If students are unfit to organize their studies according to the regular course of study due to a disability or chronic illness (= illness that lasts longer than 6 months), they are legally allowed longer periods of study as an exception. A binding study agreement (vSV) might be needed.
Students who wish to enter into a binding study agreement due to a disability/chronic illness have to provide proof that their studies will be delayed as a result of the disability/chronic illness. Disabled students are obliged to submit a valid disability certificate and a medical certificate stating how the disability will affect their studies and how much more time they will have to spend on their studies compared to non-disabled students.
In the case of chronic illnesses, corresponding medical certificates have to be submitted, which are required to contain well-founded statements that the illness is chronic and exactly how much time the person concerned will lose due to the illness, i.e. how many ECTS may be completed; for comparison: for healthy students, it is assumed that they will normally complete 30 ECTS per semester. In cases of doubt, a statement from a medical expert appointed by the university or a health authority has to be submitted as well.
Please contact the student counselling service for advice. You are obliged to complete a table in which you enter the examinations you have already completed and those you have not completed as planned (progress: current status) and plan your further course of study (Which examination will I complete and when?). After counselling and consultation with Student Services, you will discuss the content of this plan with your Dean of Academic Affairs. Examination requirements may only be reduced if proof of disability-related delays in the course of studies is provided. You have to submit the application for the vSV in person to the member of the examination board responsible for you. You will be informed in writing following the decision of the Examination Board.
If your disability or chronic illness makes it impossible for you to take an examination in the time or manner stipulated in the study and examination regulations, a special arrangement can be made on the basis of a medical certificate that takes the disability or chronic illness into account. Students of the Business School or the School of Engineering are supposed to contact the respective chairperson of the school's examination board in this regard. Please make an appointment with the respective student counselling service beforehand. An application (see below under "Downloads") and a medical certificate should be brought to the counselling appointment. An application for special regulations must be submitted immediately after exam registration. From the start of the examination period, such applications will only be accepted in exceptional cases. As a rule, you will then be asked by the university to submit an additional medical certificate.
Please note that such special arrangements are only possible in the case of long-term illnesses (= longer than 6 months and therefore chronic). Acute illnesses shortly before the examination phase (e.g. an injury to the hand you write with) are not covered here, as it is possible that you will be able to make up the examination work one semester later under normal conditions. In the case of acute illnesses, it must be assumed that you are unable to take an examination, which you must prove in accordance with the rules of the stamp regulation.
