Information about coronavirus 

All corona restrictions in Denmark has been disbanded as of 1 February. This means that face masks, corona passports and the like are no longer required (with a few exceptions such as hospitals and nursing homes). This includes recommendations within the educational sector, such as virtual exams and teaching, cancellation of social events etc.

However, there are still some requirements upon entry to Denmark from foreign countries.

We recommend that you stay updated by visiting the official site on coronavirus from the Danish authorities coronasmitte.dk.

Hold on to the good habits

Without restrictions, we are now able to go back to the great study and social environment we have known from before the pandemic. This goes for graduation parties, semester and study start activities and Friday bars.

We have to get used to the everyday lives we had before, and for some, this can feel a bit unsafe – especially if you come from a country with a more restrictive approach to controlling the pandemic.

Therefore, VIA recommends that all students and staff exercise good covid-habits when going to campus:

• Stay home if you are feeling ill – this includes “just having a cold”
• Focus on hygiene, ventilation and sanitation
• Follow authority guidelines if you have covid-19 symptoms, see them at en.coronasmitte.dk
• VIA’s locations will be cleaned at the level from before the pandemic. Paper and sanitizer are available through out campuses. Please clean surfaces before leaving a room.

Staff

If you are an employee at VIA, go to the employee portal to find more information about working/teaching from home, travles, IT safety etc.

Contact VIA

If you, as an international student, have questions related to coronavirus, please send an email to international@via.dk.

As covid-19 is no longer considered a critical illness, you should act as you otherwise would if you are sick and not able to go to class. This means that you should notify the people you usually do when you are sick.

International students may contact Global Engagement at international@via.dk all weekdays with acute inquiries.

In order to make contact tracing more efficient, VIA recommends that you install the app ” Smitte|stop” on your phone.

Symptoms of covid-19

If you experience symptoms of covid-19 it is important that you stay at home.

Symptoms of covid-19 are:

• Fever
• Dry cough
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Breathing difficulties

Danish authorities no longer recommends testing if you have symptoms. Learn more here.

If you are tested positive for covid-19

Guidelines are as follows:

• Self-isolate – leave campus if you are at VIA.
• Get in touch with the individuals at VIA you would normally contact if you are sick
• Do not go to campus, not even for an exam, if you have tested positive. Contact Student Services before the exam and let them know that you are not able to attend in person. They will convert to an online exam if possible. Read more under Exams below.
• Contact anyone you have been in contact with, to break the chain of infection. Learn more at the authority website. 

If you have been in contact with someone who has Covid-19, there is a risk that the virus has been transmitted to you. Read more about when you are considered a close contact or secondary contact - and what to if you are - at the Danish Health Auhority's website.

Recommendations change all the time, so make sure to always check authority website for the latest news.

As the infection rate and number of hospitalisations are declining, Danish authorities recommends getting tested only if there is a specific health related reason to do so - e.g. people over the age of 65, being pregnant or otherwise at risk of getting seriously ill from a covid-19 infection.

Go to the official authority website to get more information on how to get tested whether you have a Danish CPR number or not.

In Denmark, COVID-19 testing is free of charge.

If you test positive, you must follow authority guidelines, inform VIA and self-isolate. Find authority guidelines here.

Official authority website for current entry to Denmark rules.

Guidelines on travel change all the time - make sure to check the official authority websites before booking your ticket and leaving for Denmark. It is your responsibility as a student to stay up to date with current restrictions.

VIA carries out teaching activities according to local and specific guidelines given to students by the study programmes – currently, most teaching takes place on campus.

If you are sick or test positive for covid-19 and thus not able to attend classes, you cannot, in general, expect to be offered an online alternative. Contact your study programme to learn more. 

Please contact your study programme regarding internships and study trips. If you travel abroad, be aware that there may be some limitations as to what your travel insurance covers due to Covid-19.

In case of questions or changes in your study abroad or internship stay, please contact int.national.erasmus@via.dk.

• It is now possible to engage in ’blended mobility.’ This means that students can start their mobility activity in the country he/she is studying in and go abroad to finish the activity. The total mobility period must still be a minimum of 60 days for internships and 90 days for exchange activities. However, there is no minimum for how long the student is abroad. It is for instance possible to divide the activity by staying 40 days in Denmark and 20 days in Germany. The student will only be eligible for a grant in the period that he/she spends abroad, i.e. 20 day in this example.
• If a planned mobility activity is moved online, the student can continue to receive Erasmus+ grant. The responsibility for abiding by the usual demands for documentation, e.g. Transcript of Records and After the Mobility, continues to lie with the student.
• If the student is required to enter quarantine upon arrival in the receiving country, the quarantine periode is included in the length of the stay. However, this must be an authority requirement and this has to be documented.

For more information go to the ministry’s website (in Danish) or contact your international coordinator for more information

If you have questions about cancelled Erasmus stays, please contact int.national.erasmus@via.dk.

In general, you will get information on your exams from your lecturers and on Itslearning.

Most exams take place on campus as all restrictions have been lifted. However, it is each individual study programme who decides whether an exam is to take place on campus or online. Therefore, you must contact your lecturer if you have signed up for an exam on campus and are not able to attend due to self-isolation. 

If it is not possible to carry out the exam as planned, VIA will seek to offer an alternative test (e.g. a replacement test or an online exam). If VIA deems it impossible to replace the planned examination form, VIA will arrange an extraordinary exam.

As a student, you will be notified of how your exam will be carried out directly from your study programme.

In the tabs below, you can find more information on the guidelines for both online exams and exams on campus. 

Always get in touch with our lecturer or study programme if you have doubts about your exam.

Here are the guidelines for exams on campus in the current situation with covid-19:

• If you have symptoms of covid-19, you are under no circumstances allowed to go to campus. Follow authority guidelines for test, isolation etc.
• If your exams includes preparation time, bring your own pen and paper.
• If you want to show slides at your exam, please place them at the table in front of your lecturer and censor, so that they may read them.
• Bring your own water bottle.
• Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer as soon as you arrive to campus.
• If you are feeling ill on the day of your exam, stay home and get in touch with your doctor and get a medical certificate proving that you have been sick.

If you have an oral exam, it will be conducted in Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

The choice of programme will be made by your study programme – based on which is most suitable for your exam and in some cases based on which programmes have been used for online teaching.

When you receive information about your exam, you will be informed about choice of programme. It is important that you read the instructions below for the relevant programme before your exam.

An online oral exam follows the same general exam rules as an ordinary oral exam, but there are some extra procedures that must be followed.

Guidelines for good online behaviour at VIA University College

"At VIA, we see all conduct that destroys and disturbs a good learning, teaching and working environment as unacceptable". This is a part of VIA's codex for uacceptable behaviour among students and is applicable to all study related activities.

During the pandemic, online teaching has become very common. At the same time, it is a fairly new phenomenon. Both teachers and students can therefore have doubts as to how to conduct themselves during online teaching sessions. Therefore, these guidelines describe what we at VIA consider to be good online behaviour.

Some study programmes at VIA already have some tips and have agreed on a set of rules for good online conduct. The guidelines below is thus a supplement to the local guidelines or may stand alone to ensure that we safeguard the good learning, teaching and working environment.

Good online conduct (for lecturers and students)
1. Lecturers and students should, when a new online module starts, agree on what good online conduct is. The lecturer must show how online conversations and discussions are mediated, and how students can comment and ask questions. Should the "raise hand"-fuction be used, writing in the chat or just saying something?

2. Lecturers and students strive towards having good audio (use e.g. a headset) and a good internet connection. In addition, lecturers and students must have webcam available. Everyone turns their microphone off when they are not speaking. It is only turned on when you are given the word.

3. No one hides: There is a lot of communication in facial expressions and reactions. Therefore, webcams must be on during teaching, unless the lecturer says otherwise. At lectures with primarily one-way communication from lecturer to student, the camera can be turned off if the lecturer says so. If you, for some reason, are not able to turn on your camera, please confer with the lecturer before class.

4. Lecturers must adapt the number of screen-based lessons per day to the tolerance limit of the students. Consider short lessons of 40-50 minutes with short brakes. Remember to ad longer breaks if the lessons are long. A part of the teaching should be planned to allow students to interact with each other, e.g. in break-out rooms or the like.

5. If the lecturer wants to record the teaching, e.g. to make it available to students that are not able to be present live, the lecturer must clearly state that the lesson is being recorded. The recording may only be shared by the lecturer and only to a closed group.

6. If a student wants to record a lecture, or share parts of a recording made available to students in a closed group, the student must obtain consent from the lecturer and the fellow students. The consent can be given orally by asking in the given online forum, or by contacting the lecturer by e-mail before class. If other students or the lecturer do not agree, the student is not allowed to record the lecture.

7. Group work is often an important ingredient in online teaching to discuss the academic content of the teaching. If possible, all students should engage in different types of group work to ensure engagement through interaktion with fellow students.

Recordings
As a student, you may find that your lecturer wants to record lectures to make it available to students not able to be present. Your lecturer does not have to get your consent to record lectures and upload it, but he/she must make you aware that it is being recorded.

If you want to record a lecture, or share parts of a recording made available to students in a closed group, the student must obtain consent from the lecturer and the fellow students. The consent can be given orally by asking in the given online forum, or by contacting the lecturer by e-mail before class. If other students or the lecturer do not agree, the student is not allowed to record the lecture. If you do not respect this, it will be considered a breach of VIA's code of online conduct.

If you are allowed to record a lecture or share a lecture you have been given, be aware that you are responsible for ensuring that you share it according to the general data protection regulation and with respect for any copy rights.

Online group exam

If an oral group exam takes place online, it is up to the group to decide whether the members are together in one room during the exam or are sitting at separate locations. The decision should be based on what makes practical sense, while considering health and technical issues.

The following conditions apply to online group exams:

If the group decides to be together in the same room during the exam, the group must ensure that censor and examiner are able to see all group members during the entire exam, also when they are not speaking. If the group is participating via multiple devices in the same room, there is a high risk of technical challenges with sound, e.g. resonance, echo etc.

For that reason, VIA recommends that group members are only together in the same room if the group members:

• Agree that it is a sound idea health-wise
• Are all able to be seen through a web cam in a single device
• All agree that the equipment used for the exam, is suited for the purpose

On-campus group exam

If you are in self-isolation after having been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you are not allowed to go to campus. Therefore you could be prevented from participating at an exam even though you are not ill. This also applies if you have no symptoms, but have tested positive. In these cases you may participate online if circumstances allow.

If one or more members of a group are unable to attend an on-campus exam, the study programme will decide how to proceed. This could mean that the person unable to attend (but not sick), have to participate via an online connection and the rest of the group on-campus. The study programme may also decide that all members of the group are to take the exam online, even though only one member is unable to attend.

It can be necessary to make this decision with very short notice. Therefore, it is important that all members in a group are prepared to take an exam online, even though the exam is planned to take place on campus.

If one or more group members are unable to attend because they are sick, the study programme will decide how to proceed. The preferred proceeding is that the remaining members must take the exam without the sick group member. The individual who has been ill, must take the exam at a later point. Therefore, it is important that all group members are prepared to go through with the exam even if one or more members get sick.

When your oral exam is conducted  online, you are responsible for being able to carry out the exam on your computer or smartphone. In order to carry out the exam, your lecturer and censor need to be able to see and hear you.

You will therefore need to have:

• A computer with a webcam/external webcam or a smartphone with a camera
• A steady internet connection
• We also recommend using headphones or a headset for the best possible sound quality (but this is not essential).

Together with a timetable for your exam you will receive information about which programme will be used for your exam and a link for the exam. This information will be sent to you by either Student Services or your teacher.

Following the technical instructions that you find on this page, you will be asked to use you VIAid. This is the same as you use to log on to Itslearning and other VIA systems.

Exam using Zoom

You will receive a link to the exam.

For further information on installing and participating in an exam in Zoom read this guide (pdf): Participate in a Zoom exam

The Zoom version used in VIA is different from the free version. It is in compliance the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Therefore it is a safe system and not as the free version where there is no control over which data is collected.

Exam using Microsoft Teams

You will receive a link to the exam.

For further information participating in an exam in Microsoft Teams read this guide (pdf): Participate in a Microsoft Teams exam

On the day of the test, you must be ready and have the relevant programme open on your computer well ahead of time.

Be aware of:

• Delays

There can be delays in connection with oral exams. Therefore your lecturer and censor may invite you into the meeting later than expected. When you have logged on to the "lobby", just wait until you are invited in.

• ID

You must be able to identify yourself at your exam. You may use your drivers licence/passport or other picture ID, e.g. your student card (if you have a digital student card, you can take a screen dump and share it on your screen).

• You must be alone

No one but you are allowed in the room you are in during the exam (at group exams more people are allowed - see recommendations below). You can expect to be asked to 'show the room' with your camera, to allow your lecturer and censor to check that you are actually alone during the exam.

• About the room

Make sure you are in a quite, well-lit room. Avoid sitting in front of a window as this affects the lighting.

• Powerpoints and presentations

If you are using a powerpoint or the like at your exam, follow instructions from your study programme on the use of presentations.
On the day of the test, you must be ready and have the relevant programme open on your computer well ahead of time.

The exam is conducted at a regular oral exam

When you, your lecturer and censor are all in the meeting/virtual exam room, the exam is conducted as an oral exam normally would be. When the exam is completed, you will be sent out of the room while the lecturer and censor agree on the result.

In the guide for each system, you can see how to prepare, so that you are ready to be brought back to the exam room and receive your result and feed back. It is important that you follow this guide, so that you are ready when you are brought back into the room.

If a fellow student - or anyone else - wants access to your online exam, this has to be agreed upon with Student Services well ahead of the exam. Access is given to the extent that is possible given the technical possibilities of each individual study programme.

Group exams

See the "Group exams" tab above. 

Recommendations for group exams

VIA only recommends that the group is together in one room for a group exam if all members agree:

• that it is a sound decision health-wise for all of you.
• that you are all able to be seen via web cam on one pc/unit
• that the equipment that your conduct the exam on is technically acceptable for the purpose.   

Technical problems during the exam

If the exam is interrupted due to technical issues and the connection is not quickly restored, you must call the examiner from your phone. You must always be the one to make the call, even if the problems are not at your end - and you must do it without unnecessary delay.

You will get the phone number along with the link to the online exam.

The examiners will decide whether the exam is be continued, discontinued or postponed – and you will be told before you hang up the phone, what is going to happen next.

We have meticulously prepared this period with online exams and are sure, that you will do the same. However, sometimes unexpected things can happen in relation with online exams, as is the case with exams held at VIA. If an exam can not be completed online, the outcome depends on whether the reason for the discontinuation of the exam is due to you or VIA – just as is the case in all other exams.

If you cannot complete the exam due to technical issues with your equipment or the internet connection is failing at your end, you will have used one exam attempt, just as you would if you were delayed going to an oral exam because the bus was delayed or your bike had a flat tyre.

That said, it is an extraordinary situation and it will be taken into consideration if you would end up needing to ask for a dispensation for a fourth attempt.

In the case of technical problems during the exam, VIA University College will try the best to complete the exam anyway – by trying the backup system etc. As long as you make sure before the exam that your equipment is working, you have a good internet connection, and you have read the instructions, you will have prepared sufficiently with regards to the practical part of your exam.

The IT department and Study Service will also provide backup for the examinators in case of the need for support, so we will do our best to ensure that your exam will run smoothly.

In case the exam cannot be completed due to other factors than those, that you are responsible of, ie. factors that VIA is responsible of, a new exam will be offered as soon as possible in order to repair the situation. In that case, the interrupted attempt to do the exam will not count as one of your three exam attempts.

The rules for exam cheating continue to apply even though your exams are online.

What is exam cheating?

The exam is a test where you prove your individual qualifications within the framework and conditions set by VIA for that exam.

If you at an exam - intentionally or unintentionally – do something that gives you better terms than required, you are cheating.

When submitting a written assignment, you must confirm in WISEflow by a statement of faith and promise that the assignment has been completed without undue assistance.

Wrongful assistance could consist of:

• That you have used unauthorized aids or provided yourself or another student with improper assistance in answering the assignment
• That you have published the work of others as your own in the assignment
• That you have used your own, previously assessed work without a source reference in the assignment answer

In WISEflow, all task responses are automatically checked for plagiarism. The plagiarism check compares the exam answer with all open sources available over the Internet, ie. all websites, articles and projects that are online.

It is plagiarism when, in a written assignment, you try to give the impression that you are the author of an idea, text, set-up or the like, even if the author is actually another. Therefore, to avoid suspicion of plagiarism, it is extremely important that quotes, sources and references are clearly marked in the assignment.

About plagiarism

Plagiarism is when imitating or directly copying someone else's texts, without stating the source and pointing out that this is a quote or summary re-work.

About using your own, previously handed in assignments

You can use extracts from your own assignments according to these guidelines:

• You can quote snippets (relatively brief) in line with all other sources - and using the usual source citation criteria.
• You can work with similar issues as in previous assignments - just seen from the new perspective that the current module requires.
• You can include previously used theories, but the theories must be elucidated in a new context.
• You can use empirics that you used in a previous task, but it is expected to be done in a different - and typically broader - perspective.

Helping someone gain an unfair advantage at the exam is also cheating. Therefore, always think about it if in an exam situation you hand out your own answer to a fellow student.

The penalties for exam cheating range from being expelled from the exam, losing a trial and receiving a warning to permanently being expelled from VIA. The penalty depends on an overall assessment of the seriousness of the offense.

Other examples of actions, which are all considered cheating and may ultimately result in permanent expulsion from VIA:

Cooperation

If the test form requires the preparation of an individual examination answer, you must prepare the answer yourself. Therefore, you must not cooperate with your fellow students or others during the exam. Of course, do not let others work out parts of your assignment.

Counterfeiting of data

If you have to collect empirical data as part of an exam answer, it will be considered cheating if you make up data or manipulate data

Prior knowledge of the assignment

If you are familiar with the exam assignment in advance and you still attend the exam, you are committing exam cheating. You should immediately contact the Study Service of your education, which will offer you a new exam as soon as possible.

Avoid being reported to the police

Falsifying documents or making false statements is a punishable offence. This goes for medical certificates, documentation of travels and declarations of faith and laws. If it is found that you have submitted false documents to VIA in connection with the corona situation, it will be reported to the police. In addition, cheating on an exam will be punished according to the general VIA guidelines in which sanctions range from expulsion from the exam in question, losing an attempt and a warning to permanent expulsion from VIA. The sanction depends on an evaluation of the seriousness of the offence.

If you need technical assistance prior to participation in an exam, please write to VIAservice on viaservice@via.dk. You will then be contacted within 2 working days.

If it is an acute situation, please call +45 8955 1212 - open Monday to Friday 7.30 AM to 3.30 PM.

Please contact Student Services with questions regarding other issues related to your exam. You can find contact information on VIA Studynet on your programme's page/exam.