In this small guide, we briefly describe the most important tools and tricks you need to survive in higher education.
Table of contents
- IT user login
- Opal
- Examination and study regulations
- Make a timetable
- Self-Service Portal
- Use the student ID card
- The university library
- Examination Office and Student Office
- Sports
- WGs, initiatives, Clubs and committees
- Freshmans week
IT user login
As a student at our university, you will receive your own e–mail address and a user account. To activate your account, you will receive a registration form in your enrolment documents. Please note: You must activate your account here and change your initial password.
The login you receive is to be used for all logins in connection with TUBAF, e.g. e-mail, W-LAN (EDUROAM), VPN, in the PC pools, on Opal, etc.
EDUROAM
The W–LAN EDUROAM is available on the entire campus. EDUROAM enables students to get an internet connection on the entire campus and when visiting other universities. To make the correct settings on your device, please follow the relevant instructions. Note: The connection to EDUROAM is only possible via the corresponding EDUROAM app, not directly via the network connection! You also need a separate device password for each device!
VPN
You can also access the campus data network externally (EDUROAM or at home). VPN access is available for this. In this guide you will find help on how to configure access on your end device. Please note: You need a “second factor” (2FA) to connect to the VPN. You must set this up in the campus network. EDUROAM is not enough. To access the campus network, it is best to go to a PC pool. For example, to the University Computer Center, Bernhard-von-Cotta-Straße 1, room 1.203; this is open to all students.
Opal
The Saxon education portal Opal is used to organise teaching and learning. This means that you will mainly find lecture notes and exercise materials for your lectures here. In addition, you often have to register there for internships, excursions and tests! It is essential to observe the deadlines. Otherwise you may not be able to take part in the practical or test required for the module examination.
Once you have logged in with your university login, you can get started right away. You can change the language in your user settings, which can be reached via the menu right next to you name.
Opal is sorted under “Catalogue” according to the Saxon universities and there again according to the faculties with their respective institutes and departments. Not everything is always clear or immediately recognizable (e.g. Physics for Natural Sciences belongs to Experimental Physics). If necessary, use the search field in the top right-hand corner to find the right OPAL course.
Sometimes the documents are also password-protected. In this case, you have to get the password from the relevant professor or from your fellow students. The professorships use the education portal in very different ways. Therefore, the offer can be very extensive (learning quizzes, old exams, information on room relocations, etc.), others do not use it and do not put anything on it. You can create an overview by setting bookmarks and favorites. You can also use the education portal to organize and sort your own documents. Many other functions are described in Opal itself.
Attention: You cannot register for an exam in Opal! This is only possible in the self-service portal.
Examination and Study Regulations
Every student enters into a contract with the university. This contract regulates the exams you have to write, the general course of studies and much more. It states what you have to do as a student, but also what the university has to do in return. For example, the guarantee that you will be able to complete your studies within the standard period of study. This document, or documents in which this is stipulated, are called examination and study regulations, and it is worthwhile for every student to have a look at them. All regulations and the corresponding module handbooks are available on OPAL or on the intranet.
Make a timetable
The timetable contains the place, time and lecturer of a course and is created in the course catalogue (embarrassingly German only). After you have selected the relevant semester, you can either find specific courses from your examination regulations using the search function or you can use the ready-made timetables that have been created according to the academic year schedule of your examination regulations.
But be careful: Sometimes there are several exercises or practical groups for one and the same course that cover the same content in parallel. These courses are then usually numbered separately. For the abbreviations, you will find lists on the left to look up. When selecting elective modules, it is always worth taking a look at the examination regulations.
Once you have added all your modules to the collection, you can output a timetable as a PDF or HTML page.
Self-service portal
The self-service portal contains two important functions that you can access after logging in:
1) Administration of exams
This is the only place where you can securely register for and deregister from exams. The registration portal is activated for 2 weeks in the semester so that you can register for your exams with the help of the exam schedule. You can also deregister for exams there up to 7 days before the exam. Only through this registration does the Examinations Office know which exams you want to and will take. If an exam is not on the portal, you must apply directly at the Examinations Office. In addition to registering and deregistering, you can also view and print out your results here under the link “Exams Extract”. For an official document, however, you need the stamp of the examination office.
2) Administration of studies
In the study administration you can print out documents such as the certificate of enrolment or a confirmation of re-registration for your studies. Re-registration confirms that you are still enrolled in your degree programme by transferring the semester fee again! This is necessary every semester. You can have a Sepa mandate issued for this purpose in the study administration.
Use the student ID card
Once you have activated your student ID at the machine, you have access to various buildings and can load money onto your card to pay in the Mensa. The activation machine is located in the foyer of the Mensa on the ground floor at the back of the left rear pillar. The machines for loading money are right next to it on the wall and one each on the left and right side on the upper floor. Note: Practice makes perfect: for hardly any students did the machine swallow the banknote the first time. Access to the buildings sometimes includes access to locked parking spaces and the PC pools.
University Library (UB) „Georgius Agricola“
The main library is located near the Mensa (currently accessed via Winklerstraße). In addition to this, there is also a small branch library for the Department of Chemical Engineering / Energy Process Engineering (Zw 7/3) in the “Reiche Zeche”; usually open on Wednesdays from 7 am to 3.30 pm.
On your first visit to the main library, please report directly to the counter on the 1st floor to have the locker function activated. You can use the lockers and the two self-checkout machines with your student ID card.
Your student ID card is also your library card. A library account was automatically set up for you when you enrolled. To log in to your library account, you will need your library number (on the back of your student ID) and a password (default password = date of birth: DDMMYYYYY). Once you have logged in to your user account, you should change the default password to a personal password and set a four-digit PIN for the self-checkout terminals.
In the main library you will find individual workstations, PC workstations, two group study rooms and small work booths (so-called carrels), which are intended for students who are writing their theses. The entire main library is equipped with Wi-Fi, so you can access the internet from anywhere using your own device. There are also various devices at your disposal: two self-checkout machines where you can borrow and return books independently, a book scanner and copying and printing stations.
The majority of the library stock is freely accessible, while another part is located in a closed stacks from which the books must be ordered. Waiting for these media usually only takes a few minutes. On the freely accessible shelves you will find both loanable and non-loanable items. You can see what is available to borrow and what is not by the markings on the books themselves or in the catalog. In addition to printed and electronic books, the University Library has an extensive collection of textbooks, a large number of printed and electronic journals, numerous databases, a few selected daily newspapers and various political and popular science journals. Brand new: you can also borrow iPads!
The loan period for printed books is 28 calendar days. If the loan period is exceeded, you will be reminded once by email free of charge. Please note that you will only be contacted by the University Library via the student email. You can extend the loan period of your borrowed media – if they are not reserved – online, by email or by telephone.
If you do not respond to the free reminder service, you will be sent a reminder for a fee. Reminder fees don’t go to waste. Therefore make a note of the return deadline and extend the loan period of the media in time! Please inform yourself about further usage regulations and fees in the University Library’s usage regulations and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg’s fees and charges regulations.
To help you quickly find your way around the University Library and efficiently search for the literature you need right from the start, the University Library offers introductory training courses at the beginning and during the semester. We strongly recommend that you attend one of these events. The best place to find out more is on the University Library website or at the counter on the 1st floor.
Please check the University Library website regularly. There you will find information about new information services, changes to opening hours, training courses and all other aspects that are important to you. From the website you have access to the catalog and user services, so you can search for literature and renew or pre-order books from anywhere.
If you need help with information research, you can always contact the staff at the University Library, who will be happy to help you.
University Library „Georgius Agricola“
Winklerstraße 3, 09599 Freiberg
Opening hours:
Information & lending:
Opening hours may change during the semester break.
Examination Office and Student Office
If you are unable to take an exam and have not deregistered, you must go to the Examination Office. If you want to get an official grade overview or matriculation certificate, you have to go to the student office. If you want to register for an exam that is not in your self-service portal, you have to go where? Exactly to the Student Office! And why? Because the Examination Office and the Student Office are in exactly the same place, in the same rooms, with the same staff, so they are in fact one and the same. So don’t get confused: In questions of recognition and objections to study matters, always contact the staff there (in Akademiestraße/ Main Building), in case of doubt they will forward these enquiries to the right office.
https://tu-freiberg.de/en/study/counseling-services/student-office
Opening hours of the Student Office:
- Tuesday: 13:00 till 15:30
- Thursday: 09:00 till 11:30
Sports
The University Sports Centre offers you a good balance to the rather mental everyday life of your studies. To take part in a course, simply go there (with certain exceptions: e.g. swimming courses) and register. Principle: first come, first served until all places are full. After registering, you will receive a transfer slip, after which you must transfer your semester participation fee of mostly 15 euros (more for some courses) within 2 weeks. You will then receive a participant card with which you can take part in the course for the whole semester. You can also take part in all other courses during the semester break (if places are available). In addition, you can also take part in a sports course once during the semester for 2 euros, provided there are enough places.
WGs, initiatives, clubs and committees
Every student is responsible for their own boredom, so it can’t hurt if you take part in the activities in Freiberg or organise something yourself. There’s something for everyone, and if not, there’s always the possibility of starting something new. On our homepage you will find a small overview of the WGs, clubs and initiatives.
Freshmans week
It’s freshmans week, which means there are lots of new people who feel the same way as you do. So get out there, mingle with people and have fun! Because it’s much easier to survive the ultimate study madness in a community than if you’re just wandering around the world on your own.
We wish you a good start to the semester,
Your StuRa