Covid developments and next steps for studying at the PLUS from January: a message from the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Martin Weichbold, and the chairing team of the Students’ Union, Laura Reppmann, Lara Simonitsch and Manuel Gruber.

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Dear students,

After an intensive first part of the winter semester, including a switch to online teaching, we are all looking forward to a break over Christmas and the turn of the year. At the same time, we are thinking about what will happen with courses and exams in January.

The fourth wave has dropped significantly again, not least thanks to the lockdown measures, so that a return to teaching in person with safety measures, as we had in the first half of the semester, is currently looking possible. However, the forecasts and situations in other countries give reason to worry about a sharp increase in the number of infections as early as January due to the Omicron variant.

Considering this, the following rules shall apply from January onwards:

• Courses can either be continued online or, subject to strict adherence to all hygiene measures, can once again be held in attendance.
• Course leaders are required to inform students of the course format as soon as possible (before the end of the year).
• Students who cannot or do not want to participate in courses held in person (if they are in quarantine, for example) must be given the opportunity to either join the course online (hybrid mode) or to complete alternative coursework instead. Students should also be made aware of this information as soon as possible.
• There are no changes for courses that have been held in attendance under 2G conditions over the past few weeks.
• Exams can be held both in person and online, the specific format must be announced in PLUSonline well in advance (before the exam registration period at the latest).

Should you have any problems or questions, please contact your course leader, student representative or the Students’ Union (ÖH) team via e-mail: .

When visiting university buildings, whether for a course, for an examination or for any other purpose, the following applies:

• Entering university buildings is only permitted for those who have been vaccinated, recovered or PCR tested (“5G“); monitored lateral flow (antigen) tests are no longer accepted.
• Please observe the maximum occupancy rates for the individual classrooms and maintain a safe distance from your neighbouring classmates.
• FFP2 masks are compulsory at all times whilst visiting the university, i.e. also during lectures. Only the lecturers are exempt (with sufficient distance to participants).

Students may still use workstations, e.g. in the libraries. Please check the University Library website for more information on opening hours at the library locations. Participation in USI’s sports courses is now only possible with a valid 2-G certificate. Current information can be found on the  USI homepage.

The regulations will apply from January 2022 until the end of the winter semester, i.e. 28 February 2022, but please bear in mind that, depending on how the pandemic situation develops, the measures may change earlier. Should this be the case, we will inform you as soon as possible to give you the best chance to plan during this challenging time. However, be prepared to switch back to online-only mode if necessary.

For the summer semester, we hope to be able to teach in person and are making our plans accordingly; however, there is still a great deal of uncertainty, especially because of the Omicron variant. In the event that attendance will only be possible for those who have been vaccinated, we would like to appeal to you once again to get your first, second or third vaccination as soon as possible. Even if vaccination cannot provide complete safety, the third jab is clearly the most effective way to protect yourself and everyone around you (especially those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons!), even with the Omicron variant, according to current knowledge. Vaccination is therefore your responsibility and your contribution to enabling attendance and, above all, overcoming the pandemic!

So let us hope that we can continue to get through these difficult times successfully together and with mutual consideration. but if you feel you need support, you should not hesitate to make use of offers of help, such as the  therapy services for students for students. Contact details for other institutions and a summary of current measures can be found on the  Corona information pages in the intranet.

We hope that you will be able to recuperate over the coming holidays and the turn of the year –Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year, especially good health and success in your studies.

Martin Weichbold, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs on behalf of the entire Rectorate

Laura Reppmann, Lara Simonitsch and Manuel Gruber, ÖH Chair Team