What to do if a student is unable to take an exam due to illness?

This information does not apply to State Examinations!

1. General Provisions

The examination regulations for the various degree programs at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt provide for the possibility of withdrawing from an exam in the event of illness. This is subject to the requirement that the reason for the withdrawal be immediately submitted in writing to the Board of Examiners via the Examinations Office and substantiated in a credible manner. The burden of proof lies with the examinee.

This therefore requires

1. a written statement explaining that the exam cannot be taken due to illness (specifying the degree program, the exam, the exam date, the lecturer, and the examinee’s contact information), as well as

2. proof of the illness (medical certificate). 

See the relevant forms.

“Immediately” means “without undue delay,” i.e., the examinee must provide the proof at the earliest possible time at which it was possible and reasonable for them to do so. It is reasonable to mail the medical certificate to the Examinations Office on the day of the medical examination (or no later than the following day). If sent by mail, the postmark date applies. If an illness occurs while taking an exam, the candidate must notify the examiner or the supervising lecturer (with a note in the exam record).

The medical certificate must be issued based on an examination that took place before or no later than the day of the exam. If doctors’ offices are closed, the candidate must visit a hospital emergency room. Certificates issued retroactively will generally not be accepted.

Anyone who is receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital on the day of the exam must immediately submit a certificate to that effect.

Withdrawal from the exam is permitted only before or during the exam. A withdrawal after the fact must be denied on grounds of equal opportunity, as the examinee would otherwise gain an unjustified advantage over the other examinees.

2. Determination of inability to take the exam / Requirements for medical certificates

2.1 The illness must actually result in an inability to take the exam.

According to the established case law of the Federal Administrative Court, whether a candidate is unable to take the exam is a legal question. This decision is made by the responsible Board of Examiners based on the medical certificate, not by the attending physician.

2.2 In order for the Board of Examiners to make this determination, the medical certificates must meet specific content requirements:

Translated quote from the Letter from the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Art No. XI/4 - 21/126 881 dated September 28, 1993:

The medical certificate must describe the current illness-related and, at the same time, examination-relevant physical, mental, and/or psychological functional impairments from a medical perspective in such a concrete and comprehensible manner that the examination authorities can determine whether the student actually failed the examination on the day of the exam. This means that in cases of outpatient or other primary care treatment, the medical certificate must clearly indicate the obstacles to taking the exam. The certificate does not need to contain a medical diagnosis. The concerns raised by the medical community regarding the disclosure of the medical diagnosis to the University are therefore unfounded.

Translation of the Clarification on this point from the 20th Annual Report of 2002 by the Bavarian State Commissioner for Data Protection (page 230):

These requirements regarding the content of a medical certificate to prove inability to take an exam stem from case law. The Federal Administrative Court has clarified that a medical certificate that merely attests to the examinee’s inability to take the exam is insufficient for the university to accept that the examinee is unable to take the exam. It is not the doctor’s responsibility to determine the inability to take the exam. Inability to take the exam is a legal concept. Whether the conditions for this are met is a legal question that the Board of Examiners—and, if necessary, the court in the context of a legal dispute—must answer on its own responsibility, based on the findings made available to it by the medical expert.

In accordance with the aforementioned statements, medical certificates will only be recognized by the relevant Boards of Examiners if they contain at least the following information:

• A precise description of the physical and/or psychological functional impairments (symptoms)
• The impact of these health impairments on the examination
• The date of the medical examination on which the certificate is based
• The onset of the illness and a prognosis regarding its duration

A mere reference to “inability to take an exam” or “inability to work” is insufficient. A certificate of inability to work (“yellow DIN A6 slip”) is not a medical certificate.

The exact name of the illness (diagnosis) is not required, but it is helpful, as it often allows the inability to take the exam to be determined on its own (e.g., influenza).

The medical certificate should state whether, from a medical perspective, the student is unable to take the exam.

According to established case law of the Federal Administrative Court, an illness leading to an inability to take an exam is only considered to exist if the impairment of performance is not caused solely by a psychogenic reaction to the exam situation (exam psychosis, exam anxiety) or a so-called chronic condition (e.g., chronic, irreversible illnesses). In the former case, these are specific stresses arising from the nature of an examination situation, to which every candidate is exposed to a greater or lesser extent and which must therefore be accepted (Federal Administrative Court, judgment of July 6, 1979, Case No. VII C 26.76).

Even a chronic condition does not constitute an inability to take the exam that would justify withdrawal. As personality-related characteristics, chronic conditions shape the examinee’s performance capacity and do not distort their performance record. They are therefore relevant to the assessment of the competence that the examination is intended to determine (Federal Administrative Court, Decision of December 13, 1985, Case No. 7 B 210/85). In cases where exam-related psychosis cannot be ruled out or a chronic condition is a possibility, the medical certificate must include a corresponding statement to that effect.

3. Additional information

As part of the duty to cooperate in the examination process, it is the examinee’s responsibility to ensure that their physician (with a waiver of medical confidentiality) complies with the aforementioned minimum requirements when issuing the medical certificate. If the submitted medical certificate does not contain the required information and, as a result, the student’s inability to take the exam cannot be determined, this is at the student’s own risk. The exam in question would be considered to have been taken but failed.

In justified cases, the examination authorities may require a medical certificate from a public health officer, even if this is not expressly provided for in the relevant examination regulations. Such a justified case exists, for example, if the examinee has already withdrawn from the same examination multiple times for health reasons. All correspondence, applications, and medical certificates must be addressed to the Examinations Office. The examinee bears the burden of proof regarding receipt (registered mail with return receipt, confirmation of receipt from the authority). A notification by telephone does not relieve the student of the obligation to submit a timely written statement. At the same time, the respective examiner must be informed (by telephone or e-mail).

4. Legal consequences of withdrawal from an exam

If a withdrawal from the exam is accepted, the exam is considered not to have been taken. The exam may be taken on the next regular date when the examination is offered.