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Family-Friendly University

Eltern Kind Büro 2
Certificate & Services
Zeritifikat familiengerechte Hochschule

Audit "Family-Friendly University"

In 2015, RWU was certified as a family-friendly university and has been undergoing the re-audit process since 2018. Numerous measures aiming at a better reconciliation of studies or work and family life have been implemented in the course of the audit, others are in preparation.

All offers and information available for students with children or other family caring responsibilities are described in detail in the brochure “Studieren mit Familienaufgaben an der Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten” ("Studying at the Ravensburg Weingarten University with Family Responsibilities," available in German only) which you can download by clicking on the link below.

University members needing to combine their studies or work with caring responsibilities can seek advice and assistance from the contact person listed under “Contact & People”.

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Parents-Child Office in M 306

The parents-child office is equipped with a computer workplace, a changing table, a nursing chair, a cot, nice toys for younger and older children as well as a children’s desk. It is available to staff members and students in situations in which they exceptionally need to bring their child along to the university.

The key is placed in a box in front of the office. For the code of the box, please contact

The phone number of the parents-child office is 0751 501-9919.

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Changing Diaper and Breastfeeding

Changing tables can be found in he baby changing room A 106, in the disabled toilets of the C, H, L and M buildings as well as of the students' canteen (Mensa).

Mothers wishing to breastfeed their baby in a protected room may do so in the parents-child office, see above, as well as in the First Aid rooms B 106, H 010, L 019 and M 110. Upon request, the first responders (see notice in the buildings’ entrance areas) will be happy to unlock the rooms. In the H building, Ms. Arsene, Room H 042 is the first place to go.

NEW: Room A 304 is equipped with a nice armchair and is available to students with babies as a nursing and rest room. 

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Parental Leave

In cooperation with Human Resources, a guideline setting out the procedures, deadlines and responsibilities in the context of pregnancy and parental leave has been drawn up to provide information for university staff as well as managers. You will find the document "Ablaufmodell Elternzeit" (Procedural Model for Parental Leave, available in German only) in the download area below.

Kid’s Corner at the University Library

The University of Education has set up a kid’s corner with toys and books for children of all ages as well as a workplace for the parents at the shared university library (Fruchtkasten building). The play area located on the ground floor in the back on the left and shielded by grey partitions is open to all users taking their children along to the library.

Notfallmappe

Emergency Folder

A care emergency can occur very suddenly. In such a situation, relatives need a quick overview of the most important personal data and documents.

For this purpose, berufundfamilie Service GmbH has developed the emergency folder with forms, links and instructions for action and made it available to us free of charge as a certified university.

You can request the emergency folder by e-mailing familiengerechte.hochschule@rwu.de . However, please note that the folder is available in German only.


 

Downloads

pdf (6 MB)
download Ablaufmodell Elternzeit
Ablaufmodell Elternzeit
Ablaufmodell Elternzeit
pdf (141 kB)
download fgh-Infoblatt für Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter
fgh-Infoblatt für Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter
fgh-Infoblatt für Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter
pdf (198 kB)
Child Care

Day Nursery Facilities

On the campus

There are two facilities on the campus which give priority to admitting children of students. Applications for a kindergarten year (September to August) must be submitted to the respective facility by mid-February. This means that there is only one application deadline in a year, and this is well before applicants for a place at university will know if they will actually be admitted to the university. Therefore, unfortunately it is normally not possible for first-semester students to obtain a place at day nursery.

Kinderkrippe Villa Kunterbunt: Day nursery for children from 8 months to 3 years (10 all-day and 5 half-day places), operated by the student services organization “Studierendenwerk Bodensee Seezeit”

Kindertagesstätte Mullewapp: Day nursery for children from age 2 to 6 years (20 all-day places), operated by the student services organization “Studentenwerk Weiße Rose e.V.”

In town

In addition, the childcare facilities at the parents’ place of residence can be a suitable option.

For Weingarten, click on Kinderbetreuung Stadt Weingarten

For Ravensburg, click on Kinderbetreuung Stadt Ravensburg

Individual Caregiving

Childminders

Childminders (Tagesmütter, Tagesväter) can be an option as an alternative or in addition to childcare in a public facility. For children between 1 and 3 years, the Youth Welfare Office may cover the major part of the costs, depending on the parents’ income.

Further information can be found on the website of the contact office for parents and childminders: Vermittlungsstelle für Kindertagespflege im Landkreis Ravensburg.

Holiday Care

In Weingarten

The town of Weingarten offers

  • holiday care (all- or half-day) for primary school children during Easter, Pentecost and fall holidays, as well as during the last two weeks of the summer holidays
  • half-day care incl. lunch for children changing from kindergarten to primary school, during the first school week in September.

Both offers are also open to children not going to school in Weingarten (at a small extra fee). For further information, click here.

In and near Ravensburg

To find the Ravensburg holiday programs and camps offered by other organizations and notified to the town of Ravensburg, click here.

Caregiving

For Students: Special Stipulations in the Study and Examination Regulations

The special stipulations applicable for students with children equally apply to students who take care of a close relative. They allow to stretch the study in time. You will find the special provisions in § 28 of the Bachelor Study and Examination Regulations and in § 26 of the Master Study and Examination Regulations. The regulations can be found in the download area of the Student Administration Office.

Overview about the special provisions for students with family care responsibilities (in German)

Verification:

  • In the case of home care, a caregiver must be named in the application to the care insurance fund. This caregiver is then also named in the benefit notification that the care insurance company sends to the person in need of care if his/her application has been positively decided, i.e. a care degree has been granted. If the student is the caregiver listed here, this benefit notification is the proof that must be presented in the examination office. 
  • If the student is not the caregiver listed, but lives in the same household as the caregiver (i.e.: student lives with his/her mother; she is the registered caregiver for grandfather, but student helps mother with care), the caregiver should confirm in an informal letter that the student is involved in caregiving. This letter must then be submitted to the examination office along with the above-mentioned benefit notification.
  • If neither case applies to you, please describe your situation. A case-by-case assessment will then be made.

Close relatives according to § 7 (3) of the Pflegezeitgesetz (Caregiver Leave Act) are

  1.  grandparents, parents, parents-in-law, stepparents,
  2. spouses, life partners, partners in a marriage-like or life partnership-like community, siblings, spouses of siblings and siblings of spouses, life partners of siblings and siblings of life partners,
  3. children, adopted or foster children, the children, adopted or foster children of the spouse or civil partner, children-in-law and grandchildren.

Should the situation arise, please contact the head of your study program or the contact person mentioned under "Contact & People".

Short and compact: CHE guide "Studieren und Angehörige pflegen" (in German only)

For Staff: Caregiver Leave

The Gesetz zur besseren Vereinbarkeit von Familie, Pflege und Beruf (law aiming at ensuring a better reconciliation of family, caregiving and job) has established a legal entitlement to a leave of absence for different situations, in which close relatives require care or assistance. The very similar stipulations of the Landesbeamtengesetz, § 74 (State Civil Service Act) apply to State civil servants.

You will find a first overview of the possibilities of obtaining a leave of absence in the attached download, detailed information is available at Bundesministerium für Familie (Federal Ministry for Family Affairs).

To apply for caregiver leave, just contact or inform Human Resources.

Notfallmappe

Emergeny Folder

A care emergency can occur very suddenly. In such a situation, relatives need a quick overview of the most important personal data and documents.

For this purpose, berufundfamilie Service GmbH has developed the emergency folder with forms, links and instructions for action and made it available to us free of charge as a certified university.

You can request the emergency folder by e-mailing familiengerechte.hochschule@rwu.de . However, please note that the folder is available in German only.

Care Helper

Christine Hieble in the HR department is the first point of contact for employees who are caring for relatives or who are facing a care situation. As a care helper, she supports those affected with information on contact points and on reconciling work and care.

Studying with children

Special Provisions in the Study and Examination Regulations

The study and examination regulations include a number of special provisions aiming at helping students with family care responsibilities to complete their studies:

You will find the special provisions in § 28 of the Bachelor Study and Examination Regulations and in § 26 of the Master Study and Examination Regulations. The regulations can be found in the download area of the Student Administration Office.

Overview about the special provisions for students with family care responsibilities (in German)

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Maternity Protection

The Mutterschutzgesetz (German Maternity Protection Act) is also applicable to students. Hence, students can inform the Student Administration Office of their pregnancy or lactation. The course of their studies will then be reviewed under aspects of the maternity protection act. You will find the form “Erklärung Schwangerschaft/Stillzeit“ (Declaration of Pregnancy/Lactation) in the download area of the Student Administration Office.

Students who, due to their pregnancy or lactation, are unable to take an examination in the prescribed form and time, can apply to the Central Examination Committee for compensation of disadvantages, whereby a qualified medical certificate must be provided. You will find the form “Antrag auf Nachteilsausgleich“ (Application for Compensation for Disadvantages) in the download area of the Student Administration Office.    

Financial Aid

An overview of financial aid for families from the state and Studierendenwerk and the contact details of Marlies Piper from Seezeit Studierendenwerk Bodensee can be found here and here. Ms. Piper is the head of social counseling. Student parents with financial concerns are welcome to contact her.

Students who have a child under the age of 10 and are entitled to a government grant under the BAföG regulations will receive a childcare supplement in the amount of 160 euros per month. Application forms are available online or at the Seezeit service center located in the dining hall (Mensa). You will also obtain first advice there.

No other financial support especially for student parents is available. However, various funding measures or offers exist for parents in general, for students in general and for anyone in a financial emergency situation. They are described in chapter 5 of the brochure. In particular, we would like to point out the information about possible children's allowance (Kinderzuschlag) as described in 5.4 and about possible subsidies towards the costs of childcare as described in 5.6.

In cases of particular hardship, students can apply to the student services organization  Studierendenwerk Seezeit for interim financial support.

The foundation Bundesstiftung Mutter und Kind – Schutz des ungeborenen Lebens (Federal Foundation Mother and Child – Protection of Unborn Life) assists pregnant women in emergency situations.

Students with one or more children going abroad for studies or traineeship in the framework of ERASMUS get a top-up payment of 250 € per month. For more information, get in touch with the International Office, please.

Grafik SFS DSW

Help and information from Seezeit and DSW

Childhood is the name of the services offered by Seezeit Studierendenwerk Bodensee: care, financial matters, housing, food. 

Further information can be found at the Service Agency Family-Friendly Studies (Servicestelle Familienfreundliches Studium - SFS) of the German National Association for Student Affairs (Deutsches Studentenwerk - DSW).

 

MensaKidsCard

MensaKidsCard

The MensaKidsCard issued by Seezeit enables children of students up to age 11 to eat at the dining hall free of charge.

Click here for further information.

Parents Forum and Club F.A.I.R.

In cooperation with the Weingarten University of Education (PH) and the Club F.A.I.R., a parents forum is organized at least once each semester. It is meant to provide students with children with the possibility to network, learn about current news at the University and voice their concerns.

Club F.A.I.R. is a joint initiative of RWU and PH students and mainly aims at supporting students with children, contact: clubfair@web.de.

Downloads

pdf (6 MB)
download SPO Sonderregelungen für Studierende mit familiären Betreuungspflichten
SPO Sonderregelungen für Studierende mit familiären Betreuungspflichten
SPO Sonderregelungen für Studierende mit familiären Betreuungspflichten
pdf (178 kB)
Contact & People

Contact person

Dr. Anja Wagner

Anja Wagner

Prof. Dr. Jörg Wendorff

Jörg Wendorff