Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb

COVID-19: Questions and Answers

Dear colleagues,

In order to ensure as clear and as complete communication as possible regarding the current epidemiology of COVID-19, here are the answers to some of the most frequent questions.

We will continuously update you with all the important information via e-mail and official online channels of the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb.

Please follow official FEB channels to stay updated:
Web: https://www.efzg.unizg.hr/en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EkonomskifakultetZagreb
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/feb-unizg/
Viber: https://shorturl.at/iotu7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unizg_efzg/
 
Last change made: May 8, 2020, 11:00h
 
THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT AND THESIS DEFENSE

QUESTION: Are mid-term exams and other knowledge assessments going to be held as scheduled?
 
On March 30, 2020, the University of Zagreb issued Official recommendations on exam-taking and knowledge assessment under these unforeseen and special circumstances. Accordingly, on April 4, 2020, the Faculty of Economics - Zagreb also created an additional set of instructions for the teaching staff on different ways of conducting knowledge assessments taking into consideration the nature of specific courses.
 
Until April 19, 2020 a series of activities have been carried out to test the knowledge assessment procedures and identify any implementation problems.
 
The Faculty will start conducting full-scale online knowledge assessments starting from April 20, 2020, and will define new dates for the examination period which will take place in May 2020.
 
QUESTION: How will exams be held? 
  • Course instructors should inform the students what the online examination will look like, define the exact way of conducting the exam, explain how the exams will be evaluated and what is expected of the students.
  • Before the exam, course instructors should test technical aspects of the exam and test procedures with students by simulating the actual exam in order to address any possible issues.
  • Course instructors should have the backup solution for those students who will eventually face any kind of technical difficulties with electricity or Internet connection.
  • Course instructors can define new exam dates in agreement with students and should have in mind that new dates should not overlap with other exams.
  • Course instructors can choose in which manner to organize the online exam and can combine several methods to organize exams. Exams can be held in following methods:
1. Oral exam via video conference (Google Hangouts Meet)
2. Remote Take Home Exam
3. Open Book Exam
4. Online exam using Google Classroom or Merlin Moodle containing:
  1. Essay questions
  2. Multiple choice questions
  3. Fill the gap questions
  4. Correct/Incorrect questions
  5. Numerical tasks and so on.
  • Other platforms used by course instructors are also allowed such as WhatsApp, Viber Kahoot etc.
 
QUESTION: Will there be an additional exam term in May?
Due to extraordinary circumstances related to the outbreak of COVID-19, an additional exam term will be held in May 2020 (see here). 
For all questions, please contact the Student Office:
E-mail: rfisic@efzg.hr, kmalesevic@efzg.hr 
 
QUESTION: How will the committee exams be held?
 
Due to extraordinary circumstances related to the outbreak of COVID-19, exams in front of the committee will be held online.
Written exams will be held online via Merlin-Moodle and Google Classroom platforms, while the oral exams in front of the committee will be held via Google Meets.
 
QUESTION: Will there be summer exam terms in June?
 
Due to extraordinary circumstances related to the outbreak of COVID-19, the decision on the summer exam terms will be made in accordance with the recommendations from Civil protection, Ministry of science and education and University of Zagreb.
 
QUESTION: Will I have my undergraduate/graduate/postgraduate/doctoral thesis defense?
Due to extraordinary circumstances, all thesis defenses will be held online from April 20, 2020 until further notice via Google Hangouts Meets platform. The delivery of hard copies of theses will be made via regular post.
 
 
QUESTION: How can I apply the topic of my undergraduate/graduate/postgraduate/doctoral thesis?
 
Due to extraordinary circumstances, all thesis topic applications for all types of theses, as well as the delivery of related documentation, will be made online from April 20, 2020 until further notice.
 
For details, please contact the study program directors or the student office for postgraduate studies: https://www.efzg.unizg.hr/studiji-29719/poslijediplomski-specijalisticki-studiji/kontakt-22365/22365
 
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STUDY-RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES 

QUESTION: Are administrative services at the Faculty still available for students?
 
Starting from Monday, May 11, 2020, Faculty of Economics and Business - Zagreb, will be reopened for its students, but only for the necessary administrative tasks.
 
The latter includes following services:
LIBRARY AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRE - working hours from Monday until Friday from 10 to 12 exclusively for the services of borrowing and returning books and other library materials (using the main entrance).
 
STUDENT OFFICE - working hours from Monday until Friday from 12 to 14 for all student office services (using the main entrance).
 
For any information regarding undergraduate, graduate and integrated studies, please contact the Head of Student Office Robert Fišić or Student Office contact for foreign students Kristina Malešević:
 
E-mail: rfisic@efzg.hr, kmalesevic@efzg.hr 
 
For any information regarding postgraduate and doctoral programmes please contact Sanja Šantek:
 
E-mail: ssantek@efzg.hr  
 
REGISTRY OFFICE -  working hours from Monday until Friday from 12 to 14 for all office services (using the main entrance).
 
E-mail: fvalent@efzg.hr
 
DEPARTMENT SECRETARIES - working hours from Monday until Friday from 12 to 14 for all services (using the main entrance)
 
BOOKSHOP - opened on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 to 13 for all services (using the East entrance).
Bookshop contact: nsalaj@efzg.hr 
 
Other Faculty services are still available for students online.
 
IMPORTANT NOTICE to students upon arrival:
  • Access to the Faculty building will be granted only to the students of the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb.
  • Students are obliged to behave responsibly, which means that they cannot enter the building if they carry a contagious (especially respiratory) disease or have high body temperature.
  • Students can perform administrative tasks only for themselves personally.
  • Students are obliged to announce the administrative tasks they will be performing via email or phone to the appropriate office of the Faculty.
  • Students can perform only the tasks they had announced previously.
  • Students are obliged to use a face mask and protective gloves upon entering the building.
  • Upon entering the building, students are obliged to disinfect their protective gloves using the available disinfectant.
  • Limited number of students will be allowed to enter the building to ensure appropriate physical distance from other students and Faculty employees.
  • Students are obliged to respect the instructions given at the entrance by the Faculty employees and use the shortest path to the office they will perform their administrative task in.
  • Students can stay in the building the minimum amount of time needed to perform their administrative tasks.
 INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
 
Given the extraordinary circumstances, International Office employees will communicate with students exclusively via phone, email, website or social media until June 6, 2020 or until further notice.
 
Contacts of the International Office are available at:
https://www.efzg.unizg.hr/about-us/international-office/contacts-11730/11730
 
THE COUNSELING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Considering the current situation, until June 6, 2020 or until further notice, the staff will communicate with students only via telephone, e-mail, website and official social media channels.
For any questions to be addressed at The Counseling and Career Development Office, please contact the Head of the office, Paulina Lučić: plucic@efzg.hr.
 
STUDENT CENTRE RESTAURANT
Considering the current situation and the limitations in the teaching process, the Student Centre restaurant on the Faculty premises will be closed for students until June 6, 2020 or until further notice.
 
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TEACHING ACTIVITIES AT THE FACULTY

QUESTION: Will teaching activities be held at the Faculty of Economics & Business?
Until June 6, 2020 or until further notice, all teaching activities will be held online to allow students to study from home. During this period, any form of teaching that includes physical contact (teaching in the classroom and/or office hours) will not be permitted. 
 
QUESTION: How will teaching activities be executed in the forthcoming period?
Until June 6, 2020 or until further notice, all teaching activities will be held online to allow students to study from home. During this period, any form of teaching that includes physical contact (teaching in the classroom and/or office hours) will not be permitted.  
The latter means that all instructions and course tasks will be assigned to students using Google Classroom and/or Merlin-Moodle. 
By completing those tasks, students will be considered to have successfully completed all requirements for specific teaching units.  For any further questions, please contact your course instructors or Vice Dean for education and students, prof. Bozidar Jakovic: bjakovic@efzg.hr.
Additional instructions for students for using Merlin platform are available here:
https://www.srce.unizg.hr/en/system-merlin
Additional instructions for students for using Google Classroom are available here:
https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020297
 
 
QUESTION: How can I access the course literature if the Faculty and the library are closed to the students?
 
The library and documentation centre continuously ensures temporary access to various texts (e-books, articles and other content) to enable its users a large choice of online sources in these extraordinary circumstances.
 
To continuously follow new content that is being arranged with publishers and access the currently available content please follow the website: https://www.efzg.unizg.hr/for-students-11750/library-and-documentation-centre/11737 and the Facebook page of the library: https://www.facebook.com/knjiznica.efzg
 
Browsing of the texts available via the subscription of the Faculty, University and Ministry are also available on the library website: https://www.efzg.unizg.hr/for-students-11750/library-and-documentation-centre/11737
 
For all questions please send an email to knjiznica@efzg.hr.
 
QUESTION: Will there be a reduction in tuition fees?
In accordance to the recommendations of the University of Zagreb and in dependence on further developments of the Covid-19 situation, additional class sessions will be organized for courses that are not eligible for distance learning. In these cases, the classes of some courses can be organized in a shorter period of time in block hours if possible. As a result, we do not see the need to reduce the tuition fees.
 
QUESTION: What has the Faculty done to prepare its teaching staff for distance learning?
 
The Faculty has ensured additional training for online teaching and additional materials are continuously being made available to facilitate the use of e-learning platforms for both the teaching staff and the students.
All additional materials and instructions are available to the teaching staff via intranet and are being continuously updated.
 
QUESTION: In what way can the Faculty control whether the online teaching is being made in full capacity?
 
There are several ways in which the Faculty monitors the implementation of the online teaching:
1. Through direct communication with the students
2. Through feedback from the representatives of the student of the Faculty of Economics & Business
3. By analyzing the secondary data on the use of e-learning platforms
4. Through periodical control of the quality of online teaching on all study programs, on a sample of students and teaching staff of the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb.
 
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GENERAL QUESTIONS RELATED TO COVID-19

QUESTION: What steps is the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb taking regarding the current COVID-19 situation?
Our top priority is the protection of health and interests of our students and employees of the Faculty of Economics & Business Zagreb. Therefore, we suggest that you, for your own safety and health, adhere to the recommendations of the Crisis management team of University of Zagreb. In accordance with the recommendations, the Faculty of Economics & Business Zagreb has made the following steps:
  • a thorough and continuous cleaning and disinfection of all rooms and areas of the Faculty premises 
  • specific instructions were given to all employees and students, especially to chronic patients, pregnant women, and persons who resided outside the Republic of Croatia within the last 14 days.
  • an instruction was given to all teaching and non-teaching staff that, effective from March 13th 2020, that all business trips abroad are cancelled until further notice.
  • all teaching activities will continue online until June 6, 2020 or until further notice. Online teaching will be executed via e-learning platforms such as Google Classroom and/or Merlin-Moodle. 
In addition, we are emphasizing the importance of regularly and thoroughly washing and disinfecting our hands and following all other recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
 
QUESTION: What is self-isolation?
Self-isolation means avoiding close contact with other people, i.e., complete separation from the public and the household, which includes absence from work, University and other duties. The person in self-isolation is obliged to measure their body temperature once a day and to be in daily contact with an epidemiologist. In case they exhibit symptoms (cough, sneezing, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath), they should not go to the doctor on his own, but should report their symptoms to the epidemiologist by telephone.
Read more about self-isolation here:
https://www.koronavirus.hr/what-is-self-isolation-and-how-to-carry-it-out/212
 
QUESTION: Do I have to be in self-isolation if I have been travelling outside Croatia?
We all prioritize protecting the health and interests of our students and employees, and you are required to follow the instructions of the Crisis management team of University of Zagreb to protect yourself and the people around you.  
QUESTION: Do I have to go into self-isolation if I suffer from a chronic illness?
We all prioritize protecting the health and interests of our students and employees, and you are required to follow the instructions of the Crisis management team of University of Zagreb to protect yourself and the people around you. 
If you have not been out of the Republic of Croatia within the past 14 days and are a chronic patient or pregnant woman, you do not need to be in self-isolation, but it is recommended that:
  • All students suffering from chronic illnesses and pregnant women, 14 days after the decision (March 12, 2020) should work from home and inform the Vice Dean for Teaching and Students Božidar Jaković via e-mail: bjakovic@efzg.hr
  • Students are kindly asked to fill out the following online form.
 
QUESTION: How do I know whether I have a chronic illness?
Chronic illnesses represent a leading public health problem in all developed countries of the world. Ageing population, modern way of life, urbanization, industrialization and unhealthy lifestyle habits (smoking, sedentary way of life, unhealthy diet, etc.) all contribute to it. Chronic illnesses may include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, etc.
If you are unsure whether you have a chronic illness or you have specific questions regarding your general health situation, make sure to contact your doctor (general practitioner).