New framework examination regulations: Changes for teaching, studies and examinations as of the winter semester 2023/2024
2023-07-24
Dear University Members,
Dear lecturers, dear students, dear colleagues,
after a preparation and discussion process of about one year, the Senate recently approved amendments to the framework examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programs at Leuphana College and for the Master's degree programs at Leuphana Graduate School. The amended framework examination regulations will come into force from the upcoming winter semester 2023/24 and concern
- the framework examination regulations for the Leuphana Bachelor at Leuphana College ( http://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Aktuell/files/Gazetten/Gazette_2023_50_2023-06-16.pdf ),
- the framework examination regulations for the Master's programs at Leuphana Graduate School ( http://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Aktuell/files/Gazetten/Gazette_2023_49_2023-06-16.pdf ),
- the framework examination regulations for the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs that provide the prerequisites for a teaching profession ( http://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Aktuell/files/Gazetten/Gazette_2023_48_2023-06-16.pdf ).
These changes, which were developed and adopted in a package, aim in particular to give lecturers more options and thus flexibility for the design of courses and examinations, to create new opportunities for teachers to develop the content of their teaching, and thus to increase the quality of students' studies at Leuphana. In this sense, the new framework examination regulations should contribute to offering and further developing high-quality and contemporary studies at Leuphana. The topics of commitment, presence and interaction as well as digital formats in studying, teaching and examinations were of particular importance in the development and discussion. The changes adopted are based on the understanding that the presence of and interaction with students is essential for teachers to be able to plan and offer didactic methods in courses in all their diversity and breadth with a high degree of certainty and thus increase the quality and attractiveness of courses.
Even though the framework examination regulations will already come into force from the coming winter semester, a number of concrete changes will only be applied gradually. We therefore inform you below about the most important changes that will only be applied gradually at three different points in time:
A) Changes as of the winter semester 2023/24, which do not require further implementation in the respective subject-specific annexes.
B) Changes as of winter semester 2024/25 (against the background of transitional provisions),
C) Changes as of winter semester 2023/24 or later , which require an amendment to the respective subject-specific annexes of the degree programs for implementation and application.
A) CHANGES AS OF WINTER SEMESTER 2023/24 THAT DO NOT REQUIRE FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SUBJECT-SPECIFIC ANNEXES
§ 3 MODULARIZATION, STUDY STRUCTURE AND SCOPE, STANDARD PERIOD OF STUDY
Previously, the acquisition of additional credit points (CP) was limited. This limitation will no longer apply in the future, so that additional credit points can be acquired and certified on the certificate. The prerequisite is always that places are available in the respective courses. The aim is to enable students to organize their studies even more individually and to develop their profile in terms of content.
§ 6 COURSES
Courses at Leuphana are generally held on-site in real-life encounters. As an exception to this, under certain conditions, courses can be held entirely or partially online or hybrid. The aim is to make it clear that courses at Leuphana should always be held in person, but that there should also be flexibility for other types of events for special reasons. The exact modalities and requirements for digital or hybrid (parts) of events will be regulated in a new version of the "Guideline for Planning Courses". The resolution and publication of the guideline will take place in the near future; information will be provided centrally. As long as the new version of the guideline has not been published, digitally or hybrid planned (parts of) courses must be coordinated in advance with the responsible Dean of Studies.
The previous regulations on successful participation no longer apply.
§ 7 COURSE WORK AND EXAMINATIONS
The submission of "written academic work without supervision" (previously: written academic work and portfolio examinations) will in future be exclusively electronic in order to facilitate the submission and archiving of work. (This also applies to Bachelor's and Master's theses, § 8 of the framework examination regulations). The form of submission will be announced when the course and examination offerings are made available.
Suitable plagiarism detection software can be used at Leuphana in the future without suspicion and without the consent of the students to be examined; care must be taken to ensure that the data is pseudonymized and deleted promptly by the examiners. The aim is to enable lecturers to better detect plagiarism and thus protect the quality of studies and student performance.
Examinations are generally held on campus. As an exception, examinations may be conducted wholly or partially online or hybrid under certain circumstances:
a) Written academic work under supervision (previously: written examinations) may be in the future also computer-based on site or under certain conditions also as remote work. The latter will be regulated in the new "Regulations for the Conduct of Online Examinations" (see below). Due to limited spatial, technical and personnel resources, there is no entitlement to computer-assisted on-site performance. After recording the requirements in myStudy, Student Services informs which examinations can be implemented computer-aided.
b) Oral examinations can also be conducted In the future online via centrally provided video conferencing software as an exception.
The Senate has decided on 17.05.2023 a supplementary regulation for the implementation of online examinations. The aim is to increase the flexibility in terms of content and organization for the conduct of examinations. You can find the supplementary regulations here: www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Aktuell/files/Gazetten/Gazette_2023_64_2023-07-07.pdf
§ 10 UNIVERSITY INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Due to data protection requirements, students are obliged to use the university information systems and the university e-mail address provided by the university for their exam-related communication. Even if the university's goal is to completely switch to digital communication channels, the university will continue to issue written notices of rejection for examinations in accordance with a suggestion made by the student.
§ 13 REPETITION OF EXAMINATIONS
Students in bachelor's degree programs in college (incl. bachelor's degree with teaching option) will in the future receive an additional one-time attempt to retake a failed examination, with the exception of the bachelor's thesis, upon written request. The aim of this is to counter the examination anxiety of some students when attempting a third time.
§ 16 WITHDRAWAL
The deadline for withdrawing from examinations without stating a reason is now only three days instead of the previous five. The aim is to increase the flexibility of students and to make it possible to withdraw even at short notice if they do not feel able to take the examination at short notice.
B) CHANGES THAT WILL NOT APPLY UNTIL THE WINTER SEMESTER 2024/25 DUE TO TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS (UNTIL THEN, THE CURRENT VERSION OF § 11 WILL APPLY; SHOWN IN THE NEW GAZETTES UNDER 25 § TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS)
§ 11 DATES AND DEADLINES
Starting with the winter semester 2024/25, the deadline for registering for courses ends at the beginning of the lecture period. The aim is for lecturers and students to have clarity about the group of participants in a course as early as possible in order to be able to establish a reliable teaching and learning community.
Starting in the winter semester 2024/25, there will be two weeks after the start of the lecture period to register for exams. Specifically, a uniform deadline of 15 days after the start of the lecture period will apply in order to make the best possible use of the effective learning time of the full 14 weeks of the semester. Again, subject to the possibility of withdrawing from exams, the goal is to achieve reliability as early as possible about the group of students potentially to be examined.
Students who have not initially been given an official place in a course will be able to officially move up into a course two weeks after the start of the courses from the winter semester 2024/25 onwards, provided that registered students cancel their registration in the first two weeks of lectures without giving a reason or give up their place by not appearing in the course in the first two weeks of lectures without notifying the lecturers in advance. The aim is to give students on waiting lists a place in the course and to be able to reliably know the final participants in a course after two weeks of lectures at the latest, in order to enable lecturers and students to prepare and conduct the course and the examination as well as possible.
From the winter semester 2024/25 onwards, the possible period for examinations will be extended to the end of each semester, i.e. to the end of March/September (previously March 15/September 15). The instructors themselves determine the specific submission dates for examinations within this period. The time periods for the completion of written scientific work under supervision (previously: examinations) will be discussed by the Presidential Board with the deaneries and student representatives in good time and then determined with the deans. We will inform about this separately. The aim of this change is to offer students the longest possible examination periods and to reduce the burden of examinations by distributing them as widely as possible.
As is common practice at most universities in Germany and around the world, the current second examination date will become a pure repeat date from the winter semester 2024/25. In the future, only those students who have not passed the first date or have withdrawn for valid reasons, i.e. have not deregistered themselves as described under § 16 Withdrawal, will be able to take part in this date. The background to this is that up to now there has been significantly more learning and/or processing time available for the second deadline than for the first deadline. This calls into question the equality of opportunity among students in the performance of examinations and the equivalence of examination performance due to the different lengths of preparation time. Therefore, the goal is to ensure equal opportunity for students to take examinations as well as equivalency of examination performance.
C) CHANGES FOR THE WINTER SEMESTER 2023/24 THAT REQUIRE AN AMENDMENT TO THE RESPECTIVE SUBJECT-SPECIFIC ANNEXES OF THE STUDY PROGRAMS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND APPLICATION
§ 3 MODULARIZATION, STUDY STRUCTURE AND SCOPE, STANDARD PERIOD OF STUDY
Following a decision by the relevant faculty councils and, where applicable, prior discussion and consideration in the relevant study commissions, subject-specific annexes may in future stipulate the passing of a respective preceding module as a prerequisite for admission to the examination in the respective subsequent module, insofar as modules can be structured in sequence in terms of content and thus in greater depth. The content-related linking, however, always concerns only two modules and altogether only a maximum number of modules, which is determined in the respective framework examination regulations. The aim is to be able to ensure participation of students who have acquired the respective direct professional prerequisites in modules that build directly on one another in terms of content.
§ 6 COURSES
Following a decision by the relevant faculty councils and, where applicable, prior discussion and consideration in the relevant study commissions, subject-specific annexes may in future stipulate regular attendance at courses as an admission requirement for module examinations. However, this only applies if it is necessary for the achievement of the qualification objective, in particular for the acquisition of practical skills or for the practice of a joint interactive scientific discourse.
In the modules with regular attendance, a maximum of 20% absences are possible without giving reasons. If absences exceed this, the qualification goal can no longer be achieved and admission to the examination performance is no longer given. Students may, however, apply for an individually designed exemption with appropriate evidence if they are unable to attend attendance events more frequently than permitted at the time of the course due to restrictions according to § 15 para. 1 sentence 1, due to care and nursing duties according to § 15 para. 2 or due to the exercise of an honorary elective office or mandate at Leuphana University Lüneburg. The application must be addressed to the responsible examination board and will be decided there. The aim of these changes is to achieve reliable participation of students in those modules in which this is absolutely necessary for the achievement of the qualification goal, and in particular also to create reliable possibilities for the lecturers for the didactic design of the teaching, which is usually very complex in these modules.
§ 7 STUDY AND EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
In the framework examination regulations for the Master's programs of the Graduate School, the possibility for the definition of study achievements will be introduced in the future, analogously to the framework examination regulations for the College and for the teacher training programs. In all three framework examination regulations it is newly regulated that subject-specific appendices can in future define study achievements as an admission requirement for examination performance. The respective type and scope of any course work that is a prerequisite for admission to the examination in the respective module must be defined in the subject-specific appendices for each module. Modules in which a semester-accompanying examination performance has been defined, which is already performed from the beginning of the semester (e.g. combined scientific work according to § 7 para. 6), may not provide for a study performance as an admission requirement for the examination performance. The decision on the admission to the examination must be announced in the university information system at least four weeks before the beginning of the examination according to § 12 RPO.
D) NEXT STEPS
The framework examination regulations define a cross-faculty framework for the concrete design of modules and examinations in the individual study programs. In the coming period, faculty, departments, lecturers, and students can draw from the range of design options provided by the Framework Examination Regulations for study program planning in constructive joint consultation to further develop the study programs. Possible questions for discussion may include how to plan, implement, and improve individual modules and courses with an eye toward the best possible future opportunities for students, a challenging course of study, and the closest possible connection to current faculty research topics and activities.
As a place for this course-specific discussion, the so-called quality circles have been set up in particular with the participation of teaching staff and students in order to prepare decisions for the revision of the subject-specific annexes of study commissions and faculty councils. The freedom of the lecturers in the design of their teaching, which is granted by the Basic Law, naturally remains unrestricted. The newly adopted framework examination regulations thus preserve subject-specific freedoms and the trust and confidence in the downstream decisions of those responsible in study programs, subjects and faculties, especially with regard to their subject-specific expertise and extensive institutional experience in planning and organizing studies.
We know that the discussion process surrounding the framework examination regulations was not easy, neither in terms of content nor emotion. This is all the more true since the framework examination regulations also had to take conflicting value decisions on the prerequisites for quality studies. The Presidential Board would therefore like to thank all those involved for the very extensive, thorough and generally understanding debates on this complex amendment process in numerous discussion groups and preparatory meetings, in the Central Study Commissions and two long Senate meetings.
We would especially like to thank the deans of studies, the student representatives and the colleagues from the administrative departments involved for their commitment, with which you have worked out arguments, counter-arguments as well as technical, organizational and legal challenges and solutions. We are sure that the great joint efforts and discussions, which are reflected in the result now decided by the Senate, have been and will be worthwhile in terms of appealing, valuable and successful study programs at Leuphana.
With kind regards
Sascha Spoun
President
Christian Brei
Executive Vice President
Jelena Bäumler
Vice President College
Simone Abels
Vice President Graduate School
Jörg Terhechte
Vice President Professional School
Erich Hörl
Vice President Research