In a special session held today (29^th April 2020), TU Dresden’s Senate concluded fundamental resolutions for the 2020 summer semester and university-wide regulations for study and examination procedures, which should curtail the impacts and legal uncertainties caused by the corona crisis. “Due to these far-reaching decisions, TU Dresden is one of the first universities in Germany to provide comprehensive answers to the pressing questions about studying and teaching during the corona pandemic, thus keeping its promise to avoid disadvantages for students, wherever possible”, said Prof. Hans Georg Krauthäuser, Vice-Rector for Academic and International Affairs, summarising the decision.

Among other things, it was decided that all the scheduled examinations of the current semester shall be conducted, but that alternative examination forms - such as oral examinations using video conferencing systems - should be possible. The students can decide for themselves whether they want to participate in examinations and whether they want to accept the achieved examination result. Furthermore, all students are free to choose not to have the current semester count towards their standard period of study.

Today’s Senate decision is a corollary to ensure that the current summer semester does not become a “lost semester” despite the corona crisis. Although TU Dresden entered its emergency operations mode on 21^st March 2020, it resumed teaching in digital form as of 6^th April 2020. From 4^th May 2020 onwards, the first lectures requiring students’ attendance will be held for courses that cannot be carried out digitally, or only with great difficulty, such as lab courses.  

The following guiding principles are imperative for all stipulations:

• Protecting students’ and lecturers’ health has the highest priority.
• The 2020 summer semester shall not be a “lost semester”.
• The highly dynamic implementation of digital teaching should provide the greatest possible advantages for teaching and learning at TU Dresden.

After the Senate meeting, Prof. Hans Georg Krauthäuser informed all students by email of the decisions taken and warned that further decisions may be necessary: “A large proportion of the questions regarding studying and teaching have now been answered - however, the situation is so dynamic that further questions will surely arise in the coming weeks or that general conditions will change. We will then, as we have done in the past, develop appropriate solutions in conjunction with all groups.”

The resolutions of the Senate from 29^th April 2020 can be accessed here: https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/gesundheitsmanagement/ressourcen/dateien/corona/tud-dokumente-intern/200429_Sondersenatssitzung_Pruefungsverfahren_Beschluss_ENG.pdf/at_download/file

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