As announced before the summer break, we want to conduct as much teaching as possible on campus during the winter semester. That is why we asked students to be prepared to attend classes in Cologne again. Only in individual cases, such as lectures with large numbers of participants, can courses be recorded or streamed live and made available online on ILIAS in parallel to being held in the classroom. However, this double offer of a course is only possible in individual cases.

We will all continue to wear masks during face-to-face courses. Due to ventilation requirements, only a part of the available teaching space can be used. In addition, the maximum room capacity will not be fully utilized. Occupational and infection safety indicates that approximately 60 per cent of the seats can be used – sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the ventilation situation. If there is no permanent technical ventilation in rooms, the lecturers or examiners must ensure that windows are fully opened at regular intervals.

Only those who have been immunized or have tested negative for coronavirus may participate in face-to-face courses. ‘3G’ (vaccinated, recovered, or tested) will be checked at all face-to-face courses.
For more information, please see the Hygiene Protection Guideline Teaching and Examinations.

Both students and faculty/lecturers must prove that they have been fully immunized or have tested negative for the coronavirus in an official testing centre within 24 hours prior to the course in order to attend a course.

It will be checked in at the entrance of the classroom or at the entrance of the building. For courses which take place in rooms that have a seating capacity of up to a maximum of 50 people (not including the instructor) under corona conditions, instructors will check ‘3G’.

An overview of the various records can be found here (Ger.).

Students who have been fully vaccinated can obtain a tamper-proof sticker for their UniCard at various locations on campus at the start of lectures. This will speed up the entrance checks (see below).

For test certificates without QR code, the original must be presented. The copy of the proof (e.g. as a photo or scan) is not sufficient as proof. More information on tests at the UoC are available here.

3G will also be checked in libraries (see below).

From 20 September 2021 on, only those who have been fully vaccinated, recovered or tested may enter the USB. ‘3G’ is checked in the entrance area. In addition to your library card, please have a 3G certificate (vaccinated, recovered, tested) and photo ID ready in the entrance area, even if you only want to check out books. No 3G proof is required for returning books.

The ‘AHA’ rules (safety distance, hygiene, mask) still apply, including the compulsory wearing of a mouth-and-nose cover. This has increased the room capacity from 200 to 370 workstations. Contact tracing is no longer necessary. Information on the rules in the library is provided on the GGG & AHA rules page, space reservation & service info. Information on the conditions of the department and institute libraries can be found at:
https://www.ub.uni-koeln.de/lernen_arbeiten/bibliotheken/index_ger.html

The Rectorate resolutions on the general free shot regulation and double enrolment in Bachelor's and Master's programmes expire on 30 September 2021 and cannot be extended – there is no longer any legal basis authorizing these resolutions.

A set of regulations governing online examinations and video supervision is currently being voted on by the responsible committees and will be published in the University's Official Bulletins once they have been approved.

The coming semester will be hybrid, which means that there will be events both on campus and remotely. Some of them will follow each other directly. Workstations will be available in the University and City Library (https://uni.koeln/IQBI6) and in the department libraries for you to use for work during this time. The Faculties are currently developing concepts to increase the number of workstations available on campus.

We have also asked professors and lecturers to make teaching and learning materials for face-to-face courses available online as much as possible. Please note, however, that th dual offering of a course is only possible in individual cases. There is no entitlement to digital teaching/learning materials for face-to-face courses. Therefore, please try to schedule classes and events in such a way that you can participate in them by smartly planning your semester.

The Faculties have developed concepts for this. Which courses will be held on campus will be published for each course in KLIPS during September. Therefore, please note that the room information in KLIPS may still change. Rebooking will be completed by the end of the second enrolment phase.

Please get all the necessary information in KLIPS regarding these changes. Above all, please try to schedule classes and events in such a way that you can participate in them by smartly planning your semester.

Since November 13, 2021, at least one rapid antigen test per week (depending on the capacity of the respective test centre) is again free of charge in NRW.

Further information on testing at the UzK.

In order to speed up the necessary ‘3G checks’ (confirming that students are vaccinated, tested or recovered from COVID-19) before an attendance event, we offer fully vaccinated students the option of making their vaccination status easily visible by means of an easily recognizable, official ‘UoC vaccination sticker’ on their student ID. Proof of vaccination and a photo ID then need to be kept on hand for random checks. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 without vaccination and those who have been tested, as well as students who do not have or do not wish to use the UoC vaccination sticker, must have the appropriate proof checked along with a photo ID each time they access courses.

You can obtain the UoC vaccination stickers from 02.11.2021 to 30.11.2021 at the following locations:

• University library: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-0 a.m./ Sat+Sun 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
• 3G checkpoint, Lecture Hall Building: Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• 3G checkpoint, passage "WiSo-Schlauch": Mon-Thu 7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. / Fri 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Please note the following instructions for issuing the UoC vaccination sticker:

• You must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved in the EU.
• The EU COVID vaccination certificate in paper form or as an app, the original vaccination card or the original vaccination confirmation are valid as proof.
• You must present an official photo ID for identification purposes.
• There is no storage of data.
• The UoC vaccination sticker is affixed directly to the student ID card when it is issued. You must appear in person and present your student ID.
• If an issue point is currently very busy, please refrain from queuing. Crowds should be avoided indoors for infection control reasons.

Those recovered within the last 6 months without vaccination cannot receive a UoC vaccination sticker due to the limited validity of the recovered status.

• First of all, our hygiene measures – events taking place only in well-ventilated rooms with a maximum of 60 % room occupancy, mandatory masks and control of vaccination, recovery, or recent negative test (3G) – are designed in such a way that quarantine orders by the health authorities are very unlikely for other participants. Therefore, there is no immediate need for action should you learn of a case of infection at an attendance event. Should further steps be necessary, these will be determined exclusively by the health authorities.
• It is quite possible that the responsible health office will nevertheless contact lecturers and ask whether all measures were actually observed. At this point, the lecturers must provide information (were the masks actually worn? Did the 3G check take place?). If necessary, the health office will advise that the other students be informed. The faculty member or lecturer must then do so on the advice of the health office. This can be done via the contact details stored in KLIPS. Since we do not have to and are not allowed to keep attendance lists, we cannot provide any information about which people were actually present on the particular date in question.Please also note: Whether and how event participants are informed about a case of infection is determined exclusively by the health authorities.
• It is possible that the Public Health Office would like to see the UoC’s hygiene concept or the risk assessments. We are happy to assist with this. If the Health Office contacts you in this regard, please inform the Information Office (info-praeventionverw.uni-koeln.de).