FAQ Examination Law

Upon effective enrollment, students become members of TUD Dresden University of Technology for the duration of their enrollment, along with all the rights and obligations associated with this status. This legal relationship is called a "students' legal relationship" (Studierendenrechtsverhältnis).

The legal relationship regarding examinations (Prüfungsrechtsverhältnis) is a specific legal relationship under public law that is limited in time and scope, arising only in connection with a specific module examination, the final thesis, and, if provided for by the applicable examination regulations, the colloquium.

The student's legal relationship pertains to enrollment and the associated rights and obligations.

The legal relationship regarding examinations applies only to individual module examinations, the final thesis, and, if provided for in the applicable examination regulations, the colloquium. These two legal relationships exist each individually and are independent of one another.

Only the establishment of the legal relationship regarding examinations requires the existence of student's legal relationship in accordance with the examination regulations applicable to the degree program. However, a student's legal relationship is not (any longer) necessary for the continuation of a legal relationship regarding examinations that has already been established.

Legal relationships regarding examinations are established upon admission (see the examination regulations applicable to the degree program):

• for each individual module examination
• for the final thesis, and
• for the colloquium

A legal relationship regarding examinations for a module examination generally arises upon the first registration for the first examined assessment of the module examination; see the examination regulations applicable to the degree program.

Please note:

If a student de-registers from the first registered examined assessment, the legal relationship regarding the examination is terminated and must be re-established upon re-registration for the examination. This does not apply if the student has already registered for or completed additional or other examined assessments within the first attempt at the module.

A legal relationship regarding examinations for a final thesis is established in accordance with the examination regulations applicable to the degree program upon:

• admission to the final thesis by the Examination Committee or the Chairperson of the Examination Committee
  • following the student’s request for the assignment of a topic to the responsible Examination Committee or the Chairperson of the Examination Committee or
  • through the ex officio assignment of the topic by the Examination Committee

A legal relationship regarding examinations for a colloquium is established in accordance with the examination regulations applicable to the degree program if:

• the final examination for the degree program includes a colloquium and
• based on the grade of at least “pass” (4.0) awarded for the final thesis, admission to the colloquium has been granted ex officio by the Examination Office

Yes, a legal relationship regarding examinations can only be established if the student is enrolled at TU Dresden; see the examination regulations applicable to the degree program.

No, a legal relationship regarding examinations is not established automatically upon enrollment in the degree program, but only upon admission to a specific module examination, the final thesis, or the colloquium.

Yes, for example:

• after exceeding the standard period of study, an examination entitlement is established for all module examinations that have not yet been taken for the first time. The same applies to the final thesis and the colloquium.
• for individual module examinations if the student has to switch to different examination regulations
• when failed attempts from the same or other degree programs are credited.

A legal relationship regarding examinations ends when the respective module examination / thesis / colloquium has been passed or irrevocably failed.

A legal relationship regarding examinations never ends upon request.

In addition, a legal relationship regarding examinations ends:

• upon de-registration from the first examined assessment in the first attempt at the module examination
• if the student fails the respective module exam (for the first time) as part of a free attempt
• in the event of a switch to a new examination regulations (PO switch): for non-identical modules, the existing legal relationship regarding examinations based on the old version of the examination regulations for the respective module exam automatically ends at the time of the PO switch.
• in the event of exclusion from the examination due to a serious incident of cheating

The respective legal relationship regarding examinations remains in effect even after de-registration from the degree program. De-registration does not terminate the legal relationship regarding examinations.

Even after de-registration, you need to observe the retake deadlines for examinations. This means that impending failure in an examination cannot be prevented by de-registration. → DO NOT USE DE-REGISTRATION AS A WAY OUT!

No, that is not possible. The legal relationship regarding examinations ends only upon passing, final failure, or in certain special cases (e.g. switch to different examination regulations).

Even after de-registration, you need to observe the retake deadlines for examinations. This means that impending failure in an examination cannot be prevented by de-registration. → DO NOT USE DE-REGISTRATION AS A WAY OUT!

The legal relationship regarding examinations for this module examination, the final thesis, or the colloquium remains in effect until the respective pass or final failure. Nonetheless, you must still meet the retake deadline even after de-registration.

If you miss the retake deadline, the module examination, final thesis, or colloquium is considered to have been failed again. This can lead to a irrevocable failure.

No legal relationship regarding examinations can be established for this module examination, as the prerequisite of enrollment is not met

Obligations arising from the legal relationship regarding examinations → non-exhaustive list:

• compliance with the rules set forth in the examination regulations (e.g. registration deadlines, examination rules)
• no use of unauthorized aids in examinations / prohibition against cheating
• timely reporting of deficiencies in the examination process (e.g. disruptions during the examination)

Rights arising from the legal relationship regarding examinations → non-exhaustive list:

• right to admission to the module examination (if prerequisites are met) → e.g. preliminary academic work has been completed
• right to proper conduct and assessment of the examination
• right to compensation for disadvantages (e.g. due to health issues)
• right to access/view examination documents and files
• right to remonstration (reconsideration of the assessment)

The regulations for de-registering from exams are not standardized at TU Dresden. It is strongly recommended to check the respective examination regulations, the website of the responsible Examination Office, or the Student Representative Council (FSR) regarding exact deadlines. For many degree programs, a de-registration deadline of 3 working days before the exam applies without the need to provide reasons.

In the event of withdrawal from an examination due to illness, a medical certificate from a medical professional is generally sufficient. The corresponding form provided by the Examination Office should be used for this purpose, as a simple certificate of incapacity for work (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung; AU) is usually not sufficient. It is important to note that the certificate of incapacity to take an examination must not request any specific symptoms of illness.

Obligations include compliance with the examination rules and the prohibition of unauthorized aids (prohibition against cheating). Conversely, there is a right to the proper conduct of the examination, compensation for disadvantages (e.g., due to health restrictions), and appropriate framework conditions.

If the conditions during an exam are disruptive (e.g., due to construction noise, poor air quality, or uncomfortable room temperatures), this must be reported immediately to the exam supervisor. These reports are recorded in the examination protocol so that the situation can be objectively reconstructed afterwards. This is particularly important if applications are to be submitted to the Examination Committee at a later date.

Regardless of whether the examination was passed or not, there is a right to review the examination file within the deadline specified in the examination regulations. An appointment for this should be arranged within a reasonable period of four weeks.

Since taking an exam is an administrative procedure, it is permitted under section 29 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz; VwVfG) to make photocopies or photographs of the examination documents (exam questions, own answers, examination protocol) for personal use (cf. Prüfungsrecht, Zimmerling/Brehm; Hochschulrecht, Hartmer/Detmer). Likewise, it is permitted to take notes and to consult books or lecture notes during the review (cf. Prüfungsrecht, Niehues/Fischer/Jeremias).

After the conclusion of the examination procedure, the examination file must be retained for at least 30 years. This is regulated in section 5 (1) of the Archives Act for the Free State of Saxony (Archivgesetz für den Freistaat Sachsen).

Public distribution (e.g., on the internet) or the sale of the made copies is strictly prohibited due to copyright law. Furthermore, the original documents may not be altered retrospectively. However, it is explicitly permitted to make the private copies accessible to so-called experts (e.g., knowledgeable fellow students or university lecturers) in order to understand the assessment's content or to prepare an appeal (cf. Prüfungsrecht, Zimmerling/Brehm).

An appeal against the assessment or the examination procedure can be filed within four weeks after the announcement of the examination result. If no official instructions on the right to appeal (Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung) were attached to the examination result, this deadline is extended to 12 months after the announcement (cf. Mein Recht bei Prüfungen, Birnbaum).

Yes, it is generally permitted to bring accompanying persons to review the documents together – which is often very useful in terms of consulting experts. However, this may be denied in individual cases for organizational or capacity reasons (e.g., if the room is too small). In general, it is recommended that teaching staff offer centralized appointments with a subject matter expert present, rather than outsourcing the review to the Examination Office.

No, the principle of prohibition of deterioration (Verschlechterungsverbot) applies here. If the examination performance is reassessed, the overall result may not be worse than before. Furthermore, examiners are not permitted to retrospectively penalize errors that were overlooked in the previous assessment in order to offset newly found positive points (cf. Hochschulrecht, Hartmer/Detmer).

As a rule, there is no direct entitlement to the provision of model solutions, as these are not legally binding for the final assessment due to the independence of the examiners. However, it may be possible to request them based on the Freedom of Information Act (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz). Nevertheless, the voluntary provision by examiners is strongly recommended to give students a clear understanding of the expected performance and to minimize inquiries.