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Program Specific Information on Covid-19 for Inbound Students / Staff / Researchers
We have put together Q&As regarding information on entry restrictions, testing and quarantine regulations in Germany as well as staying on campus during the current pandemic.
We try to keep this page as up-do-date as possible. However, please keep in mind that regulations can change on very short notice.
I am in Marburg and tested positive - what do I do? Checklist.
Return to your accommodation for self-isolation.
If you live in a Studentenwerk dormitory: Call the housing department, 0049-6421- 296-140 or 0049-163-7666240.
Send an email to wohnen@studentenwerk-marburg.de and inform them about your positive test. They will get in touch with further instructions.
You need to confirm the rapid test by a PCR test immediately. You are allowed to leave your accommodation for that purpose. The PCR test can be done at most test centres, for example at the Corona-Testcenter Afföllerstraße / Messeplatz . Overview of test centers.
Inform everyone you have been in contact with.
Contact your teachers/lecturers and inform them, also in regards to possible infections in class.
Think of whom you could ask to do grocery shopping for you.
A possible positive PCR test will be transferred to our health authorities, who will then contact you with further instructions.
Corona rules in Hessen
Self-isolation
Travel and Entry
Do you expect students will need a visa and can reasonably get one to participate on your program(s)?
Are there restrictions on who can enter your country? If so, do students receive an exception for entry?
Will the program require students to be vaccinated before the start date?
Has Germany created an expiration or validity date for the COVID-19 vaccine?
Please check appropriate sources regarding international travel, vaccination, and quarantine regulations at your country of arrival regularly.
While in Germany
Will students be permitted to travel independently within the host country (outside the host city) or outside the host country in their personal time?
As long as local regulations still permit to do so, students will be allowed to travel outside Marburg and throughout Germany. Traveling outside the country is currently limited and is only possible in compliance with current travel restriction regulations. We strongly advise students to check for updates information regarding international travel:
Traveling within Germany and abroad: https://www.zusammengegencorona.de/en/current-information-for-travellers/
What program sponsored excursions and co-curricular activities will be offered to students?
UMR currently is able to provide guided tours within the Special Programs.
If taking part in one of our International Special Programs: If at all, travel will take place by bus and/or train, subject to all pandemic-related measures that the companies running these busses or trains have put in place. Lodging at the excursion locations will also be adjusted in accordance with pandemic-related requirements. The program and its participants will be required to observe whatever regulations are in place at these various sites.
Housing / Accommodation
If quarantine is required upon arrival, will quarantine housing be offered and arranged for the student by your university/organization? Will this housing cost be extra for students?
It is neither possible to complete pre-arrival quarantine in student dormitories nor in hotels or hostels in Marburg. UMR advises students to complete their quarantine in another city (e.g. Frankfurt upon arrival) or in rental apartments in Marburg. UMR staff will provide students with a list of rentals that enable quarantine.
Please describe your housing plan as it relates to COVID-19 restrictions including risk mitigation strategies to contain the spread within the student cohort and host families (if applicable), and availability of single-occupancy accommodations if requested.
The dorm department (Studentenwerk) does not provide pre-arrival quarantine possibilities for international students. All dorm rooms are single-occupancy. Once students have moved into their dorm after quarantining, individual regulations will be provided by the dorm administration and can be discussed with the house keeper (Hauswirtschafterin).
https://studentenwerk-marburg.de/en/living/faq-living-corona/
https://studentenwerk-marburg.de/en/living/how-to-contact-us/
Please describe any changes to student housing that you have implemented (e.g., single rooms only, restrictions on bathrooms, restrictions on visitors, etc.).
No changes.
Please indicate which types of student accommodation your organization will be using (we understand that not all housing options may be available at all sites):
Dormitories/Student Residences yes Hotels no Homestay no Apartments yes, but booking and payment has to be arranged individually. Will all students have the option of selecting private accommodation?
No.
International Student Orientation and Support Services
Describe how students will be informed of local/host country requirements and program requirements pertaining to COVID-19 risk mitigation before and during the program, should they change.
Before the program, students will be informed via email. If there are any important changes during the program, students will be updated via email as well. We also encourage students to regularly check a number of reliable websites, which we will refer them to.
What measures will you take to support students who may have self-disclosed they are in a higher-risk category for COVID-19?
Do you require parent or guardian informed consent as a requirement of student program participation (e.g. possibility of being unable to fly over in the event of a medical emergency, etc.)?
No.
Studying / Teaching
In terms of academic continuity, what plans are in place should in-person teaching not be possible?
Please describe remote/alternative learning plans available in the event that the students need to leave the program site or are not able to attend class due to COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure.
The winter semester 2022/23 is a full attendance semester. Therefore, we are planning for the summer semester with the normal event allocation (i.e. that of before Corona) and the return of all courses to physical attendance. It will be on this basis that the old attendance rules will apply again in the winter. This means for lecturers that teaching offers must be made in presence, and for students that the attendance rules of their respective examination regulations will apply.
What is the expected format for classes for the respective semester?
If students were to be required to return to their home countries, would they be able to complete their classes for the semester remotely?
This depends on the individual class and cannot be guaranteed beforehand. We will provide support in the arrangement of a remote completion of class.
Student Code of Conduct
Describe any expectations, compacts, or special agreements you have implemented as part of the student code of contact.
As of 29.01.2021, all persons at the university are required to wear certified medical mouth-nose masks (surgical masks, alternatively also FFP2, KN95 or N95 masks). During in-person courses the following principles are adhered to: seating arrangement, room ventilation, breaks during the event.
Failure to comply with the regulations and the binding implementation rules and information of the Philipps-Universität can result in consequences under service or labor law or study law.
General Information
Information for Students
Information on the CoronavirusWhat plan is in place to assure compliance with health guidelines such as physical distancing, masking, contact tracing, etc. for both classrooms and non-classroom activities? Please include any training provided to local staff and faculty.
Failure to comply with the regulations and the binding implementation rules and information of the Philipps-Universität can result in consequences under service or labor law or study law.
On the Corona web pages of the Philipps-Universität the binding implementation regulations for the organization of work and studies are compiled. There you will also find implementation regulations as well as information on relevant state regulations and on specific regulations for offers and events of the institutions and departments. (General Decree)
UMR Infection Protocol
For situations involving the pandemic, the primary referral will be to the local public health offices ("Gesundheitsämter"), which serve as central coordinating service points.
Please describe the protocols in place to support a student if they were to get sick or come in contact with a positive case? This should include access to testing, quarantine support, medical support, and academic continuity plan
Students are asked to follow the instructions of the health authorities. For questions regarding study and examination planning that are affected by the quarantine, the respective lecturers and the examination boards of the subjects must be contacted. Students who are unable to attend courses requiring attendance during the quarantine period must obtain written confirmation of the quarantine order from the Public Health Office in order to be able to submit any requests for hardship cases to the relevant examination board. (General Decree)
Describe existing protocols and support for the following considerations:
Tests or daily symptom monitoring as a requirement for program participation Tests can be taken at testing centers in Marburg. Describe how your organization interacts with local public health entities on the following:
- Requirements to report positive COVID-19 cases to local public health entities in the event that there are confirmed cases among student participants, staff, instructors, or someone with whom students have been in close contact.
- Students are kindly requested to inform the course directors of the classroom courses. In case of notification of Covid-19 disease or quarantine arrangement, the course director will forward the information (name of the class, date of participation, building and room), the department, the name and the matriculation number of the person suffering from Covid-19 by e-mail to corona@uni-marburg.de. Students also need to contact the Marburg health authority ("Gesundheitsamt"). Students should follow the instructions of the public health department or their doctors.
- Authority to quarantine an entire housing complex or temporarily close a school if there is a serious outbreak (as we note is possible in some countries).
- Marburg health authority ("Gesundheitsamt")
- Requirements to report positive COVID-19 cases to local public health entities in the event that there are confirmed cases among student participants, staff, instructors, or someone with whom students have been in close contact.
What is protocol for students who must isolate/quarantine due to exposure or testing positive?
- Where will students stay?
- How will they have access to meals?
- What costs are associated with isolation/quarantine?
- Will this continue to be available beyond the program end date if a student is contact traced or tests positive at the end of the program?
https://studentenwerk-marburg.de/en/living/how-to-contact-us/
FAQs
Please describe the transportation plan that is in place to make sure students can safely get to class and other mandatory program activities.
Public transport in Marburg can be used to safely get to class and other mandatory program activities. Students must adhere to the local regulations regarding masks and distancing on public transport.
Are there local privacy laws that would prevent you from sharing information on confirmed COVID-19 cases? If not, is there a communication plan to inform of confirmed cases for the following: the member institution, students on-site who were and were not exposed, and student’s emergency contact?
According to the EU General Data Protection Regulation personal data will not be passed on to the parties mentioned.
What is your organization’s protocol for addressing parent/guardian concerns regarding quarantine, isolation or hospitalization, etc.?
The EU General Data Protection Regulation does not allow information to be passed on without consent of the person involved.
What is the refund policy that students will have to sign to participate in your program? This could be text from an agreement or a link to the refund policy on the website.
There is no tuition fee at German universities and thus no reimbursement.
In our International Special Program “IUSP”, where there is a program fee, the policy can be found here.
Links to state as well as federal information:
- Auswärtiges Amt: Information on entry restrictions, testing and quarantine regulations in Germany
- Zusammen gegen Corona (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit): Information regarding COVID-19 in Germany
- Bundesgesundheitsministerium: Current information for travellers
- Robert-Koch-Institut
- Hessische Landesregierung: Current corona rules and additional information (in German)
- Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration: What do you currently need to know about corona (Englisch)
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): visas
- In German only: Hessisches Ministerium für Soziales und Integration