. For an appointment for a telephone conversation, please send an email to: gleichstellung@hs-osnabrueck.de 

Basically, the work has to be performed and the operation must be maintained during this period (until probably April 19, 2020).
The department has to order the necessary measures to prevent the disease from spreading in the public administration and at the same time to keep it running (e.g. working at home in the form of teleworking or mobile work). If necessary, for example, after consultation with the team management, a division of the team into two groups is conceivable, which work alternately in the office and from home. If such measures are not feasible or expedient, other legal options can be applied depending on the circumstances of the individual case until a final clarification of the health status. If you have any questions, please contact your HR clerk.

If there is uncertainty or concern, you can take advantage of the holiday or flexitime compensation within the scope of the business opportunities. The university welcomes the fact that employees take advantage of the opportunities offered by working at home. There is therefore no formal approval procedure. Please report the late registrations at the beginning of a new month, stating the exact number of hours, to the day at zeiterfassung@hs-osnabrueck.de. Please also put your supervisor in the CC.

People with an increased health risk due to relevant previous illnesses (e.g. diabetes, cancer, dialysis, chronic heart and lung diseases, organ transplants, immunodeficiency disorders, further details can be found on the RKI website) are exempted from attendance as the benefits continue to be paid. The exemption takes place in consultation with the supervisor, who forwards the relevant information to the HR department.
During this period, the working days are automatically credited with the individual target time (no plus or minus hours due to this measure). Vacation days already applied for remain unaffected. The university welcomes you to take advantage of domestic opportunities during this time. There is no separate application procedure for domestic work.

If, due to the closure of a daycare center or school, employees and teachers have to ensure the care of their minor, other forms of childcare are not guaranteed and measures such as domestic work are not feasible or expedient, an exemption from work with continued payment according to § 29 para. 3 TV-L granted. If you have any questions, please contact the HR and Finance division, Reiner Haut 0541 969 7087, Mail: r.haut@hs-osnabrueck.de.

The child emergency care is unfortunately suspended from now up to and including April 19, 2020. In addition to the general recommendations of the health authorities and the instructions of the regional church, the state's decision on the school and daycare closings unfortunately also has an impact on the child emergency care project.
The family service in the Equal Opportunities Office continues to offer advice and exchange. Feel free to contact the Equal Opportunities Office to describe specific challenges or to design support options together. For an appointment for a telephone conversation, please send an email to: gleichstellung@hs-osnabrueck.de 

1. Report to the responsible contact person in the faculty or to HR management by phone or email with the following information:

• Name, first Name
• Date of birth
• In which recognized region at risk have you been?
• In which period have you been there?
• Phone number to contact (preferably mobile)

Contact persons in the faculties:

• Economics and social sciences: Sabine Bendig, 0541 969 3187, s.bendig@hs-osnabrueck.de 
• Agricultural sciences and landscape architecture: Marc-Guido Megies, 0541 969-5110, Dekanat-al@hs-osnabrueck.de 
• Engineering and computer science: Susanne Held, 0541 969-3712, dekanat-iui@hs-osnabrueck.de 
• Management, culture and technology: 0591 80098 402, dekan-mkt@hs-osnabrueck.de 
• Institute for Music: Matthias Vornholt 0541 969 7050, m.vornholt@hs-osnabrueck.de 

Contact person in personnel management:

Reiner Haut 0541 969 7087; r.haut@hs-osnabrueck.de 

 
2. Immediately make an appointment by telephone with your family doctor.
Outside of office hours, the health service can be reached by phone at 116117.

3. Stay at home until you have specific information from the doctor.

4. Use the possibilities of the 300-hour regulation or the home office - as far as possible. If no 300-hour rule has been requested, this will be regulated in individual cases.

5. Inform the responsible contact persons mentioned above and your specialist management about the prospective resumption of your activity on site (after consulting a doctor).

6. If you are instructed to quarantine by the health authority, please submit them to us.

7. If you have no work equipment at home, please do not come to the university to get it.

8. You can access Outlook and NetCase via web access (msx.hs-osnabrueck.de, netcase.hs-osnabrueck.de).

If employees suffer from the Corona virus, they must stay away from work. Employees who are put into quarantine on the suspicion of a disease with the corona virus by a doctor's order or by order of the health department are able to work in the medical sense, but are released from the obligation to perform.

As of now employees with mild diseases of the upper respiratory tract can receive a certificate of incapacity for work for up to 14 days after consulting their doctor over the phone. You don't have to go to the doctor's office for this in person. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) agreed on this on Monday, March 23, 2020.

This agreement applies immediately and initially till June 23, 2020.

If employees stay away from work due to illness, they must immediately report the illness and its expected duration to the agency. If the incapacity lasts longer than three working days, a medical certificate must be presented.

Even practical project work cannot take place in the laboratories. The continuation of started project work will be postponed until April 19, 2020. The laboratory internships failing until April 19, 2020 will not be made up for. Provided that the normal apprenticeship from April 20, 2020 the remaining laboratory dates will take place. The laboratory event is then considered to be successfully completed as a whole according to the study regulations (achievement of the credit points).

Many students are currently completing compulsory curricular practical projects in companies and non-university institutions. There, the respective management teams partially limit the student's job opportunities. If the companies prescribe “home office” for the students because they can continue to work there, this has no effect on the recognition of the course achievements. The same applies if the projects are put on hold and are to be continued after the work restrictions. In this case, the students should inform the student secretariat and the supervising teacher. If the companies terminate the project contracts without notice, the course work will still be recognized if at least two thirds of the work has been completed. Otherwise, a suitable additional task can be set by the university if this is the responsibility of the supervising teacher. If this is not the case, the project must be started again later.

The eLearning Competence Center (eLCC) presents teachers with options and tools with which they can maintain their teaching online.

Platform for exchange among teachers
Numerous colleagues have already registered in the collaboration environment set up by the eLCC in "Microsoft Teams" for the exchange of experiences for all teachers. Feel free to use the exchange around tools, tools and didactics in HS_Dozierendenteam.
Link to the team room: http://bit.ly/corona_solidargemeinschaft 
 
Instructions on how to join this team room can be found on the eLCC homepage:
https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/fileadmin/HSOS/Homepages/eLCC/Teamraum_beitreten.pdf 
Instructions on how to use Microsoft Teams:
https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/fileadmin/HSOS/Homepages/eLCC/Anleitung_Microsoft_Teams.pdf 

The Learning Center offers you a page on the OSCA portal with materials for self-study aimed at teachers.

https://osca.hs-osnabrueck.de/Wikibereich/Studium%20und%20Lehre%20%C2%B0/00%20Interne%20Informationen%20%C2%B0%C2%B0/Materialien%20des%20LearningCenters.aspx 

Current information on the extension of the processing time for final theses, the form of final theses and the implementation of colloquiums in online format can be found on the website of the Student Secretariat.

Business trips are currently not approved.

If you have already booked a business trip, please check whether it can be canceled. Contact your responsible HR and Finance Officer and / or your Dean's Office for reimbursement of travel expenses.

The Federal Foreign Office warns against all unnecessary tourist trips abroad.

The travel warnings of the RKI or the Federal Foreign Office are to be observed in this respect. If employees of the university visit a country or area that is particularly affected according to the travel instructions of the RKI and AA, then they bear the sole risk (e.g. illness, quarantine on site, obstacles to return).
 

Current case numbers, affected countries and information on regions at risk can be found at www.rki.de/covid-19-risikogebiete and www.rki.de/covid-19-fallzahlen.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI): cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever, some sufferers also suffer from diarrhea.

If you are afraid of being infected with the corona virus, first contact your family doctor by phone to clarify the suspicion and how to proceed in a telephone conversation.

Outside of the general doctor's office hours, the emergency medical service can be reached at 116 117.

The Robert Koch Institute also recommends avoiding unnecessary contacts, staying at home if possible, observing the cough and sneeze etiquette and good hand hygiene.

Notes from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI):

• Contact the responsible health authority immediately
• 14 days of home quarantine with daily contact with the health department

according to RKI:

• primarily via respiratory secretions
• fecal-oral transmission also questionable - detection of coronaviruses in stool samples from infected people has been demonstrated.

14 days are still assumed (RKI).

The 10 most important hygiene tips from the Federal Center for Health Education provide a good overview to protect yourself from infectious diseases, such as: regular and thorough hand washing, keep hands away from your face, sneeze in the crook of your arm or a handkerchief and keep your distance in case of illness.

In view of the flu, these measures are advisable everywhere and at any time.

According to the RKI:

• insufficient evidence that the risk of infection can be significantly reduced by wearing mouth-nose protection.
• only makes sense as a third-party protection for people with respiratory diseases, in order to reduce the risk of infecting other people with droplets that arise when coughing or sneezing.

• The RKI's current risk assessment for Germany (information in German)
  https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikobewertung.html
• Information for travelers in different languages (English, Italian, Korean, Persian)
  https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Transport/Info_Reisende_Tab.html
• ECDC information on COVID-19, including risk assessments
  https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus-china
• World Health Organization WHO (topic page)
  https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• Federal Center for Health Education
  https://www.bzga.de/