Dear students,

from the 1 January 2016 the legal basis for the Introduction and Orientation Phase for Students(StEOP) has changed. As a consequence, the previous StEOP regulations no longer apply at the University of Innsbruck during the 2016 summer semester.

StEOP New

As of the 2016/17 study year the Study Induction and Orientation Period (StEOP) will be introduced country-wide for ALL Bachelor’s and Diploma Study Programmes, thus also for study programmes for which an admission procedure must be passed prior to admission (Architecture, Biology, Computer Science, Pharmacy, Diploma Programme in International Economic and Business Studies, Management and Economics, Secondary School Teacher Accreditation Programme).

The exception is the Bachelor’s Programme in Psychology, this study programme will have no StEOP, also in the future. The Integrated Diploma Programme in Law plans to implement the StEOP 2017/2018 at the latest.

Even for the Bachelor’s Programme Sport Science  and the Bachelor’s Programme Sport Management a StEOP will be introduced. Please note that, as before, an examination to demonstrate suitable physical fitness must be completed satisfactorily before admission to the Study Programme.

As of the 2016/2017 study year the StEOP courses – depending on the respective curriculum – will cover 8 to 20 ECTS-Credits. Also, depending on the regulations of the respective curricula, only courses corresponding to a maximum of 22 ECTS-Credits may be passed before having finished the StEOP. Unlike in the previous regulations, the passing of courses before the completion of the StEOP is now no longer limited to the first semester (Students may e.g. also pass courses in the second and third semester prior to the completion of the StEOP, as long as the limit of possible ECTS-Credits that may be passed prior to the completion of the STEOP defined by the respective curriculum, has not been surpassed.).

Transitional Provisions

Students who have started a Bachelor’s or Diploma Programme before the 2016/2017 winter semester and have not yet passed the StEOP based on the previous regulations, may take an unlimited number of courses (the specifications of the respective curricula must be met) before having positively passed the StEOP to 30 November 2017. After this date the StEOP must be finished to enable taking further courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a StEOP which has already been passed be “unaffected”?

The StEOP is deemed to have been passed for students who have successfully finished their StEOP before 1 October 2016 (even if the scope of the StEOP has changed).

 

How often may negatively assessed StEOP-course examinations be repeated as of 1 October 2016?

Unlike the previous regulations, StEOP-course examinations may now be repeated four times (= 5 attempts), the same as all other negatively assessed examinations.

Additional information: The fourth and the fifth attempt (on request of the student also the third attempt) must be held before an examination board.

 

What happens if the last possible attempt at a StEOP-course examination has been negatively assessed?

The admission to the study programme expires. Students, who have been barred from a study programme because of failing a StEOP-course examination, may regain admission for the study programme only after two semesters at the earliest. (This is possible twice altogether.)

 

Can one have recognized as a STEOP course examination a course examination successfully passed as part of another study programme or at another university?

• 78 Universities Act (Recognition of examinations) also applies to the course examinations of StEOP courses:

„(…) Examinations marked ‚positive‘ that are taken by regular students at a recognised domestic or foreign post-secondary educational institution, a higher level vocational school, a higher level institution for teacher and tutor education, in studies at recognised domestic educational institutions entry to which requires university immatriculation level, or in a course of university character, together with examinations positively marked in artistic and art-related subjects and those (examinations) of regular students at music grammar schools are, at the request of the regular students concerned, to be recognised by the responsible bodies by official notification as long as they are worth as much as the examinations prescribed in the curriculum. The examinations sat in one subject at a domestic university or at a university of the EU or the EEA are still to be recognised for the same subject in further studies  of the same study area at another domestic university still to be recognised if the number of ECTS-AP is equal to or only slightly lower than (…).“

This means that in the StEOP framework, too, course examinations are also positively graded (e.g. in the case of a change of studies or of university) so long as the examinations taken are of the same value. “Repetition” of teaching diploma examinations “just” because they have been prescribed as StEOP teaching diploma examinations is thus not necessary.
Further Information: Workflow Recognition