Information about corona/COVID-19 regarding teaching and examination

In the following, we have compiled all information concerning the current COVID-19 situation so that information relevant to the lecturers at the Department of Politics and Society and the Department of Sociology and Social Work can be found here with links to websites with important information.

NB! Please note that it is required that all staff and students present indoors at the university can show a negative coronatest no more than 72 hours old from the time of testing.

AAU Corona website

AAU’s overall information site for employees on COVID-19 (in Danish and English): https://www.aau.dk/coronavirus/medarbejdere-employees/

The lecturer’s responsibilities

The lecturer’s responsibilities are:

• To ensure safe distances in the teaching area according to authority recommendations.
   
• To ensure a reasonable amount of time to get in and out of classrooms (seminar rooms and auditoriums).
   
• To ensure enough time for designated students to disinfect tables between lectures.
   
• The lecturer must designate students to disinfect the tables. On each row, the student to the left (seen from the lecturer’s perspective) has the assignment. Campus Service (CAS) will place containers with disinfective wipes in the classroom.
   
• To remind students of using the hand sanitizer dispensers outside the classrooms.
   
• To be familiarized with ”Coronasmitte: Undervisernes huskeliste”/”Corona infection: lecturers to-do-list" (Appendix 1 – in Danish and English).
   
• On the first day, coordinators designate students to be instructed in the use of the IT-equipment for combined teaching with 50 % of the class being physically present and the other 50% joining digitally via streaming.

Information on handling COVID-19 related matters by semester start and during the autumn semester 2020 

Educational Law at the Study Service department at AAU has produced a guideline containing:

• Precautionary measures for students who are infected with or show symptoms of COVID-19.
   
• Guidelines to the departments on handling students, who are prevented from attending classes and exams due to circumstances directly related to COVID-19.

Please see Vejledning om håndtering af studerende, der er forhindret i at deltage i undervisning og eksamen på grund af forhold, der er direkte relateret til COVID-19 [Guidance on dealing with students who are prevented from attending classes and exams due to matters directly related to COVID-19] by Study Service. Please note that the document is available in Danish only.

Teaching

Teaching takes place in various ways depending on the program and semester, and the following models are in use:

• Dividing students into clusters (see below).
   
• 50 % of students online and 50 % of students psychically present (combined teaching).
   
• Streaming between rooms. 
   
• Online teaching/exercises.

Teaching 50/50

Streaming in ”our own” seminar rooms: the departments have purchased IT-equipment in terms of fixed camera bars. They will be installed in the seminar rooms as soon as possible.

For streaming, the IT-equipment “Polycom Studio” is used. IT Support are currently working on a manual.

During the first lecture a student assistant is able to come and instruct the students in using the IT-equipment, so that the designated students can support the lecturer in streaming the lecture.
The student assistant will contact the coordinators on the relevant semesters.

”Teaching in clusters” (Note: only relevant to some programs and semesters)

The latest corona guidelines from UFM allows for universities to deviate from the distance requirement of one meter in order for more teaching to be conducted with physical attendance. Clusters are formed in some programs and semesters, where the study board has found it to be relevant.

Teaching takes place in clusters of approx. 30 students. It is required, that students keep to their own cluster, that a student is part of only one cluster, and that the distance requirement of one meter is maintained between the different clusters as well as between clusters and the lecturer. Note that the distance requirement of 2 meters to a lecturer must be maintained, as you lecturers will meet more clusters of students.

The clusters only apply in the classrooms. In the canteen and other open areas, the distance requirement of one meter applies.

Project groups must be formed within the clusters.

CAS makes preparations for the clusters by dividing classrooms into zones. The zones will be marked on the tables with stickers. CAS has bought armbands in a variety of colors that can be used for identification purposes among new students. These can be requested with Mary Christensen, CAS, mch@adm.aau.dk.

NOTE: Students in programs that do not use clusters must spread out in the classrooms so that only every other chair is used.

Appendix 1

"Corona infection: lecturers"-to-do-list will also be available in all classrooms.

In order to maintain the highest standards of quality in your upcoming exams and to provide the best possible setting for you and your fellow students to demonstrate your knowledge, skills and competences, the Department of Politics and Society and the Department of Sociology and Social Work have prepared this student guide to online exams.

We encourage you to familiarize yourselves with these guidelines well in advance of your exams. It is relevant and beneficial to share expectations and experiences with your fellow students, supervisors and teachers, allowing us to ensure inspiring and fruitful examinations for all of you.

The overall rules and regulations for conducting examinations at AAU and special COVID-19 information regarding exams can be found here: https://www.studyservice.aau.dk/secretariat/ and https://www.studieservice.aau.dk/eksamen/.

The digital exams will be held in MS Teams or another appropriate program. This guideline is developed with the intention that MS Teams will be the platform used during the exam.

The following apply to all written and oral exams
 

• Make sure that you hand in the requested Solemn Declaration. This is done by ticking the box called ‘Solemn Declaration’ in DE (the Digital Exam system) when you submit your assignment. If you fail to tick the box in DE, you will not be able to take your exam – see solemn declaration here. 
   
• This applies to all oral exams and written on-site exams conducted in the spring semester 2020. 
  If this changes, you will be notified directly by the study secretary. 
   
• For group exams, the Solemn Declaration is to be confirmed when submitting the assignment on behalf of the group. Only the student who submits the assignment for the group will see the declaration. When accepting the invitation from DE to submit the assignment, you also accept the Solemn Declaration on behalf of all students in the group.
   
• Make sure that you have submitted your phone number in DE (in case of technical issues during your exam). For group exams be sure to write in the phone numbers of ALL group members in the field called ‘Set of exam questions’ the following way: 12345678 (name), 12345678 (name) etc. 
   
• If you have questions regarding your exam, you must contact your teacher or study secretary well in advance of your exam to give them a reasonable amount of time to answer your questions. 

• Make sure that the allowed aids are within reach. It is your responsibility to have a computer with a functioning webcam and internet connection.

Specifically for oral exams

Prior to the exam

• You will be invited to your exam in an Outlook calendar invitation to a meeting in Microsoft Teams. Remember to accept the meeting from your AAU-email account. Please be aware that the invitation disappears from your inbox and reappears in your calendar once you accept it. You can download the software to your electronic devices here. 
   
• Test your equipment in due time by joining the meeting – preferably two days ahead of the exam. Make sure that audio, camera, screen-sharing features and internet connection work properly on both PC/Mac and mobile phone so you can switch platforms if one of your devices has a system failure during your exam. For assistance, contact IT Support AAU.  
   
• On the day of the exam, please be ready in Microsoft Teams ahead of time (approx. 15 min prior to your exam). Wait for the examiner to call you up via Microsoft Teams. (As an alternative, you can arrange with the examinator to access the Teams-meeting via the Outlook calender link).  
   
• If you intend to give a presentation using slides or a hand-out during your exam, you are advised to send the material for the presentation to the assessors no later than 24 hours prior to the exam - via the “Reply all” function in the meeting invitation in your Outlook calendar (to minimize the risk of technical problems during the exam).  
   
• The screen-sharing features in MS Teams can be used to show the presentation during the exam. 
   
• Be sure to inform assessors if any special considerations should be made during the exam and ask the assessors how they envision the course of the exam. This can be done in the last supervision meeting. 
   
• Make sure you still have your AAU Student card well in advance of your exams. If you cannot find it, please contact Facility Support at Fibigerstræde 4.
   
• For group exams, you should decide within the group how to support each other in contributing to the presentation, to answering questions and in discussions. Make agreements about this with the assessors. When you wish to speak or answer a question, you indicate this in the chat function. 
   
• For group exams, you need to decide how you wish to receive your assessment/marks – in a group or individually. This must be agreed on with the assessors.

According to The Rules for Conducting Exams in the Spring Semester 2021 students may be allowed to sit in the same room during digital oral examinations.   

 NB - Department for Politics and Society:For group exams the students should sit alone in each their room.

During the exam

• To join the exam in Microsoft Teams: open the Microsoft Teams-app on your computer and await the online call from one of the assessors. (Alternatively, it can be arranged with the examinator that you access the Teams-meeting by clicking on the link in the Outlook invitation).
   
• Have your AAU Student card within reach and show it on request. 
   
• The webcam/video has to be used throughout the exam. Be ready to pan the camera around the room and to share your screen if requested by the assessors. AAU's disciplinary rules prescribe showing the room to show that you are alone and unable to receive help from others. This is consented to in the Solemn Declaration. However, if it is discussed and arranged with the supervisor prior to the exam, it is allowed to sit together as a group during the exam.  
   
• Have your mobile phone out of reach but yet available in case of a technical failure during the exam. 
   
• Expect that during the exam there might be a time-out in which you evaluate the ongoing exam together with the assessors - is the exam running smoothly or does it need adjustment? 
   
• Speak clearly (and perhaps a little slower than usual) for the assessors to understand everything you say. 
   
• When it is time for assessment, you will leave the Teams-meeting. The assessors will call you up from TEAMS once they have decided on your mark. (Alternatively, when arranged with the examinator, you can stay in the Teams-meeting while the examiners carry out the assessment via telephone).

In case of technical failure

• In case of technical problems during oral exams, the assessors must compensate students with extra time. The assessors will decide how much extra time will be added to the examination based on a professional assessment. 
   
• If the exam cannot be conducted in a satisfactory manner due to technical problems, the exam will be rescheduled as a digital exam (cf. Rules for Conduction Exams in the Spring Semester 2020). 
   
• In case of technical problems, the assessors will discuss an alternative plan for the exam over the phone.

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► All round guide to Microsoft Teams

► Test of IT equipment

In the following, we have compiled all information concerning the current COVID-19 situation including links to relevant and important websites. The document also addresses what is expected of you as students at Aalborg University.

AAU Corona website

► Please see AAU's generel information for students on COVID-19 (in Danish and English)

► Please watch the video: Forebyg coronasmitte på campus (“Prevent Corona spreading on Campus”) (in Danish with English subtitles) 

Please note that it is required that all students present indoors at the university can show a negative corona test no more than 72 hours old from the time of testing.

Precautions if you are infected or have COVID-19 symptoms

Students who have symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 (fever, sore throat, muscle pain, dry cough, etc.) should not show up at the university. If you have symptoms of corona infection you should go home in quarantine until 48 hours after the symptoms have ended.  

If you are confirmed infected with coronavirus

Students who have symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 (fever, sore throat, muscle aches, dry cough, etc.) are not allowed to attend university. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, isolate it at home until 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped.

Students, who feel symptoms of COVID-19 while at campus, should return home and follow the guidelines above.

You may not return to the university until you have been free of symptoms for 48 hours.

If you are tested positive for Covid-19

REMEMBER to inform AAU if you have tested positive for Covid-19 by registering via the following website: FAQ students - AAU & Coronavirus.

► Check the precautions

In order to ensure continued high quality and to provide students at the Department of Politics and Society and the Department of Sociology and Social Work the best setting for them to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and competences in the upcoming exams, the following guidelines have been prepared. From a professional point of view, you will of course conduct the exam as you normally would, but below you will find a guide to the conduct of exams online in connection with the ordinary exams as well as re-examinations in the fall semester 2020.

The overall rules and regulations for conducting examinations at AAU can be found at this link. The digital exams will be held in MS Teams or another appropriate program. This guideline is developed with the intention that MS Teams will be the platform used during the exam.

Regarding All Written Exams

The examiner is as usual responsible for ensuring that the exam assignment has been quality assured and uploaded in time.

Regarding Oral Exams

The study secretary is responsible for preparing the following:

• Sending information to students regarding how to hand in the "Solemn Declaration".
   
• In the absence of a "Solemn Declaration", the study secretary will contact the student with a reminder. The study secretary informs the examiners which students have not submitted the form prior to the exam and therefore cannot take the exam.
   
• Notifying the relevant student(s) and internal/external examiners of the exam in Microsoft Teams by using the Outlook calendar.
   
• Ensuring that students’ phone numbers are obtained.
   
• Aligning with the Study Board the length of the intervals between the examinations, including whether extra time should be allocated in the exam plan in the event that a group wishes to receive the assessments individually.
   
• As a rule, the exams are public meaning that guests who wish to attend the examination may attend. The examination is conducted in a "digital examination room", and it is possible for guests to attend the examination. In order to attend an examination, guests must contact the study secretary, who must then ensure that guests gain access to the public part of the exam in the software used for the exam (Microsoft Teams).

Preparation of all oral exams and alignment between the internal- and external examiner:

• Camera MUST be used for the examination!
   
• Be sure you have downloaded Microsoft Teams.
   
• Test your equipment well in advance by joining the meeting - preferably two days before the exam. Check that audio, camera, share-screen features and Internet connection work optimally on both PC/Mac and mobile phone in case one of the devices shows system failure. If necessary, restart your PC/Mac.
   
• You have the opportunity to test your equipment with an IT supporter on weekdays between 8.30am-10.30am and 13.00-15.00pm. Access to the test (Access only with AAU login).
   
• Contact ITS Support if you encounter any problems.
  At the internal- and external examiners’ preliminary meeting agreements are reached to ensure that notes are obtained during the exam (normal procedure). It would be advisable to bring a notepad as well as a copy of the grading scale. 
   
• To avoid technical problems, the students are encouraged to send exam presentations (e.g.
  PowerPoints) to the examiners at least 24 hours before the exam via the ‘Reply to all” function in the
  meeting invitation in the Outlook calendar (in case of technical issues during the exam). The screensharing
  function in Microsoft Teams may be used (as a starting point) in the exam situation.
   
• Discuss how you will relate to the possibility of cancelling the exam if cheating is suspected.

Additional points of attention in a group exam

• Prior to the conduct of group exams, you should agree how you will make sure that all students contribute to the presentation, answer questions and participate in the discussion. Communicate these expectations to the students before the exam commences.
   
• Prior to the group exam, you must establish how students wish to receive their assessments after the examination – individually or in groups. The student has the right to receive the evaluation without the presence of other examinees.
   
• For group exams, the chat function in Microsoft Teams is used to make comments or indicate when the students want to say something.
   
• A guideline as to how you find the phone numbers of the students can be found below (Appendix).

According to The Rules for Conducting Exams in the Spring Semester 2021 students may be allowed to sit in the same room during digital oral examinations.   

NB Department of politics and Society: For group exams the students should sit alone in each their room.

The examination

• To join the meeting in Microsoft Teams - press the 'deltag i Microsoft Teams-møde' link found in theOutlook invitation/notification of meeting. 
   
• The examination includes time for a preliminary meeting between the internal- and external examiners. The examiners will join the Microsoft Teams meeting at the starting time, and when the examiners are ready, the student(s) are invited/called up from MS Teams. Students can be invited from a Team Meeting by using the ‘show participants’ button in the menu bar, upon which the participant window is displayed on the right side of the screen. Hold the cursor over the student name and right-click ("Request to participate"). (Alternatively, it can be arranged that the student will access the Teams-meeting by clicking the link in the Outlook invitation, and that the preliminary meeting and the assessment is done via telephone). 
   
• If necessary, explain the format of the exam to the students prior to the beginning of the examination.
   
• At the beginning of the examination, students must pan the camera around the room to demonstrate that they are alone in the room. However, during group exams it can be arranged for students to sit together in the same room. This should be arranged before the exam. The student must show her or his student card on request. 
   
• Decide to take a timeout during the exam and check with the students if they find that the examination is proceeding as planned or if changes need to be made. 
   
• Deliberation: The examiners can remove the student from the MS Teams meeting by right-clicking the student’s name and selecting 'remove participant' (or the student leaves the virtual meeting). The examiners invites the student back into MS Teams by right clicking the name and selecting "request to join”. (Alternatively, examiners deliberate by phone, while the student wait in Teams).

Note in case of technical challenges

• If there are technical challenges in the conduct of oral exams, the examiners must compensate the students by allowing extra time for examination. The examiners decide, on the basis of a professional assessment, how much extra time is to be added. If the exam cannot be carried out due to technical challenges, the exam may be held either digitally or physically at later time.
   
• The external examiner is responsible for taking time on outages and interruptions of the exam. 
   
• In the case of technical breakdowns, the external examiner calls up the internal examiner by phone to agree on how to proceed.

Please note:

On the homepage of IT Support there are likewise developed guidelines for the use of Microsoft Teams during examinations. Please be aware, that there can be conflicting instructions between the centrally developed and the locally developed guidelines. Especially concerning using channels in Teams and the assessment process. The Institute for Politics and Society and The Institute for Sociology and Social Work encourage all examiners to use the notifications for meetings sent by the study secretary via Outlook, where there is only made one notification for one meeting and not two, as mentioned in the guideline on the homepage of IT Support.

Guide to Microsoft Teams
 

► Introduction to how external examiners access Microsoft Teams: (Only available in Danish)

► Introduction to how external lecturers log on to AAU Microsoft Teams: (Only available in Danish)

► Master Guide to Microsoft Teams         

Additional useful links

► Digital Exam 

► ITS, guides for distance learning, teaching and meetings       

► Digitally Supported Learning Center (CDUL)

APPENDIX 1

You can find the phone numbers of the students in ‘Digital Eksamen’ (use Google Chrome or Firefox as a browser).
Open ’Digital Eksamen’ → Press the specific module (‘kursus’) for the exam → then press the button ’Vis detaljer for alle besvarelser’. Under ’gruppenavn’ the specific group will appear with the student names and study numbers. Below on the page under the headline Set of questions (‘Opgavesæt’), the phone numbers of the students will appear.