Dear students, dear staff,

With best wishes for the new year, we welcome you back. We hope you all had a relaxing break and have had a good start in the new year so far.

This e-mail is intended to inform you on how the rest of the 2020/2021 winter semester will proceed.

The most important regulations are as follows:

• Classes:
  Teaching will take place digitally for the rest of the semester.
  
  
• Examinations:
  Preparations will continue for in-person exams; instructors are requested to check whether it is possible to digitally carry out exams.
  
  
• Home Office:
  All employees are permitted to work from home where possible until further notice; there is, however, no ban on entering the university. University operations should be maintained.
  
  
• Reporting cases of infection:
  We ask that employees and students continue to report any cases of infection.

The Thuringian Cabinet's ruling can be found here:
https://www.landesregierung-thueringen.de/medien/medieninformationen/detailseite/01-2021 (in German)

Digital teaching until the end of the semester

Teaching will be carried out exclusively in digital format until 05 Feb 2021. We would like to thank all instructors for their commitment in making this possible as comprehensively and with the same high quality as before. Support from the eLab will continue to be available.

Preparations for in-person examinations continue; digital formats should be used

In light of the current uncertainty in both the legal requirements as well as the infection situation leading up to the examination period starting in early February, we are unfortunately unable to say whether in-person examinations will be able to take place. Nevertheless, preparations for in-person examinations are well underway and will continue. At the same time, we are urging instructors to check whether carrying out exams in digital formats is possible. Discussions regarding this topic are currently underway between the Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs and the Deans. We will continue to update you with relevant information over the course of this month. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Home office for all employees when possible

Working from home when possible continues for all Bauhaus-Universität Weimar employees until further notice. In cases where presence is necessary for carrying out work, the General Hygiene Plan must be adhered to. The respective supervisors are responsible for final decisions on this matter. We ask that all employees carry out their work to the best of their abilities and coordinate working times and - if there are no caretaking responsibilities - to document working times in writing.

Be sure to refer to the home office FAQs:

Contact tracing and reporting chains in cases of infection

If you have tested positive for the virus, please be sure to report it using the designated form on our website: Notification-form

Filling out this form will allow potential chains of infection to be traced. Your data will be handled confidentially by only a few authorized individuals and will subject to the strictest data protection requirements.

Employees should also report any infection cases to their superior, Human Resources and the Service Centre for Security Management. 

Be sure to keep yourself informed by checking your university e-mail and the coronavirus information page regularly: www.uni-weimar.de/en/coronavirus/.

The respective contact people in my office are happy to help with any questions or comments. Many thanks!

On behalf of the Board of Governance, I wish you once again happy and healthy 2021 and continued success in our collaboration, even under the current conditions.

On behalf of the entire Board of Governance.

Sincerely yours,
Winfried Speitkamp