The start of the summer semester 2021 will be virtual due to the pandemic. Lectures will also be held largely online, supplemented by selective face-to-face events - if conditions permit. Comprehensive online examinations as an alternative to traditional face-to-face examinations were widely tested for the first time in the 2020/21 winter semester and met with great approval from students as part of an "opportunity semester".
As in the two previous semesters, the start of the summer semester 2021 at HWG LU was virtual due to Corona. Via live stream from the university's library, university president Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra and the two vice presidents Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck and Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis welcomed the (according to preliminary figures) approximately 380 new students on behalf of the university. Ludwighafen's mayor Jutta Steinruck, university chancellor (m.d.d.G.b.) Carolin Nöhrbaß and liaison lecturer Prof. Dr. Birgit Angermayer conveyed their greetings and wishes for the start of the semester via recorded video message. The General Student Committee (AStA) and Sarah Gonzalez-Störkel, a second-semester marketing student, then introduced the newcomers to their university and the tasks and offerings of the student council. On the homepage of the university, the study programs, the StudierendenServiceCenter, AStA and the university communication have also compiled all important information for the start of studies. The AStA also offers "Ersti Speed Friending" via Zoom so that first-year students can make contacts among fellow students. Institutions in the city such as theHaus, the Wilhelm Hack Museum, the Local Agenda initiative and LUKOM will also be presenting themselves via short video. The traditional welcome service will also take place online.
Start of a largely virtual summer semester
The virtual freshman welcome today, Monday, March 8, 2021, marks the start of another largely digital semester. The university management, departments and the university senate had already agreed on this in January in order to give students, teachers and staff planning security. Wherever possible, the online courses will be supplemented by occasional face-to-face events. Whether the exams at the end of the semester will be held in person or again in an online format is still under discussion.
Digital Rediness" award for HWG LU
Both in digital teaching and in possible online examinations, the university can draw on the good experience of recent months. The feedback from the student representatives and semester spokespersons as well as the results of the student survey showed that HWG LU's regulations, which are geared towards providing opportunities, service orientation and planning security, were well received by the students. A recent survey by the StudyCheck portal also confirms this assessment: the organization asked more than 36,000 students about their experiences with "digital studying" during the Corona crisis. In the process, HWG LU lists among the best 50 universities in Germany and is among the top three universities in Rhineland-Palatinate. "Of course, we are self-critical enough to know that our structures and content and methodological approaches always need to be further developed. But we are pleased with the feedback from our students, who appreciate our great efforts to digitize university processes even beyond this ranking," says university president Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra, pleased with the "Digital Readiness" award.
Comprehensive online exams as an alternative to traditional face-to-face exams were widely tested for the first time at the university in the 2020/21 winter semester and met with great approval as part of an "opportunity semester." This opportunity semester allows students to have exam performances cancelled without consequences after grades have been announced if the result is worse than desired. "We made a bold decision with the online exams. But the decision was very well received," sums up Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis, Vice President for Studies & Teaching, Quality Management, Arts & Culture.
Link to the video message: https://youtu.be/92k6gzzHs50
