Coronavirus 'Phase Three' - Info for Students

For the academic year 2021-2022, the University of Verona, in agreement with the Student Council, has updated its guidelines on teaching for its Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Single cycle/Combined Bachelor+Master’s degree programmes, in the light of the current pandemic period. The updated guidelines aim at encouraging a gradual resumption of in-person teaching and learning activities for all courses, while making the most of the technological and organisational tools and teaching methods that were successfully piloted last year.

While stressing the importance of attending lectures in person, all students in all years of study will be given the opportunity to do so from enrolment to graduation, subject to the availability of space and facilities and in compliance with public health measures. All in-person learning and cultural activities will take place safely, with 100% of classroom seats made available to students.

Students wishing to attend a lecture on site will need to book their place in advance via the UNIVR Lezioni app. Priority for access to classrooms will be given to students with special needs and to international students who request it, in order to allow them to make the most of their time at our University.

Lectures will be recorded and immediately uploaded online. These will remain available for a limited time, but not less than one month, so as to enable students who cannot attend on site, due to organisational aspects, to attend lectures remotely. Students with disabilities or SLD/Specific Learning Disorder will be able to download video lectures even when these are no longer available to users (i.e. after one month). However, they will need to submit a specific request to the Inclusion and Accessibility Unit by filling out a specific form.

The same Covid-19 public health measures in place for degree programmes (social distancing, hygyene measures, etc.) also apply to Professional Master’s programmes, advanced and professional development courses. Since students will not able to access the UNIVR Lezioni app to book their seat, it will be the responsibility of the relevant lecturer to record attendance of each participant and the corresponding seat number.  

Based on the current Covid-19 situation, lectures will continue to be held in person in the second semester, with the same rules as in the first semester, and classroom capacity will be maintained at 100%. If conditions change or there are new national or regional regulations, these measures shall be promptly reviewed.

Please find below the mandatory rules to follow in order to attend lectures on site at the University:

1. students wishing to attend in-person lectures at the University will need to book their place in advance via the UNIVR Lezioni app, or through the relevant online platform;
2. once you have booked your seat in the classroom via the UNIVR Lezioni app or on the web, you can sit on any available place;
3. once you have taken your seat, you must register your seat number via the app, or on the web

In order to ensure that most students can attend lectures on site, all booking limits have been removed. Please note that bookings and seat registrations will be checked on a daily basis.

Please note that holding a valid Green Pass is mandatory to attend lectures on site, as well as wearing a face mask and following all prevention measures in place while at the University.

For further information and FAQ, please see: https://www.univr.it/it/app-univr-lezioni

Priority access to lectures at the University of Verona will be granted to students with disabilities and/or SLD, provided that they book their seat in advance via the UNIVR Lezioni app. Users will be able to book their priority access from 48 hours before students without priority access.

Please follow the steps below to book a priority seat: 

1. Submit the relevant request form to inclusione@ateneo.univr.it together with the medical documents certifying your invalidity and/or LSD condition (this must be done only once, at the beginning of the academic year);
2. Book your seat via UNIVR Lezioni app, and select the priority status when the relevant window is shown (please note that you will need to repeat this step each time you wish to attend a lecture). 
   E.g.: once priority access has been granted, a student wishing to attend the lecture on 1 October at 12:00 noon can book via the app from 12:00 noon on 25 September (whereas students without priority access can only book from 12:00 noon on 27 September).

PLEASE NOTE: students with priority access who do not book a seat during the dedicated window period may still do so at a later date. In this case, however, they will be subject to the general access rules set out in the Guidelines on teaching - academic year 2021-2022. The activation of priority access is not immediate, and requires technical time to assess the documentation and enter it into the system. The outcome will be communicated by email within 10 days of the application being submitted. 

For further information and FAQ: App UNIVR LEZIONI

Lectures will be recorded and immediately uploaded online. These will remain available for a limited time, but not less than one month, so as to enable students who cannot attend on site, due to organisational aspects, to attend lectures remotely. 

Students with disabilities or SLD/Specific Learning Disorder will be able to download video lectures even when these are no longer available to users (i.e. after one month). However, they will need to submit a specific request to the Inclusion and Accessibility Unit by filling out a specific form.

Please fill out the relevant form, which must then be sent to inclusione@ateneo.univr.it within 15 days of the lecture being recorded. Should you need the recordings of all the lectures of a module, please use and submit only one form.
The recorded lectures will be made available on Panopto. For instructions on how to log in: https://www.univr.it/it/panopto  

The Green Pass/Covid certificate requirement – either ‘Basic’ or ‘ Enhanced’ depending on the age of the individual concerned (from 15 February 2022) – shall also apply to students (including those from other institutions with which there are University agreements in place - e.g. Accademia delle Belle Arti di Verona) wishing to access University facilities and premises. Checks on Covid certificates will continue to be carried out by staff authorised by the Rector, in the usual manner.

Please note that external users who wish to access University spaces and premises in order to:

• attend graduation ceremonies and final examinations (for PhD programmes, Postgraduate Specialisation programmes, Professional Master’s degrees, and advanced and professional development courses);
• attend events, films, conferences, exhibitions or any other initiative open to the public, both indoors and outdoors;
• access university libraries;

must have, from 12 years of age, an 'enhanced' Green Pass/Covid certificate (‘Certificazione verde rafforzata’) and wear an FFP2 face mask.

The vaccination requirement shall apply from 15 February 2022 to students doing health-related internships, in accordance with Law no. 3 of 21/01/2022 converting Decree Law no. 172/2021 (in force since 26/01/2022).

Please note that failing to comply with the vaccination requirement will result in the student being unable to gain access to the facilities where practical work placements and internships are to be held. Checks on Covid certificates will be carried out by the relevant degree programme Directors/Presidents/Coordinators, before the start of the internship; the managers of the facilities where the practical internships take place can carry out spot checks on students by asking them to show their ‘Enhanced’ Green Pass/Covid certificates.

Lecturers and teaching staff employed by the University are reminded that, in order to be able to check Green Pass/Covid certificates, they must be authorised by the Rector; please complete the relevant form (please see: ‘Useful documents’ > ‘Modulo delega ai docenti per verifica Green Pass’ on https://www.univr.it/it/coronavirus-info-docenti) and send it to the Rector’s Office (rettorato@ateneo.univr.it).

With the beginning of classes for the new academic year, the performance of Easy Lesson bookings and seat occupancy registrations is being monitored to ensure that as many students as possible can safely return to attend lectures on site. Unfortunately, there were considerably fewer registrations of occupied seats in the classroom than the total number of bookings, so the importance of using Easy Lesson correctly is recalled for the following reasons:

• booking is required in order to sit in the classroom; should you become unable to attend, please cancel your booking as soon as possible, so that other students can attend, and for contact tracing purposes. Moreover, if you have booked your seat and did not show up without cancelling, you may still be asked to self-isolate in the case of a positive case in the room;
• seat booking is fundamental for contact tracing. In the case of a positive case, whether confirmed or not, knowing the position occupied by each person allows the authorities to assess whether and for whom to order quarantine measures, without having to involve individuals who have not had close contact with the positive person, or who were not even in the classroom.

Please note: should you test positive for Covid-19, or be put in quarantine for having being in close contact with a positive person, please contact the University’s Covid-19 Contact Person, Dr. Debora Brocco (e-mail: debora.brocco@univr.it; tel. 045/8027683 or 348/7337833) as soon as possible.

As far as exams and graduation sessions are concerned, in accordance with the MUR note of 6 January, “Evoluzione del quadro epidemiologico - svolgimento con modalità a distanza delle prove, delle sedute di laurea e degli esami di profitto”, the Communication of 7 January from the Rector’s Delegate for Teaching to the Chairs of Teaching Committees [allegato 1], and taking into account both the requests of the Student Council, the Chairs of Teaching Committees and the Department QA Officers, and CoReCo meeting of 10 January, the University’s Covid-19 Task Force hereby encourages lecturers to show flexibility in the way they conduct their courses (in person or at a distance) for the months of January and February. However, when considering possible changes to the way in which examinations and/or graduation sessions are held, which have been previously established with the sole aim of ensuring maximum safety, it is necessary that the academic calendar remains unchanged in order to avoid delays for students, who are advised to check the University website regularly for updates in this regard.

In order to enable students to take exams remotely from home, in light of the current epidemiological situation, the Task Force has therefore changed the relevant form “Richiesta di esame o sessione di laurea o diploma a distanza”, also allowing the following categories to request to take their exams at a distance:

• students who have a serious and proven Covid-related health condition;
• those who reside more than 80 km from the location of their degree programme ("non-local" students according to Regional Council resolution no. 809 of 22/06/2021), for oral exams only, to be held in January and February 2022. This is aimed primarily at ensuring the safety of students who must take long journeys using public transport, and at the same time ensuring that examinations can be administered efficiently and smoothly.

Following the introduction of the Green Pass requirement for anyone wishing to access University premises and facilities, established by Law Decree no. 122 of 10/09/2021, and the experience gained from 1 September to date, it is hereby established that Green Pass checking procedures may be carried out by:

• reception staff in relation to the following categories: University staff of any type; staff from external companies carrying out activities at the University; all graduation and final examination participants and attendees (candidates, Graduation Committee members, any accompanying person, professional photographers), for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as for Single cycle/Combined Bachelor+Master’s degrees, PhD programmes, postgraduate specialisation programmes, Professional Master’s programmes, advanced and professional development courses. Moreover, students and all visitors accessing the University will be checked on a random basis;
• members of specific units established with the aim of checking Green Pass requirements in all the University facilities and structures (teaching facilities, offices and labs in all campuses and facilities of the University of Verona, including those outside Verona) in relation to all users, regardless of their role;
• library reception staff of the University Library System at all libraries (Frinzi, Meneghetti and Santa Marta libraries) in relation to all users, upon prior booking;
• lecturers and teaching staff delegated by the Rector will be able to check, on a random basis, the Green Pass requirement in relation to students accessing the University premises to attend lectures and lab activities, take exams, or take part in Office Hours with lecturers and teaching staff. In particular, it will be up to the relevant lecturers to carry out random checking procedures in their classroom if the University facility in question does not have a dedicated reception area/staff at the entrance;
• Department Managers/Directors or other individuals appointed by them (Area or Unit managers, Department Supervisors, etc.) and delegated by the Rector may carry out random checks on the relevant members of staff, both teaching and technical-administrative staff;
• Department Managers/Directors or other individuals appointed by them and delegated by the Rector in the University facilities outside Verona, where the facility in question does not have a dedicated reception area/staff at the entrance, may carry out random checks on the relevant members of staff and users accessing the University facility;
• members of staff appointed by seminar/event organisers delegated by the Rector may carry out checks on all the participants concerned.

Those who are unable to receive the vaccine according to the Ministry of Health Notice of 4 August 2021, will have to show, instead of the Covid-19 Green Pass, the exemption certificate issued by their General Practitioner or by the Vaccination Services of the Regional Health Authorities and Bodies; as set out in the Ministry of Health Notice no. 59069 of 23 December 2021, the exemption certificate will be valid until 31 January 2022.

From Monday 18 October 2021, all study spaces, as well as classrooms, can be used – esclusively for study – provided that students wear a face mask at all times. 

Following cases of Covid-19 among students at the University of Verona and in relation to the current pandemic, the University’s Covid-19 Task Force considers it necessary to reintroduce, as of 9 December and until further notice, a ban on eating food inside University premises such as classrooms, study spaces, libraries, meeting rooms and laboratories.

Please follow ALL of the public health measures in place to reduce the risk of infection, such as wearing a face mask, keeping a safe distance from others at all times, avoiding gatherings, cleaning hands, booking a seat in the classroom and registering your seat number when attending a lecture.

When carrying out University sports activities, the relevant guidelines drawn up by the University must be followed and complied with.

In the light of the current epidemiological situation and the regulations on self-isolation and quarantine, the University’s Covid-19 Contact Person, Dr. Debora Brocco, announces as :

• should you test positive, please get in touch with your GP and follow the instructions about self-isolation. Positive cases should also establish whether they have been in close contact (i.e. without wearing a face mask, for more than 15 minutes, at a distance of less than 2 metres) with other students or university staff in the 48 hours preceding their positive swab or the onset of symptoms. If this is the case, they will need to recommend that they follow the quarantine procedures set out in the Circular of the Ministry of Health no. 9498 of 04/02/2022;
• those who had been in close contact with a positive case will need to follow the quarantine procedures set out in the Circular of the Ministry of Health no. 9498 of 04/02/2022 based on their vaccination or recovery status. If you are in doubt about how to deal with a particular situation (e.g. if you’re sharing your home with a positive case and you cannot self-isolate), ask your GP.

At present, it is no longer necessary to contact the University’s Covid-19 Contact Person to report all positive cases, or close contacts with a positive case, particularly if these are related to one's private life; however, dr. Brocco will be available to answer specific queries, or if you need to report positive cases in the workplace, or in the framework of teaching and learning activities (especially lab activities).
Contact details: e-mail: debora.brocco@univr.it tel: +39 045/8027683 – +39 347/8337833.

Please note that only those who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, without wearing a face mask, for more than 15 minutes, at a distance of less than 2 metres, will be regarded as a ‘close contact’. This means that you will NOT be regarded as a ‘close contact with a positive case’ if you have been in contact - during a lesson and while wearing a face mask - with someone who has tested positive