Corona update: Adaptation of university operations to the current situation

Dear members of the University,

The new year is unfortunately starting off under difficult conditions, also for the CAU, with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and quickly rising numbers of infections. This has prompted us to take further COVID-19-related measures and extend existing regulations for university operations.  

Teaching

On account of the current pandemic developments and the quickly rising numbers of infections as a result of the spread of the Omicron variant, all lectures with the exception of practical teaching formats (e.g. lab practicals, practical music and sports events) will be held exclusively in a digital format as from 10.01.22. The faculties will inform their lecturers and students about specific details for implementing this.

Based on the state regulations regarding special measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at universities, the following remains valid for admission to continuing face-to-face teaching events: All participants must provide evidence of full vaccination status, recovery or a negative COVID-19 test result (3G rule with photo ID). Test result certificates may not be older than 24 hours, or 48 hours for a PCR test. We are obliged to check the 3G status of all participants on site.

The requirements for wearing face masks will also be tightened. Only FFP2 masks are permitted for face-to-face teaching events as from 10.01.2022. A surgical mask is no longer sufficient due to the current, very high risk of infection. Exemptions from wearing masks are possible for practical music and sports teaching events as long as the hygiene measures such as social distancing and ventilation are consistently implemented.

Examinations 

Based on the current developments in the pandemic, we are assuming that the examinations for the winter semester will be conducted mainly in a digital format for both examination periods. Lecturers and students will receive detailed information in the middle of next week at the latest, as soon as the coordination with the faculties has been completed. It is not clear at this stage whether a free attempt regulation will apply again for exams. More information on this will come soon.

Libraries

There will be no changes at the moment for using libraries with the existing hygiene measures. Media can still be borrowed and returned and workstations can still be used in person. The 3G rule remains in place and masks must be worn throughout the libraries (surgical or FFP2 masks) – also at workstations.

Administration and business operations

Contact opportunities between employees should be reduced as much as possible. Wherever the job permits, staff should work from home in agreement with their superior. Where this is not possible, we expressly ask all superiors to make use of all options for flexible working hours, shifts, splitting up teams and physical barriers in order to reduce contact between employees as much as possible. It is imperative that important business processes and sensitive research and university infrastructures are maintained.

Restrictions for meetings, committee meetings, job interviews and professorial appointment procedures remain in place. They should continue to be held as video conferences in order to keep attendance on campus to a minimum, avoid travel and enable staff working from home to participate. Business trips are only possible in justified cases of exception with approval from the University Board, initially until 30.01.2022.

Advisory services, further training and continued education should only take place digitally, initially until 30.01.2022.

Non-curricular or non-teaching events in attendance are prohibited, initially until 30.01.2022.

The public offers by the Sports Centre and the university's museums remain open as usual. The 2G rule applies here at the moment. However, changes to this as from next week are to be expected, based on the planned changes to the regulation on combating coronavirus (Corona-BekämpfVO) of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Detailed information on all the currently valid regulations for university operations can be found here on the CAU's corona website. If you have any questions about teaching, studies and examinations, please get in touch with coronaberatung-studium@uv.uni-kiel.de. Please direct all other corona-related questions to corona@uni-kiel.de.

We are all pleased that we managed the majority of this winter semester 2021/22 with face-to-face teaching, and that lessons, studies, contact and exchange on campus was possible after three semesters of almost solely online teaching. Unfortunately, the pandemic will not permit us to maintain this for the rest of this winter semester. We ask for your understanding and we are very grateful to you all for your care and consideration in another familiar yet new challenging phase of the pandemic.

Claudia Ricarda Meyer, Chancellor
Professor Markus Hundt, Vice-President