Organising your Studies with a Family

Students who have children or care for relatives have many questions about how best to organise their studies. The University of Kassel has created some measures and structures to support students with child(ren) or students with relatives in this regard. You will find an overview of these measures below.

 

Students with children or family care responsibilities, as well as students with health impairments (disabilities), can often only attend seminars at very specific times. For students with limited time flexibility, some faculties offer the option of preferential enrolment to courses.

How does preferential enrolment work?

Students in participating faculties can apply for preferential enrolment in courses in their degree programme. This is valid only for one semester. If the application is approved, the students receive a place in the seminars they have chosen. The IT system automatically ensures that these students are enrolled.

The preferential enrolment procedure does not automatically entitle the student to take an examination in that course. The necessary prerequisites for participation in the module or for taking an examination are set out in the subject examination regulations and must be fulfilled. The prerequisite for enabling preferential enrolment is enrolment into courses via PRIOS.

An application can be made for the following reasons:

  • Chronic illness or disability according to § 2 Abs. 1 SGB IX (proven by medical certificate: linked on the homepages of the institutes, see below).
  • Caring for a child up to the age of 12 years (proven by a copy of the birth certificate)
  • Pregnancy with an estimated due date during the lecture period of the semester (evidenced by a doctor’s confirmation of pregnancy with details of the due date)
  • Care of a close relative (proven by a copy of a document according to §§ 44, 44a SGB XI)

Application for preferential enrolment

The application documents can be downloaded from the respective homepages of the faculties and institutes. The application must be submitted to the relevant office on schedule and complete with all documents:

If your faculty does not yet participate in the preferential enrolment procedure and you still need help with seminar enrolment due to the reasons described here, you are welcome to contact the Family Welcome Service (family/children) or the Service Centre Studies and Disability (chronic illness/disability). We will then try to find a suitable solution.

 

IMPORTANT: If you have changed your degree course or are on leave of absence and would like to be given priority, please contact the Family Welcome Service.

The examination regulations of the University of Kassel contain regulations that can be particularly helpful for students with children. If, due to maternity or parental leave, you are not able to take examinations in whole or in part in the intended form or within the specified deadlines, you will be allowed an extension or to take alternative exams in another form.

 

§11 section 5 and 6 of the General Stipulations for Subject Examination Regulations for Bachelor's and Master's Degrees at the University of Kassel (Allgemeine Bestimmungen für Fachprüfungsordnungen mit den Abschlüssen Bachelor und Master an der Universität Kassel, German language only) states that:

(5) If the candidate credibly demonstrates that, due to:

a) a chronic illness or handicap in the sense of § 2 Abs. 1 SGB IX,

b) illness of children requiring supervision and family members requiring personal care,

c) maternal or parental leave,

he/she is not able to wholly or even partially complete the examination in the required form or by the required deadline, the candidate will be permitted to complete the examinations within an extended period or in a different form.  Presentation of a physician’s attest can be demanded. The like applies in the case of a course project according to § 9.

(6) If practicums or comparable learning arrangements are required elements of a course of study, the subject area examination rules for students in unusual living situations (e.g. students with children, students falling under Para. 5) can provide alternative forms of satisfying the performance  requirements.

(7) Compensatory measures for disadvantages must be requested from the Examination Committee in writing. The application must be submitted when registering for the examination at the latest.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Studies and Teaching.


Further Information and Forms (German language only)

In certain cases, for example when caring for a child up to the age of 10 (proven by the child’s birth certificate), studying part-time (Teilzeitstudium, German website only) is possible in undergraduate and open-admission degree programmes.

Please note that part-time studies are NOT eligible for BAföG!

It is possible to take a leave of absence from your studies during pregnancy and until the child reaches the age of three.

You can submit the application with proof of the reason for the leave (Mutterpass [maternity passport], medical certificate, child’s birth certificate) to the Department of Studies and Teaching within the re-registration period. In exceptional cases (enclose medical certificate) also during the current semester.

The mother or father of the child can be granted leave of absence. If the father takes leave of absence, the mother’s certificate of study or a certificate from the mother’s employer must be submitted.

A new application for leave of absence must be submitted each semester with the relevant supporting documents.

Semesters spent on leave of absence do not count towards the total number of semesters studied, but the semester fee must be paid and you will not receive BAföG for semesters on leave of absence.

During the leave of absence, you may be entitled to income support (ALG II).

 

The reasons for taking a leave of absence, the application deadline, and important information can be found on this information page of the University of Kassel.

During a leave of absence no credits can be acquired or examinations taken. Exceptions are: Leave of absence for maternity leave, parental leave, caring for a relative.

§ 6 section 16 of General Stipulations for Subject Examination Regulations for Bachelor's and Master's Degrees at the University of Kassel (Allgemeine Bestimmungen für Fachprüfungsordnungen mit den Abschlüssen Bachelor und Master an der Universität Kassel, German language only) states:

(16) There must be rules in place for maintaining attendance lists in subject area examination rules and exceptions are only permitted in justifiable exceptional cases. Justifiable exceptional cases could include:

 - Seminars, practical projects or practica for which there are limited restrictions (e.g. laboratory places) or which are carried out in cooperation with external offices (e.g. schools),

 - Classes or modules in which student interaction places a special role,

 -  Module examinations for which there is no independent examination or course project beyond simple attendance according to the examination rules.

 

Further information on compulsory attendance can also be found under the following links on the information page Examinations – Information on Rights and Obligations (Prüfungen - Hinweise, Rechte und Pflichten, German website only )of the University of Kassel.

 

There is no fixed regulation at the University of Kassel as to how often students are allowed to be absent from a seminar (e.g. due to the illness of a child, but also for other reasons). This will always depend on the content of the course (e.g. “practical” research work in the laboratory, where attendance is necessary, vs. courses whose content can be learned without attendance by studying at home).

In individual cases, make sure to contact your lecturers/the examination board.