FAQ coronavirus

The AUAS is suspending the binding study advice (BSA) norm for first-year students who started in September 2021. This applies to students who started their Bachelor’s programme or Associate degree (AD) in the 2021-2022 academic year. First-year students therefore have an extra year to obtain their mandatory credits. They must complete their propaedeutic year in the 2022-2023 academic year.

If you are struggling or have problems please contact your mentor or the academic adviser serving your programme. Are your personal circumstances affecting your studies? Contact the student counsellor at your programme.

Please note: students who started a programme for the first time in the 2020-2021 academic year must complete their propaedeutic year by the end of the current academic year, 2021-2022. This is because the BSA for these students was already postponed a year ago.

Get tested at the GGD (Public Health Service of Amsterdam) and stay home in self-isolation until you no longer have symptoms. Do you have obligatory lectures? Inform your lecturer for the programme in question that you are unable to attend, just as you would for a non-corona related sickness or absence. If you have long-term health complaints, contact the student counsellor serving your programme.

The quarantine rules will be relaxed effective 18 February 2022. You only have to quarantine for five days, instead of seven, if you are symptom-free for 24 hours. Please refer to the RIVM website for the latest quarantine information.

You can contact Student Info. We are here to offer you a listening ear or a referral so you can get the best possible help for your particular situation. This may be your student counsellor or, for example, a student psychologist.

Student Info is available to help every workday between 9:00 and 16:00 via:

• Chat: Send us a message via Teams.
• Telephone: +31 (0)20 595 1430
• Email: studentinfo@hva.nl.
• Come visit us in person at these locations:
  • at Leeuwenburg, in the space on the first floor opposite the grand staircase.
  • at the Nicolaes Tulp Building, in the room on the first floor opposite the canteen.
  • in the Wibaut Building.
  • starting in February: in the Fraijlemaborg building (Business Campus).

Contact the student counsellors serving your programme, preferably before you get behind. You can talk to your student counsellor about all kinds of personal problems and topics. These conversations are confidential. Your student counsellor will review what is going on with you, how it’s affecting your studies, how you can prevent further delays or a dropout, whether you would like additional support and where you can access it, etc. We urge you to visit us quickly if your circumstances are leading to delays.

Starting on 15 February the advice is to work at AUAS for max 50 percent of the time. There are more opportunities for team meetings and gatherings. This change means that we need to find out how we can work together in the best possible way. You can do this by making agreements with your team and supervisor about when you will be in the office, to ensure good cooperation.

No, you don't have to show a vaccination certificate or negative test result to be permitted to use AUAS facilities.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to take your exams. Do you have corona-related complaints, have you tested positive or are you in quarantine? Then stay at home and do not come to the AUAS to take the test. Please refer to the government website for the latest quarantine information. In the case of corona-related circumstances, you retain the right to two assessment opportunities. This rule applies only to exams in block 2 - the AUAS Executive Board decided on 8 February that this rule will not be extended to exams after block 2.

You have to cancel your examinations beforehand with the examination board serving your programme. You can refer to the MyAUAS page on the Examination Boards for an overview of the boards for each faculty. Click on the relevant board and notify the board via its website that you are unable to sit your exam due to corona-related complaints. To do so, use the option 'request an extra resit'. Describe your situation and which exams you are referring to. Please note that you can only do this prior to an exam and not afterwards.

If you cannot use the first examination opportunity because of the circumstances mentioned above, you will first be referred to the regular second examination opportunity. If that second opportunity is not completed with a pass, an additional resit may be granted by the examination board. In certain cases, the examination board may consult the student counsellor concerning resit requests.

The Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science offers students and lecturers free coronavirus self-tests via www.zelftestonderwijs.nl. These tests give you, and others, peace of mind knowing that you are not infected with the Covid-19 virus. Testing is not compulsory, however the guidance for students and staff is to be tested twice a week. The self-tests will be made available through SURF.

Free self-tests are also provided at the entrance of all AUAS buildings. The advice to do regular self-tests remains in place after the relaxation of other restrictions on 25 February.

Please refer to the RIVM website for more information on self-tests.

Self-tests are being used preventively, and in cases where people have symptoms, for both students and staff in higher education institutions. This also applies if you are fully vaccinated or if you've already contracted Covid-19. If your self-test is positive you must always take another test at the GGD.

As of 15 March, the home working advice has been discontinued. We will continue to work hybrid and blended, from home and on campus. For this, it is important that you make good agreements with each other about how we will work and cooperate. It is important to retain lessons learned from corona and discuss with your team how you will deal with the space that is available.

Some staff and students have questions about the ventilation of our campus buildings, which we completely understand. Our buildings adhere to the RIVM guidelines. We take measures in the event that they do not meet compliance requirements. Maintenance contracts are in place for all ventilation systems to ensure that these systems are safe and reliable. We stay on top of replacing filters quickly and adapting the systems according to the RIVM guidelines. We also systematically carry out random ventilation volume measurements and CO2 measurements.

We investigate locations if there are concerns or malfunctions. We can also decide to carry out an (extra) ventilation-volume measurement or a CO2 measurement to check the air quality. Where necessary, we install CO2-meters so that lecturers in certain rooms can determine when ventilation is required.

Following such an investigation, we then proceed to take further technical or organisational measures, such as

- Implementation of technical adjustments to the ventilation system;

- Issuing advice to ventilate rooms during breaks in between lectures.

- Adjusting the maximum capacity of a room;

- Closing rooms if necessary.

The AZ contains more information about ventilation.

o Ventilation information for students.

o Ventilation information for employees.

- If you have any questions about ventilation, you can contact your occupational health and safety coordinator.

- In the event of malfunctions or complaints, please contact the FS Service Desk via 020 595 1403 or servicedesk-fs@hva.nl.

- Employees can also report issues or concerns directly using this form.