The Governing Board of Széchenyi István University (hereinafter: SZE) (hereinafter: IT) issues this circular in accordance with Article 33 § (1) of the Organizational and Operational Regulations of SZE, with special regard to: 

• Government Decree 484/2020 (XI. 10.) on the second phase of protection measures to be applied in the event of an emergency
• Act I of 2021 on protection measures against the coronavirus pandemic
• The provisions of Act XCIX of 2021 on transitional rules related to the emergency.

The scope of this circular extends to all Széchenyi István University’s full-time and contracted employees as well as students.

General provisions:

1. The territory of the SZE may be entered by anyone who:

• has a body temperature of below 37.5 degrees Celsius
• does not show any of the typical symptoms of coronavirus (koronavirus.gov.hu)
• has complied with government-level measures regarding the coronavirus (e.g.

quarantine obligation)

2. Distance and mask wearing rules:

• Anyone is allowed to use any mask covering mouth and nose. Use of a mask is not to be prohibited to anyone, nor is its use obligatory, but it is recommended in the buildings of SZE

• A distance of 1.5 metres is highly recommended.

3. Disinfection rules:

• Use of disinfection units at entrances and corridors is recommended
• Frequently used, hand-touched devices must be disinfected hourly during working hours

(entrance doors, handles, elevator operator interface, etc.)

• Special attention must be paid to room ventilation

Supplement to sections of the Study and Examination Regulations (TVSZ):

1. Autumn semester 2021/22 will take place within the framework of in-person education

• A class for full-time students may be held online only if the instructor is quarantined and undertakes the teaching from there, and the nature of the subject allows it, or in the case that at the end of the previous academic year (until 25.06.2021), on the basis of a reported order, the instructor of the subject received the Dean’s approval (for subjects listed in Appendix 1). In the case of correspondence education, consultations must be held in person or online, according to the order announced at the end of the previous academic year (until 25.06.2021).
• Activities that can only be resolved in-person (e.g. laboratory) should be organized by department heads by the beginning of the semester, taking into account the unpredictability of the virus situation

2. Content requirements for Moodle pages are as follows:

    Minimal expected content:

• By the start of the first contact hour:
• subject topics
• Precise definition of required literature
• how to obtain grades (under conditions valid at the beginning of the semester)
• time and channel of online consultations
• time and place of personal consultations (if the epidemic situation allows)
• forum
• During the semester:
• Lecture: week by week designation of the study materials in the required literature with precise page numbers; the presentations used in downloadable form
• Practice (calculation or problem-solving): the topic of the practice from week to week, some related sample tasks, problems
• Project-type subjects: group assignments, setting of individual tasks and availability of related background materials, submission deadlines. All this should be in a schedule that adapts to the tasks so that the student looks at the Moodle page and knows what they need to do to complete it successfully.
• Laboratory: schedule, background materials for laboratory measurements, submission deadlines.
• At least 3 working days before mid-term examinations:
• precise determination of date and place
• group assignment (if any)
• sample tasks of the same difficulty and theme as expected in the exam
• 1 week before the start of the examination period:
• a description of the exact course of the examination
• sample tasks of the same difficulty and theme as expected in the exam

Recommended content on Moodle pages: (It is also recommended to use Moodle pages for)

• Communicating the results of inquiries
• Communication of solutions of the sample tasks
• Providing links to video materials
• Evaluation of content uploaded in PDF
• Online self-tests
• Organization of student group work.
• Anonymous task evaluation by students

It is the responsibility of the relevant department head to check and supervise appropriate uploading of Moodle pages.

3. For new, international students admitted to the University, taking into consideration the different arrival times due to entry restrictions, the Academic Registry will also allow online enrolment in the 2021/22 academic year. Rules concerning international students arriving in the autumn semester of academic year 2021/22 are contained in Annex 3 to this circular.
4. Exemption from the pre-study requirement: In the case of subjects where it is not possible to teach the subjects in the form of distance learning (typically teaching and other professional practice) and in the spring semester of academic year 2020/21 it was impossible to complete them (hereinafter: subjects previously not possible to complete) the competent dean may make a proposal for the temporary suspension of the pre-study requirement for the semester 2021/22/1 until 30 August 2021, which is adopted by the Senate. The proposal could be applied so that, in the autumn semester of academic year 2021/22, exceptionally, students may take “subjects previously not possible to complete” in the current semester, in parallel with the subjects based on them. This facilitation can only be applied in the autumn semester of academic year 2021/22. (Sections 7 and 39 (7) of the TVSZ.) Following the decision of the Senate - on the basis of the approved list of students - the Department of Educational Organization is charged with the uptake of the relevant subjects.
5. Physical education requirements: Physical education subjects taken up for the autumn semester of 2021/22 may be completed until the end of the examination period according to the requirements set by the Physical Education and Sports Centre.
6. Final exam: these are organized in accordance with the currently valid epidemiological regulations at the University. In view of the emergency situation, the competent dean may allow other members of the examination panel, in addition to the chairman and the clerk, to participate online in the final examination. In case of an online exam, the Department organizing the exam will ensure that the minutes are signed. The rules contained in §81 of the TVSZ regarding the composition of the examination committee are still in force.

Rules concerning accommodation in the Halls of Residence:

• Receiving guests in the Hall of Residence is suspended indefinitely
• Lifts, as far as possible, to be used by a maximum of three people
• It is recommended that in accordance with regulations, residents should, on entering their room, wash their hands in hot water or use disinfectant.

Rules for events:

1. Musical, dance events

• Only a person protected against the coronavirus may be present at the venue of a musical or dance event. A person protected against the coronavirus is one who has a valid certificate of immunity (card or app).

2. Other events:

• If other events are held outdoors and

(a) there are less than five hundred persons attending, a person not protected against the coronavirus may be present.

(b) five hundred or more persons are attending, then only persons protected against the coronavirus may be present.

• If other events are held indoors, only persons protected against the coronavirus may attend.

3. External events: It is permitted to hold events organized by external partners on University premises, but in the case of events not organized by the University, the organizers are responsible for the compliance with and enforcement of the epidemiological rules in force.

Rules for Employees:

1. Work in home office is still possible in compliance with applicable laws.
2. Each organizational unit (department) manager is responsible for the organization of ongoing operations and tasks, allowing home office work in certain cases (e.g., the employee is in voluntary or home isolation on the basis of contact research, or has a positive Covid test result but is asymptomatic and undertakes to work from home.
3. If there is home office work at the department, in order to maintain continuous service in connection with the performance of administrative tasks at the level of independent organizational units (directorates, centres, faculties, etc.), managers must prepare a monthly schedule. The schedule should include the offices with the number of staff required to cover the workload, also bearing in mind the maximum protection of the health of colleagues. Scheduling plans are to be maintained by department heads. In the organization of the plans, the following principles must be observed:

• During working hours, at least one employee per work group, and two for larger departments, should be available in person. In the case of faculties, it is also necessary to ensure the personal presence of staff to answer the telephone.
• Work tasks should be distributed proportionally between colleagues working in home office and colleagues working in person, or, as far as possible, be rotated between personal presence at work and the home office.
• Only those who really can work from home are allowed to make use of the home office option. Anyone who is prevented from doing so for any reason has the following options:
• choice of in person attendance at the workplace
• in case of illness with a medical certificate, medical care (sick leave, sick pay)
• taking leave
• unpaid absence certified with prior written management approval

4. If you notice any symptoms of any coronavirus disease in yourself or your contacts, or if you need medical treatment in this respect, and if you or your contact have a positive coronavirus test, stay at home
5. Employees of SZE are obliged to report their illness or obstruction caused by the coronavirus as follows:

• Notify your supervisor directly
• Taking into account the employee's state of health, on the basis of an agreement with the employee, the line manager is entitled to decide on the possibility of their working in home office.
• The manager is obliged to send a notification about this decision to munkaugy@sze.hu, indicating the name of the employee and the period of the home office.

6. We draw your attention to the precise keeping of the related records and the importance of completing the Human Resources data provision. Accurate completion of monthly staff attendance reports, the accounting for travel expenses to work and consistency in the number of leave days are essential. Managers are kindly requested to pay attention to ensure consistency of reports.

Travel rules:

1. The official foreign posting and travel of University employees are approved in advance by the Governing Body. Please submit your travel request in accordance with Annex 2 to this circular.

2. When travelling abroad for private purposes, please observe the epidemiological and travel regulations in force.

Reception of guests in the University:

1. The reception of guests from abroad is only possible on the basis of a valid contract or cooperation agreement. Guests arriving from abroad are allowed in accordance with the epidemiological and entry legislation in force

2. Please consider before receiving external guests from the territory of Hungary - only in cases of absolute necessity should such guests be received. If possible, contact external partners online or by phone. If a meeting in person does take place, please try to keep the number of participants to a minimum.

Final provisions:

With the entry into force of this circular, the following IT circulars will cease to have effect:

1/2020, 2/2020, 3/2020, 4/2020, 5/2020, 2/2021, 5/2021, 6/2021, 9/2021, 10/2021, 11/2021

In the event of a change in the epidemiological situation, we will provide information in a further circular.

This circular shall enter into force on the day of its publication

Győr, 26. 08. 2021.