Failure to Attend and Withdrawal from Examinations

Anyone who registers for an examination will be expected to sit for it.

  • Unexcused absence,
  • late submission of assignments without valid excuse,
  • withdrawal from an examination just before or after it starts without a valid excuse,

will be considered to be examination attempts and the relevant candidate will be failed (grade: "insufficient, 5.0") (Art 20 para. 1 Bachelor's Degree Examination Regulations (BAPO), Art 19 para. 1 Bachelor's Degree Examination Regulations for Teacher Training (POLBA), Art. 24 para. 1 Magister Degree Examination Regulations (MagPO)).

Illness
  • If you are unable to sit for an examination or submit assignments by deadline due to illness, you will need to submit a medical certificate to the examination administration (in this case, the Student Counseling Office of the respective department). According to instructions from the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, and Cultural Affairs (MBWJK) dated December 22, 2009, the registrar's offices are required to proceed as follows: On reporting sick for the first time, it is sufficient if the student provides a certificate which certifies their inability to sit for the examination in a doctor's opinion. On reporting sick for the second time, students must either produce a certificate issued by a medical authority or provide a detailed certificate issued by the treating physician. Detailed medical certificates must, among other things, list the effects of the illness (describe the symptoms) and explain why these effects have a negative effect on the capacity of the examination candidate. C.f. OVG Lüneburg, verdict dated September 15, 1998 - 10 L 3178/96, KMK-HSchrR/NF 21 C.1 No. 30; VG Minden, GB dated January 25, 2000 - 2 K 3874/99, NWVGl. 2000, 232 and VG Saarlouis, verdict dated May 21, 2001 - 1 K 7/99 - (n.v.).
    Important: A certificate of incapacity for work will not be accepted!
    You will need a special Medical Certificate >(Downloadbox !)
  • The candidate must notify the Registrar's Office of their withdrawal from an examination as soon as possible; under normal circumstances, this must be prior to commencing the examination or before the deadline for the assignment to be submitted.
  • As a rule, a medical certificate must be submitted within 3 days.
  • Certificates issued by a hospital or a licensed psychologist or psychological psychotherapist will be considered to be equivalent to a certificate issued by a medical authority and are generally accepted.
Handicapped students
  • Students registered as handicapped can be granted concessions in the form of an extension of the examination period, extension of a deadline for submission of assignment, etc.
  • This should be arranged with the examination administration (in this case, the Student Advising Office for your department) before the examination.
Students with dyslexia

If you are a registered dyslexic (severe dyslexia) you may also apply for examination concessions.

Accepted grounds for exemption:
  1. Medical certificate confirming serious illness, obvious illness (hospitalization/accident) on the day of the examination or due day for submitting assignment.
  2. Sudden misfortune, such as the death of a close relative at a time close to the examination or deadline; falling victim to a crime. The event of death must have occurred within one week of the deadline. Close relatives are spouses, siblings, children (adoptive and foster children), parents, in-laws, grandparents, and grandchildren.
  3. Unexpected and serious personal problems,
  • Loss of accommodation,
  • Illness of child, wife, or husband, assuming there is no other person able to care for them (proof is required); parents requiring long-term care
Illnesses/conditions not accepted as grounds for exemption
  • Long-term conditions, unless you suffer acute episodes that are unpredictable in severity and extent of impairment (e.g., malaria, MS, arthritis, psychiatric disorders).
  • Examination nerves/examination psychosis (serious nervous problems in the face of examinations). This will not be accepted as a suitable reason for exemption unless you can provide a certificate issued by a psychologist or psychological psychotherapist; the certificate should show that your examination nerves are a symptom of another mental or psychiatric disorder.
Other reasons not accepted as grounds for exemption

1. Problems obtaining materials (for submitting a Bachelor's or Magister thesis)

In exceptional circumstances in which an appropriate exemption is requested by the first reviewer, the head of the examination board shall decide whether to grant exemption in the individual case.

2. Technical problems

Computer virus, loss of data, broken printer are not grounds for exemption as it will be assumed that systems are appropriately protected and backups are prepared; students also have the option of working at the Center for Data Processing (ZDV).

3. Pregnancy

assuming there are no complications. Acute problems shall rank as an illness.