Dear Students!
As a student, just like all other university members, you have rights and obligations. These are laid out in the University Act 2002 and in the Study Regulations in the Statutes of TU Wien. To provide you with an overview, we have summarized the most important information for you.
Key Definitions (Note: maybe expandable)
Key Definitions
Study Law Authority
Enforces the study regulations and is the legal entity at the university for study-related matters. The Vice Rector for Academic Affairs is generally the study law authority. However, they delegate their tasks to the deans of studies for the individual degree programs.
Important tasks: Admissions, annulment of negatively assessed exams, recognition of exams
Official Notice
A legal decision or order. Generally, these can be challenged in court.
Important official notices: Abandonement of exam, ex-matriculation, recognitions
Legal Challenge
Formal challenge to an administrative or judicial decision. The filing of a challenge is always subject to certain deadlines and is only possible for a limited time.
Important examples: Appeal against an official notice to the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG), Appeal to the Constitutional Court (VfGH), Individual application to the Constitutional Court (VfGH)
(Partial) Deliverable
Is the basis for an assessment i.e. grading (submission, exam result, etc.).
Important: Attendance cannot be a deliverable
General Academic Regulations
- Regular vs. extraordinary students: Regular students are those with a completed Matura certificate, university entrance qualification exam, or a foreign university entrance qualification recognized in Austria. Extraordinary students have not (yet) met these criteria but are nevertheless enrolled at the university. Extraordinary students can already take exams but cannot obtain a degree. All extraordinary students must pay tuition fees (€363.36 per semester; or €726.72 for third-country nationals).
- StEOP: The Study Induction and Orientation Phase (StEOP) only applies to bachelor programmes and consists of a group of courses in the first semester or year that present an overview of contents and requirements of the programme.
There are three types: fixed StEOP (a list of courses who all have to be passed), SteOP pool (a certain number of ECTS must be achieved from a pool of courses), a combination of both types (some courses are mandatory + a certain number of ECTS must be achieved from a pool of courses).
As long as you haven’t cleared the StEOP you may only collect up to 22 ECTS in courses not belonging to the StEOP. Recognitions do not matter for your ECTS count.
You fail the StEOP, if you failed one mandatory StEOP course four times or there are not enough courses in your StEOP pool to reach the required ECTS. As long as you haven’t cleared the StEOP you have four attempts at StEOP courses. After clearing you can have a fifth attempt at StEOP courses. - Academic Leave: You can apply to interrupt your studies at TU Wien for a short period (max. 6 semesters in total) without your admission to the study program at TU Wien expiring. Further information can be found on the TU Wien website.
- Course Types:
Courses with non-continuous assessment: Lectures (VO)
Courses without mandatory attendance, which are concluded with a single exam.
Courses with continuous assessment: Exercises (UE), Lecture with Exercises (VU), Seminar (SE), Laboratory Exercise (LU), Excursion (EX), …
Courses that may have mandatory attendance and whose assessment must consist of several deliverables (tests, submissions …). - Announcements before the semester start
The dates, objectives, format (in-person, hybrid, online, etc.), content, and methods of courses must be announced via TISS before the start of the semester. Additionally, for exams, the dates, content, format, and assessment criteria must also be announced.
For courses with continuous assessment, it must also be defined in advance what the deliverables are.
Changes during the semester are only possible for compelling reasons, which must be determined by the rectorate. The changes must also be communicated to students in an appropriate manner. In the event of such changes, students have the option to withdraw from the affected course without it counting as an attempt.
Exams
- Exam Modalities: Exams can be written, oral, or both written and oral. Oral exams are public, and the exam result must be announced immediately after the exam. In the case of a negative assessment, the reasons for the negative grade must also be announced after the exam. If an examination board grades, the deliberation and voting on the assessment are not public.
- Right to Exam Review: Examiners are obliged to grant you access to your graded exams (up to 6 months after assessment). You may also make copies of the corrected documents, with the exception of multiple-choice questions and their corresponding answers. This review does not have to take place on a fixed date. If a date is set, but you do not have time, further opportunities must be offered to you to review it.
- Exam Review by Student Representatives
- Right to Retake Exams: You have the right to retake a failed exam up to four times (i.e., five attempts), and a failed StEOP exam up to three times (4 attempts). The fourth and fifth attempts must be graded by an examination board, provided the course is without continuous assessment. You may also retake passed courses once within six months of taking the course or before the end of the study section. In this case, the grade of the last attempt counts, regardless of it being better or worse than that of the previous attempt.
Since winter semester 2022/23: the final course of your study programme, has an additional sixth attempt. - Right to Object to Exams: If a serious deficiency occurred during the conduct of a negatively assessed course, you have the right to object to the negative grade within 4 weeks. If the objection is upheld, the attempt is erased i.e. it is like it never happened.
- Recognition of Exams: You can use achievements already obtained elsewhere (e.g., courses from other universities) for the completion of your current study program. Further information can be found at Recognition of Exams | TU Wien
- Missing exams despite being registered: Deregister at least two working days before the exam you don’t intend on taking it. If you remain registered but do not appear, you may not be graded, and it will not count as an attempt. (You may be banned for the next exam date, this applies to the waiting list too)
- Taking Exams After a Course is discontinued: You you have possibility to take the exam for a course up to three semesters after the course is discontinued. This also applies if a replacement course is offered.
- Waiting List Regulation: If you are on the waiting list for an exam date, you must still appear. If there are available spots for the exam, you can take it immediately. Otherwise, the Dean of Studies must provide you with an alternative date as soon as possible, preferably within 2 weeks.
- Academic Leave: You can apply to interrupt your studies at TU Wien for a short period (max. 6 semesters in total) without your admission to the study program at TU Wien expiring. Further information can be found on the TU Wien website. During leave you cannot pass courses. Further information can be found on the TU Wien website.
- Exam Dates for Lectures: For lectures, at least three exam dates must be offered each semester, specifically at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the semester. The dates must be announced before the start of the semester.
- Exam Registration: registrations must open at least two weeks before and end no earlier than one week before the exam.
- Deregistration from Exams: You are free to deregister in writing or electronically via TISS at least two working days before the exam. If deregistration in TISS is no longer possible, you can still deregister by email.
- Issuance of Certificates: The lecturer has up to four weeks after the exam date to correct the exams and issue a certificate/grade.
- Exams before an Examination Board:
The assessment for exams before an examination board is carried out by more than one examiner and ensures an objective assessment for critical attempts. There is also a right to a different examination mode. The examination board is formed by the study law authority (=the Dean of Studies) and consists of three to five members. Student representatives can always request an examination board exam.
For courses with continuous assessment, there are no examination board exams.
Assessments and Certificates
- Issuance of Certificates: The lecturer has up to four weeks after the exam date to correct the exams and issue a certificate.
- Right to Object to Exams: If a serious deficiency occurred during the conduct of a negatively assessed course, you have the right to object to the negative grade within 4 weeks. If the objection is upheld, the attempt is erased i.e. it is like it never happened.
- Serious Deficiency: exists when serious errors occur in the formalities of the exam, such as: less time than indicated in TISS, different subject area than indicated in TISS.
Admission, Re-registration, and Exmatriculation
- Grace Periods for Admission & Notification of Continuation of Studies: The grace period for notifying the continuation of studies only extends until October 31 for the winter semester and March 31 for the summer semester. The same applies to the extended admission period in justified exceptional cases.
- For students admitted from Winter Semester 2022/23 onwards: Minimum Academic Achievements (this applies only to Bachelor’s students): You must achieve 16 ECTS credits within the first four semesters, otherwise you will be deregistered from the programme. The deadline is October 31 and March 31, respectively (one month after the end of the semester). If the minimum academic achievement is not met, your admission expires immediately on November 1 or April 1, respectively, and re-admission is only permitted after two academic years (equivalent to 4 semesters).
- Admission to Master’s/Doctoral Studies: If you apply for admission to a Master’s/PhD program that is not consecutive to your Bachelor’s, the Dean of Studies may impose requirements (supplementary exams).
Legally, you would have to fulfill these requirements within the first 2 semesters. However, this regulation is not enforced at TU Wien. Therefore, there are no consequences if you take longer to fulfill the requirements. - Consecutive Master’s Programmes: for every Bachelor’s programme, there must be a consecutive Master’s programme that can be enrolled without additional requirements.
A consecutive Master’s programme can also be started outside the regular admission period. - Deregistration from studies: means the premature termination of studies without a degree.
How can I be exmatriculated?
> if you withdraw from your studies
> if you fail to re-register for your studies
> if a mandatory course was negatively assessed even on the last permissible retake
> if an activity poses a permanent or serious danger to other persons in the course of study
> if you do not meet the minimum academic achievement in the first 2 years
If you have any specific questions, you can, of course, contact us anytime at bipol@htu.at.