Terms of study for the Joint Master’s Program in Econometrics of the Faculty of Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum, the Faculty of Statistics in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics and Statistics at TU Dortmund University, as well as the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen as of July 31st, 2020 § 1 Scope of the terms for the Master’s degree program (1) These terms of study apply to the joint Master’s degree program in Econometrics of the Faculty of Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, as well as the Faculty of Statistics and the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University. They determine the structure of the Master’s degree program (in accordance with article 64 of the Higher Education act for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia). (2) The individual elements of the degree program, its educational contents and the proficiencies to be acquired can be found in the module descriptions of the Module Manual. These are not part of these terms of study. They are determined by the respective committees of the cooperating universities and will be presented to the relevant offices of the respective universities. (3) The Master’s degree program in Econometrics is an English language degree program. § 2 Goals of Study By successfully completing the Master’s program, students earn an advanced academic degree which qualifies them for a professional career. The goal of the research-oriented Master’s degree program is to produce experts in the field of Econometrics. The Master’s program offers students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the field by choosing an individual focus in their studies through a variety of elective options and to expand their proficiencies in the field’s methods. One main emphasis of the degree program is the students’ ability to communicate methods and their application, especially at the intersection of economics and statistics. The students learn how to use advanced econometric procedures and will be able to apply these to data in order to answer economic questions when analyzing economic data. Moreover, they will learn to extend current empirical methods to analyze economic data and to develop their own problem solving strategies. A special focus lies on expanding the students’ capability to carry out independent scientific work. By successfully completing the degree program, the students will demonstrate that they have gained a comprehensive knowledge and a general overview of the field, and have gained the ability to apply and further develop scientific methods and ideas. Graduates of the Master’s degree program will be well-suited for a career in the areas of econometrics, empirical economic research and evidence-based policy consulting. As an English language degree program, it is especially well-suited to prepare students for international career paths. For especially able students the program provides an opportunity to pursue a doctoral program. Another goal of the study program is to encourage personal development in terms of independent thinking as well as social responsibility. § 3 Conditions for Admission (1) Conditions for the admission to the Master’s degree program in Econometrics are one of the following: (a) Proof of a first career-qualifying degree from a degree program in Statistics, Economics, Mathematics or a comparable field at Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University or the University of Duisburg–Essen of at least 180 credit point. (b) A comparable degree (according to article 63a, paragraph 1 of the Higher Education Act) from another German university or from another country. (2) As part of the degree specified in paragraph 1, a student who applies for the degree program must have earned a solid basic knowledge in the following areas, represented by course work worth at least 15 credit points, for both: - Economics including empirical applications - Mathematics or Statistics (3) In addition to the conditions in paragraphs 1 and 2, a student who applies for the degree program must meet the following criteria: (a) The final grade of the required degree (according to paragraph 1) was 2.7 or better, or in case of a degree from another country, a final grade that is equivalent to at least a 2.7 in the context of the grading system used in that country. (b) The student who applies for the degree program must have a certified English language proficiency of level B2 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. One of the following is sufficient as a certificate: - The school diploma qualifying a student for university from a school within the purview of German Basic Law - An internationally recognized language certificate (for example TOEFL, IELTS, or a comparable certificate) - The proven attendance of an English language school for at least one year - The student is an English native speaker or gained an English language university degree. (4) A student who applies for the degree program must provide a C.V. detailing her previous academic career. The C.V. must be in English and should not exceed two pages. She must also document that she has taken part in the Online Self-Assessment developed for this study program (if required). (5) The joint examination board is responsible for evaluating the conditions for admission. The joint examination board may delegate such evaluations to an examination committee. In such a case, the examination committee consists of the head of the committee and at least one additional member. The head of the committee will be appointed from the group of university professors, while the other members will be appointed from the group of academic staff. (6) The criteria for determining whether a degree program meets the conditions in paragraph 1 are: a comparison between the courses of this degree program with the contents, scope and requirements of the relevant courses of the degree program in question, as well as the degree earned and that degree program itself. The same criteria apply to the required credit points in the areas of Economics and Mathematics or Statistics (according to paragraph 2). Depending on its evaluation, the joint examination board may admit a student under the condition of earning still missing qualifications, it may waive this condition, or it may decline to admit a student. Requirements to supply still missing qualifications may consist of no more than 30 credit points and such conditions must be met until a deadline determined by the joint examination board. All conditions must be fulfilled before the beginning of the course “Case Studies” in module ME3. The rules from article 9, article 11, paragraphs 1 and 3, as well as article 12, paragraph 1 apply to the qualifications in the context of these requirements. (7) If the academic degree was earned in another country, the joint examination board must evaluate the relevance of differences according to the equivalence agreements and the agreements in the context of university partnerships put forth by the Conference of Ministers of Cultural Affairs and the German Rector’s Conference. It must also follow the recommendations of the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB). (8) The joint examination board may admit a student into the chosen Master’s degree program who is not yet in possession of her Bachelor’s diploma. This is only possible if the student who applies to the program has completed all of the exams of a Bachelor’s program including the Bachelor’s Thesis according to the criteria of paragraph 1, and if she has the certificates to prove this. She must also show that she fulfills the requirements according to paragraphs 2 and 3. (9) An applying student may not be admitted into the degree program if she has failed the final attempt of an exam required according to these terms of study for the Master’s degree program in Econometrics at one of the cooperating universities, or if she failed the final attempt of an exam in a degree program significantly similar in content (according to the Higher Education Act, article 50). The joint examination board decides if a degree program is significantly similar in content. § 4 Academic Degree For passing the Master’s exam, a graduate will be awarded the academic degree of “Master of Science” (“M. Sc.”) jointly by the Ruhr-University Bochum, represented by the Faculty of Economics, by the TU Dortmund, represented by the Faculty of Statistics and the Faculty of Economics and by the University of Duisburg-Essen, represented by the Faculty o Business Admnistration and Economics. § 5 Credit Points (1) The degree program is structured on the basis of a credit point system compatible with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). (2) Each module is assigned a number of credit points according to its required workload. One credit point in the context of these terms of study is equal to one point in the ECTS and is awarded for the completion of a workload of approximately 30 hours. Students are expected to earn approximately 30 credit points in each semester. (3) Credit points are awarded upon successfully passing entire modules and are awarded at the end of a module. § 6 Standard Period of Study, Scope and Structure of Studies (1) The standard period of study for Master’s program is four semesters (two years), including the time for completing and defending the Master’s thesis. The scope of the degree program consists of a workload of 120 credit points, divided into 42 credit points for compulsory modules, 48 credit points for compulsory elective modules, as well as 30 credit points for the Master’s thesis including its defense. (2) The Master’s program is structured into modules (compulsory and compulsory elective modules) which last for a maximum of two consecutive semesters each. Each module is a compact and coherent study unit in terms of both time and content and represents a workload of generally at least 5 credit points. (3) Courses and exams will be offered in English. In compulsory elective areas, courses and exams may only be offered in German. The lecturer’s decision to offer a course or exam in German will be announced publicly at least two weeks prior to the start of the course. (4) Students may only start the degree program in the winter semester. (5) The structure of the degree program is described in articles 8 and 18, together with the appendix of these terms of study. These descriptions include the modules of the compulsory and compulsory elective areas, as well as their respective required credit points and kinds of exam. § 7 Admission to Module Courses, Admission to Courses with Limited Numbers of Participants (1) Admission to the courses of a module may be limited to those students who have successfully completed other modules. The individual conditions of admission follow the module descriptions in the Module Manual. (2) The courses of the Master’s Program in Econometrics are offered by the Faculty of Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen or the Faculty of Statistics or the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University. The courses may be limited to a given number of participants (for reasons according to the Higher Education Act, article 59, paragraph 2, section 1). (3) The decision to limit the number of participants, as well as to set the maximum number of participants for a given course, is made by the department which offers the course. This also applies to courses that are offered in multiple study programs. Decisions to limit the number of participants will be announced publicly. (4) If the number of applying students exceeds the capacity of a course, admissions are decided on the basis of special considerations regarding the students. At the request of the lecturer, this decision is made by the dean of the department or by an appointed lecturer assisted by the Department Committee of Study and Lectures. Students will be considered for admission in the following order: 1. Students who depend on completing the course in order to proceed in their chosen degree program at that point in time. This includes students for whom the course is intended according to the descriptions in the Module Manual and the official study plan for their current semester. It also includes students who are in the last semester of their study program or in a later semester according to the standard duration of studies and who depend on admission to the course in order to complete their degree within the standard period of study or close to it. 2. Students who do not depend on completing the course in order to proceed in their chosen study program at that point in time, or guest students admitted to the course who depend on completing it for their chosen degree program at that point in time (according to the Higher Education Act, article 52, paragraph 2). 3. Other guest students admitted to the course (according to the Higher Education Act, article 52, paragraph 1) as part of their chosen degree program. 4. Other students of TU University Dortmund, Ruhr-University Bochum or the University of Duisburg-Essen who fulfill the requirements for participating in the course. (5) If it becomes necessary to limit admissions within one of the above groups, applying students will be considered in the following order: 1. Students with a lasting or permanent physical disability, chronic illness or personal duties towards their family (such as being the main raising parent of children who live with the student, or providing regular care for a spouse, a legal life partner or for an immediate relative who is legally in need of care). 2. Students who are required to repeat a course within the respective module in order to complete it. 3. Once all other criteria have been exhausted, access will be decided by drawing lots. (6) It is a student’s responsibility to file an official request in order to be considered as part of the groups described in paragraph 5, sections 1 and 2 when applying for admission to a course. The student must provide documentation justifying her request to the dean of the department before the publicly announced application deadline. (7) The Faculty of Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, as well as the Faculty of Statistics and the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University will work to the best of their abilities to ensure that students from the group described in paragraph 4, section 1 suffer no or at most a one semester delay in their studies due to the restriction of the number of course participants. § 8 Exams (1) A module is generally concluded by a single exam. It is completed once a student passes the graded module exam. In some cases, a module may be also completed through accumulated exams during the individual courses. The kinds of exams for each module (module exam or accumulated exams) are detailed in the appendix of these terms of study. (2) Module exams and accumulated exams are administered separately to the regular courses, usually in the form of written, oral or digitally administered exams, or as digitally submitted exam work (written exams, oral or written presentations, academic papers, portfolios, posters/project presentations, exercises, or a combination of the above). An examiner may decide on other appropriate types of exams not mentioned above in cooperation with the joint examination board. (3) The kind of exams as well as the exam type and scope are either stated in the module descriptions in the Module Manual or will be announced by the examiner no later than two weeks after a course has started.Given good reason a request to the joint examination board can be made to deviate for a limited time period from the exam form stated in the Module Manual. (4) A student may be admitted to a given module exam or perform accumulated exams only if she has completed the exams listed as prerequisites in the module descriptions in the handbook of study modules. (5) Written module exams take at least 60 minutes and no more than 240 minutes. Oral module exams take at least 20 minutes and no more than 45 minutes for each student. In the case of accumulated exams, written exams should take no longer than 240 minutes, while oral exams should take between 15 and 30 minutes for each student. In some cases, exceptions may be made to these time frames with good reason. (6) Written exams and exams in electronic form may consist of multiple-choice tests or include elements of such tests. When using multiple-choice, the examiner must take special care to ensure that the test fits the given course and module, its contents, and its required proficiencies, and that the test provides reliable evaluation results. (7) Written exams are supervised and take place in closed sessions. The examiners will publicly announce which possible study aides, tools or materials are permitted for the exam no later than four weeks before the exam. (8) Students must be informed of the results no later than eight weeks after the exam, but always in time before the date when an exam can be repeated. A sufficient time period of must be guaranteed between announcing the grades of the first exam and the date of the second exam. Each student’s privacy regarding their examination results must be protected. (9) If an oral exam is administered by a single examiner, the examiner has to give the attending observer a say in the grading process (according to article 19, paragraph 1). If two examiners are present for an oral exam, each of them decides on a grade separately (also according to article 19, paragraph 1). The final grade of the oral exam is then derived from the mean of these two grades (according to article 19, paragraph 7). If only one of the examiners decides on a grade of at least “sufficient” (4.0), the exam must be repeated, but does not count as a failed attempt. The joint examination board will then appoint a new examiner or two new examiners. (10) The main topics and results of an oral exam must be recorded in a protocol. The student must be informed of the results immediately after the oral exam. Students who wish to take the same exam during a future examination period are allowed to sit in and observe an oral exam at the discretion of the examinee if the exam location permits this. Observing an exam does not include the evaluation process following the exam or the presentation of its results. In case of disturbances or attempts to influence the exam, observers may be excluded by the examiner. (11) For exams, written or oral, that lead to the completion of the study program or that are being repeatedly sat for the last time with the possibility that the student will be excluded from the study program without recourse at least two examiners must be present (as defined in article 14). Oral exams must always be administered by several examiners or by a single examiner in the presence of an academic expert exam observer. All oral exams must be administered to an individual student. (12) Modules which are concluded by a module exam may also require additional course work as part of the individual courses. This may include academic papers, internships, exercises, written or oral tests, written or oral presentations or written records of a lecture. Such work may be graded, or evaluated as “passed” or “not passed. The student is only admitted to the exam module upon successfully passing all the required course work. (13) The requirements for additional course work are significantly lower than for a module exam or accumulated exams both in terms of form and scope. Any required course work that is not specified in the module descriptions in the Module Manual will be announced by the lecturer at the beginning of the course. (14) In compulsory elective courses which are taught in German, exams may also be administered in English in special cases, if both the examinee and the examiners agree. (15) Courses may have attendance requirements if their study goals depend on the active participation of students. Provisions concerning compulsory attendance must observe the constitutional principle of proportionality. Attendance requirements are determined on the basis of a vote of the advisory board or a two-thirds majority of the department board. Attendance requirements must be noted in the module descriptions of the Module Manual. § 9 Compensation for Disadvantages (1) Exams may be modified to accommodate students with a lasting or permanent physical disability or chronic illness, if a student provides the relevant medical certification. If her medical condition prevents a student from taking an exam or parts of an exam within the designated deadline, in its given form or its given time frame, the head of the joint examination board will determine appropriate alternative means of taking the exam, or an appropriate alternative deadline. This also applies to course work required to be eligible to take an exam. Furthermore, exceptions may be made regarding the permission to use study aides, including tools or personal assistants, as well as the number of allowed attempts to repeat an exam or the conditions for repeated attempts. Such accommodating rulings should apply to the entirety of the degree program for individuals with a disability or a chronic illness, assuming that their medical situation is not expected tochange during the course of the degree program. When in doubt, the office of the advocate for studentswith disabilities must be consulted (for example, the Department of Disability and Studies at the center forhigher education at TU University Dortmund, or the Service Center for Students with Disabilities at RuhrUniversity Bochum). (2) Compensation for disadvantages will be granted on a case-by-case basis by the joint examination board after a student has applied for it at the Central Examination Administration Office. Examinations will accommodate down time due to being the main raising parent of children who live with the student, or providing regular care for a spouse, a legal life partner or for an immediate relative who is legally in need of care. § 10 Maternal Protections The legal maternal protection periods do apply, as well as the corresponding provisions of the maternal protection law (see article 64, paragraph 2, section 5 and paragraph 2a of the Higher Education Act for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia). § 11 Dates and Deadlines (1) The dates of all examinations must be set in such a way that no lectures are missed or cancelled. The dates of written and oral exams are set by the joint examination board and must be announced publicly as soon as possible, but no later than four weeks before the end of the lecture period. The time period for oral exams will be announced no later than four weeks before the earliest date of the chosen period. The individual oral exam dates for each student will be announced no later than one week before the exam. (2) It is the students’ responsibility to keep herself informed on the examination dates. (3) Students must apply for written or oral exams no later than two weeks before a given exam. The application period should be two weeks long. The deadline for applications must be made publicly available by the joint examination board at the beginning of a semester or at least one month before the deadline. (4) Applications for all students are managed by the system of TU Dortmund University. The terms and deadlines for applying to other exams at the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University, as well as the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen are determined by the joint examination board. (5) A student may cancel an application for an exam without stating a reason until up to one week before the exam date in case of an oral exam, or until up to one day before the exam date in case of a written exam. The student is then considered as not having applied for the exam. In courses at the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University, the exam date is the date of the legally binding declaration of taking part in the exam, given to the examiner. § 12 Repeating Exams, Passing the Master’s Exam, Definitive Failure to Pass (1) If a student does not pass a module exam or its accumulated exams or the exams are considered not to be passed, she is entitled to two further attempts to pass the exam. If a student does not pass an individual accumulated exams, only that individual exam has to be repeated. A student who passes an exam is not allowed to retake it. (2) As an exception to paragraph 1, a student is only entitled to a single additional attempt of the Master’s thesis (according to article 20) as well as the defense of the thesis during the Final Master’s Module (according to article 21). If a student fails her Master’s thesis she must be assigned a new topic. During a repeated attempt, a candidate may only reject a topic for the Master’s thesis (according to article 20, paragraph 6) if she did not make prior use of this right in the course of her first failed attempt. (3) If a student definitively fails to pass a compulsory elective module without any remaining attempts, she may compensate for this by successfully completing other compulsory elective modules, as long as the definitively failed modules do not exceed a total workload of 12 credit points. If more than 12 credit points worth of compulsory elective modules are definitively not passed, it is no longer possible to compensate for these by successfully completing other compulsory elective modules. (4) A student has passed the Master’s exam when she has earned all 120 credit points from the module exams and accumulated exams, as well as from the Master’s thesis. (5) A student has definitively failed to pass the Master’s exam, if any of the following applies: (a) A part of the accumulated exams of the Final Master’s Module (consisting of the Master’s thesis and the defense of the thesis) has failed to receive a passing grade or is considered not to be passed after the repeated attempt (b) It is no longer possible for a candidate to earn the required total number credit points. (c) One of the compulsory modules listed in article 18, paragraph 3, section (a) has been definitively failed or not passed. (d) Compulsory elective modules worth a total of more than 12 credit points have been definitively failed or not passed. (6) If a candidate has definitively failed to pass the Master’s exam or another exam, the head of the joint examination board will notify the candidate in writing. Such a notification must include information about a possible appeals procedure. A candidate may demand a certificate for the exams she has passed. Such a certificate includes a clause stating that it cannot be used to continue the studies at another university. § 13 Joint Examination Board (1) The Faculty of Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Faculty of Statistics and the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University establish a joint examination board which will be responsible for the matters assigned to it by these terms of study. (2) The joint examination board consists of six members and is composed as follows. Four members must be university professors, specifically one professor from each of the cooperating faculties and elected by each of the Facultys. One member must be part of the academic staff and one member must be a student from the Master’s Program in Econometrics, both of whom are elected by the Faculty of Statistics at TU Dortmund University. The joint examination board elect a head of the board and a vice head of the board from the group of university professors. Both positions cannot be filled by persons from the same university. The respective boards of the Facultys also elect a proxy for every member of the board, with the exception of the head of the board and the vice head of the board. University professors and academic staff members are elected for a period of two years, while student members are elected for a period of one year. Reelections are permitted. Should the election of the joint examination board or the election of an individual board member be declared void after they have been inaugurated, any previous rulings and official actions remain legally effective. (3) The joint examination board is an official body according to the Administrative Procedure Act and the Administrative Procedural Law. In terms of the requirements for jurisdiction, the seat of the joint examination board is at TU University Dortmund. (4) The joint examination board will ensure that the terms of study are followed and that students in the Master’s Program in Econometrics are guaranteed the opportunity to complete a certified degree program concluding with a “Master of Science” degree. In particular, the board is responsible for ruling on any officially disputed decisions regarding examinations. It will regularly report on developments concerning the number of exams, study durations, as well as grade distributions to the boards of the departments, at least once every year. Such reports must be properly disclosed by the Faculty of Economics at RuhrUniversity Bochum, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Faculty of Statistics and the Faculty of Economics at TU Dortmund University. The joint examination board may suggest reforms to the terms of study and the study plan. The joint examination board can delegate the following issues to the head of the board: the recognition of qualifications, complaints, time-sensitive decisions, setting registration deadlines, setting exam dates, compensation for disadvantages and the assignment of examiners. Rulings on officially disputed decisions and the duty to report to the board of the department boards cannot be delegated to the head of the joint examination board. (5) The joint examination board is quorate if the following are present: the head of the board or the vice head of the board, one other member from the group of university professors, as well as at least one more member of the board with voting power for the issue at hand. Decisions are made by simple majority. The head of the board has the casting vote in case of a tied vote. Student members of the joint examination board will not take part in decisions concerning the evaluation and recognition of study and exam performances, or concerning the appointment of examiners or their attending observers. (6) Members of the joint examination board have the right to observe examinations. (7) The sessions of the joint examination board are not open to the public. Members of the board are bound by official secrecy, as are their proxies, the examiners, as well as their attending observer. Any one of the above who is not already in a position of public service must be sworn to official secrecy by the head of the joint examination board. (8) The joint examination board makes use of the administrative assistance of the Central Examination Administration Office at TU Dortmund University for performing its duties. The cooperating universities will submit the information required for the administration of exams to the Central Examination Administration Office at TU Dortmund University. § 14 Examiners and Attending Observer (1) Examiners are appointed from the lecturers at one of the cooperating universities who have at least completed the Master’s exam or an equivalent degree and who are holding or have held a teaching position in the Master’s Program in Econometrics. Attending observers for oral exams are appointed only from those who have completed a Master’s exam or equivalent degree in the respective academic field, or who can provide proof of equivalent relevant qualifications. (2) The joint examination board appoints examiners as well as attending observers in accordance with the legal requirements. It may delegate these decisions to the head of the joint examination board. The appointment of attending observers may be delegated to the examiners. (3) Examiners independently conduct their examination duties. They are responsible for preparing exam topics and carrying out the examinations. They decide on the permitted use of specific tools or materials during an exam. (4) A candidate may suggest an examiner for their Master’s thesis. The candidate’s suggestion should be accommodated if possible. However, there is no legal claim to such a suggestion. § 15 Recognition of Previous Academic Work, Qualifying for Advanced Semesters (1) A student’s previous academic work may be recognized towards the requirements of the degree program if the following conditions are met. The student must file an application for the previous work to be recognized. The workload and the proficiencies acquired must not be significantly different from the academic work they replace. The academic work must have been completed at one of the following: - another state university or a university recognized by the state - a state vocational academy or a vocational academy recognized by the state - or a foreign university recognized by the state. The above also applies to students changing between different study programs at TU Dortmund University or between study programs at Ruhr-University Bochum or at the University of Duisburg-Essen. (2) The criteria for determining significant differences are based on a comparison between the content, scope and work requirements of the previous completed academic work and the academic work they are to be recognized for. When determining the significance of differences of academic work from universities from other countries, decisions must be made in accordance with the equivalence agreements and the agreements in the context of university partnerships put forth by the Conference of Ministers of Cultural Affairs and the German Rector’s Conference. When in doubt, the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) may also be consulted. (3) Credit Points earned within the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) will be recognized if the following necessary conditions are met. Before leaving to study abroad, a student should enter a written agreement between her, a representative of the joint examination board, as well as a representative of the department of the host university determining how and which amount of credit points will be recognized. If a cooperation agreement between both universities already exists, such a written agreement is not necessary. (4) It is possible for students to enter into the degree program in an advanced semester. An evaluation exam will determine if they are eligible to do so (according to article 49, paragraph 12 of the Higher Education Act). The knowledge and proficiencies demonstrated in the evaluation exam will then be recognized as academic work required for the Master’s Exam. The results of the certificate for the evaluation exam are binding for the joint examination board. (5) Other proficiencies and qualifications from non-academic backgrounds may also be recognized as previous academic work (for example, such as proficiencies and qualifications from previous employment or vocational training). A student must apply for these to be recognized. Such work will be recognized only if it is determined to be sufficiently similar in terms of level and content and it may only account for a maximum of 50% of the credit points required for the Master’s program. (6) The body responsible for recognizing previous academic work and other qualifications is the joint examination board. It also rules on formal objections to decisions made on the basis of this paragraph. In regular cases, the joint examination board may delegate these responsibilities to the head of the joint examination board or to one of its members from the group of university professors. Rulings on formal objections cannot be delegated. When ruling on whether significant differences exist, a representative of the relevant field of study must be consulted. If an application for previous work to be recognized (in the context of paragraph 1) is denied, the applicant may appeal to the rectorate for the ruling to be reviewed. The rectorate will then issue a recommendation to the joint examination board as to how to proceed with the application in question. (7) Applications for the recognition of previous work should generally be made at the time of a student’s general application and enrollment into the degree program, or as part of her admission as a guest student from a degree program at another university. The person applying for the recognition of work must specify the individual modules of her degree program she wants to be recognized. (8) In cases where required documentation for previous academic work, proficiencies or qualifications are not available at the time of enrollment, it is possible for a student to apply for the work to be recognized at a later date. Previous work cannot replace a module for which the applicant has already begun the examination process. (9) As part of the decision process of recognizing previous work, it is the applicant’s responsibility to provide the relevant materials supporting her claim in the proper form at the time of the application. Relevant materials for determining significant differences include: a list of grades, certificates and diplomas, transcripts of records, learning agreements, diploma supplements, as well as module descriptions and other documentation of contents (if applicable). Such materials must be provided in German or in English. If the source material is in another language, it must be made available as a certified translation. (10) The joint examination board must justify any decisions to decline a recognition comprehensively and in writing. The burden of proof that an application fails to meet the conditions for work to be recognized (according to the criteria of article 15, paragraph 1) lies with the joint examination board. (11) If the joint examination board rules that no significant differences exist, the previous work is recognized completely. Previous work may also be recognized only as part of a module. The respective module will then only be completed and the student will only receive credit for the work after the still missing work has been completed in accordance with these terms of study. The same applies for the recognition of other proficiencies or qualifications. The recognition will be noted in the certificate of grades and in the transcript of records. (12) A student may be admitted to courses or exams without fulfilling the necessary conditions at the time, if these would be met by previous work where the decision process of recognition is still pending. The joint examination board decides whether to admit the student if its ruling on the recognition cannot be made in time for the course or exam in question. (13) If previous work is recognized, its grade must be transferred and counted towards the final grade, provided the grading systems are comparable. If the grading systems are not comparable, the work will be marked as “passed”. If a module cannot be graded as a result of recognized academic work, proficiencies or qualifications without comparable grades, the module will not be included as part of determining the final grade. Academic work, proficiencies or qualifications without comparable grades may only make up a maximum of one-third of the required work of the degree program. (14) The joint examination board must rule on applications concerning the recognition of previous academic work or other proficiencies or qualifications within a deadline of three months. The deadline begins as soon as all relevant materials and information have been made available to the joint examination board. (15) Formal objections against rulings based on these terms must be filed within one month of when the ruling was announced. Objections must be addressed to the head of the joint examination board responsible and must be made in writing or noted in writing (according to article 70 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure). The decision regarding the objection must be made within one month and the applicant must be notified in writing. If the objection is declined, the written notification must include a justification and information about a possible appeal procedure. (16) The starting semester in the degree program for students whose previous work has been recognized (according to article 15, paragraph 1) is determined as follows. The amount of previously earned credit points is divided the total credit points to be earned in the given degree program. The result is the student’s starting semester, where fractions smaller than .5 will be rounded down and otherwise, the result will be rounded up. § 16 Defaulting, Withdrawing, Cheating and Breaches of Regulations (1) An exam will result in a grade of “not sufficient” (5.0) or “not passed” if a candidate fails to appear for the exam without substantiated reasons or withdraws from the exam after it has started without substantiated reasons, or if she fails to hand in her written work in time. (2) Substantiated reasons for withdrawing or defaulting must be stated to the joint examination board in writing immediately, and they must include a convincing explanation and proof. In case of a candidate’s illness or an illness of a child of whom the candidate is the main raising parent, the candidate must provide medical certification in German. In case of a candidate’s illness, the medical certification must assert her incapability to take part in the examination. A medical certification substantiating withdrawing from a taken examination must assert the candidate’s incapability at the time of the exam was not apparent to the candidate for medical reasons and that the candidate had no reason to doubt her own capability at the beginning of the exam. If the joint examination board does not recognize the reasons for defaulting or withdrawing as substantiated, it will notify the candidate in writing. (3) If an exam performance is influenced by cheating (such as using tools or materials that were not permitted, copying parts of a text without marking it as a quotation, copying from other candidates, etc.), it is considered to be graded as “not sufficient” (5.0) or “not passed”. This is also the case for mere attempts of cheating. If an examiner or a proctor notices such an act or attempt during an examination, they will record this in writing. The joint examination board will then decide whether it constitutes cheating or an attempt at cheating resulting in an exam evaluation of “not sufficient” (5.0) or “not passed”. In order to detect cheating, examiners or the joint examination board may make use of plagiarism detection software or other digital tools. In cases of severe cheating or disturbances, the joint examination board may exclude a candidate from further exams. Any person who intentionally cheats or attempts to cheats commits an administrative offense. Such an offense may be punished by a fine of up to 50.000 Euros (according to article 63, paragraph 5 of the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia). (4) A candidate who disturbs the proper proceedings of an exam (for example, by allowing others to copy her work) may be reprimanded or excluded from continuing the examination by the proctor or by the examiner. In such a case, the given exam is considered to be graded as “not sufficient” (5.0) or “not passed”. The reasons for such a decision must be filed on record. (5) The joint examination board may require candidates to sign a declaration of authorship regarding module exams or accumulated exams declaring that they are the sole author of the work, that they have used no tools or materials except those permitted, and that all citations and references have been marked as such. In case of group work, such a declaration applies to the part marked as that candidate’s contribution in the statement of conjoint work. Article 20, paragraph 10 remains unaffected. (6) A candidate may demand for rulings on the basis of paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 to be reviewed by the joint examination board. Such a demand must be made within a 14 days. If a review incriminates the candidate, she must be notified of the ruling in writing immediately. Such a notification must include information about a possible appeals procedure. Before a final decision is made, a candidate must be given the opportunity of a legal hearing regarding the matter. § 17 Admission to the Master’s Exam (1) In order to be admitted to the exam, a student must be enrolled at the time of the exam or at the time she applies for the exam. Specifically, she must be enrolled in the Master’s degree program in Econometrics at TU Dortmund University and admitted as a guest student at the University of Duisburg-Essen and at the Ruhr-University Bochum (according to article 52, paragraph 2, section 3 of the Higher Education Act in conjunction with article 77, paragraph 1, section 3 of the Higher Education Act). For students during an official leave of absence, article 48, paragraph 5 of the Higher Education Act applies. (2) Admission to the exam must be denied if any of the following conditions apply: (a) The candidate has definitively failed to pass an exam required by these terms of study, either in the Master’s program in Econometrics at TU Dortmund University, the University of Duisburg-Essen, or Ruhr-University, or in another degree program significantly similar in content. (b) The candidate has filed a pending official objection against the results of an exam in one of the degree programs mentioned above, and has not yet received a final and legally binding ruling whether or not she has definitively failed to pass the exam in question. (c) The candidate has already been admitted to the examination process of the same degree program at another university in the purview of German Basic Law, or in a degree program significantly similar in content. § 18 Scope of the Master’s Exam (1) The Master’s exam consists of exams that are administered separately to the regular courses. A candidate must earn a total of 120 credit points in these exams, including the Master’s thesis worth 30 credit points. 90 credit points must be earned in the compulsory and compulsory elective areas of study. The remaining 30 credit points must be earned through the Final Master’s Module. (2) The kinds of exams (module exam or accumulated exams) are detailed in the appendix of these terms of study. (3) Credit points are distributed as follows: (a) The compulsory area worth 42 credit points: - 15 credit points from the module “Statistical Theory” (ME1) - 9 credit points from the module “Econometrics” (ME2) - 8 credit points from the module “Case Studies” (ME3) - 10 credit points from the module “Time Series Analysis” (ME4) (b) The compulsory elective area worth 48 credit points: students must complete modules from all three of the listed sections (ME 5, ME 6 and ME 7). The 48 credit points in the compulsory elective area represent both a minimum necessary number of credit points as well as an upper limit of possible credit points that may be counted towards the Master’s exam from the compulsory elective. Credit points in the compulsory elective area are earned by completing modules from the listed sections, distributed as follows: - at least 11 and up to 26 credit points from the section “Economics” (ME 5) - at least 11 and up to 26 credit points from the section “Applied Econometrics” (ME 6) - at least 11 and up to 26 credit points from the section “Econometric Methods” (ME 7) (c) The Final Master’s Module worth 30 credit points, consisting of a Master’s thesis with a topic from the field of Econometrics (worth 22.5 credit points) and the defense of the thesis (worth 7.5 credit points). § 19 Evaluating Exam Performances, Earning Credit Points, Grading (1) The grades for the individual exam performances are decided by the respective examiners. They will use the following grades when evaluating an exam performance: - 1 = _very good_ = an exceptional performance - 2 = _good_ = a performance significantly exceeding the average expectations - 3 = _satisfactory_ = a performance that meets the average expectations - 4 = _sufficient_ = a performance that meets the expectations despite its flaws - 5 = _not sufficient_ = a performance that does not meet the expectations because of significant flaws In order to better distinguish between exam performances, grades may be raised or lowered in increments of 0.3. However, grades of 0.7, 4.3, 4.7 and 5.3 are not possible. (2) Exam performances which are not relevant for the final grade may either be graded according to paragraph 1, or using a simplified scale. The joint examination board must be consulted before using a simplified scale, which evaluates an exam performance as follows: - _passed_ = a performance that at least meets the expectations - _not passed_ = a performance that does not meet the expectations because of significant flaws (3) A candidate has earned the credit points of a given module if they have earned a module grade of at least “sufficient” (4.0) or as “passed”. (4) A written exam consisting entirely of a multiple-choice test is considered passed, if either of the following conditions are met: (a) A candidate has earned at least 60% of the total possible test score, or (b) A candidate’s test score is not more than 22% lower than the average test score of all candidates who took the test. (5) If a candidate has earned the minimum required test score according to paragraph 4 and has thus passed the exam, their grade will be as follows: - 1 = _very good_ if they score at least 75% - 2 = _good_ if they score by at least 50%, but less than 75% - 3 = _satisfactory_ if they score at least 25%, but less than 50% - 4 = _sufficient_ if they score less than 25% of the remaining points after subtracting the minimum required test score. (6) For a written exam consisting only in parts of a multiple-choice test, the parts will be graded separately. The multiple-choice test will be graded according to paragraphs 4 and 5, while the other parts will be graded in the regular manner. Both grades will then be used to form a total grade by weighting each grade according to each part’s maximum achievable points. Paragraph 7 applies here as well. Paragraphs 4 to 6 do not apply, if the exam was graded by examiners defined by article 14. (7) If a module is completed with a module exam, the grade for the exam counts as the grade for the entire module. In case of accumulated exams, the grade for the entire module is derived from the mean of the grades of the accumulated exams. The grades must be weighted in terms of their worth in credit points and they must not be rounded to the nearest integer before determining the mean. If a student has earned more than the minimum number of credit points during the module, she may choose which constituent grades will be used to determine the module grade. The mean of the grades is translated into following final grades: - up to 1.5 = _very good_ - above 1.5 and up to 2.5 = _good_ - above 2.5 and up to 3.5 = _satisfactory_ - above 3.5 and up to 4.0 = _sufficient_ - above 4.0 = _not sufficient_ When determining the grade for a module, only one decimal place will be used. All further decimal places will be discarded without rounding. (8) The final grade of the Master’s exam is calculated from the weighted average according to paragraph 7 of the compulsory modules (as per article 18, paragraph 3A) and the Final Master’s Module grade (article 18, paragraph 3C), where each grade is weighted according to the credit points of the corresponding module, as well as from a single grade for all the compulsory elective modules (article 18, paragraph 3B) with a weight equal to their worth of 48 credit points. The single grade for the compulsory elective modules is calculated as the mean of grades of the completed compulsory elective modules weighted by their worth in credit points. Paragraph 7 applies here as well. (9) Instead of a grade of “very good” (1.0), a graduate will be awarded the distinction “with honors” if they have earned a grade of 1.0 in their Master’s thesis and if the mean of their module grades weighted by credit points including the Final Master’s Module is not lower than 1.2. (10) The total grade will also be expressed as a grade according to the _European Credit Transfer System_ (ECTS). ECTS grades may also be used for all graded exams, pending a decision of the joint examination board. ECTS grades are based on brackets among all students who passed: - A = approximately the best 10% of all passing students - B = approximately the next 25% of all passing students - C = approximately the next 30% of all passing students - D = approximately the next 25% of all passing students - E = approximately the next 10% of all passing students (11) As a rule, ECTS grades are determined by comparing the cohorts of students from the previous six semesters. If such a reference group is smaller than 50 persons, the cohorts from the last ten semesters will be used. The current semester will not be considered when determining ECTS grades. No ECTS Grades will be given as long as the statistical data necessary for its relative evaluation is not available. The composition of the reference group must account for different academic degrees and degree programs. The reference group may also be composed differently in well-founded cases if the joint examination board rules accordingly.