Frequently asked questions from students

To log onto PAUL, you will need to go to https://paul.uni-paderborn.de and enter your Uni account user name and password in the grey bar at the top of the page, and then choose “OK (Log in)” to confirm your entries.

You can find out how to get a Uni account (a central user account) at https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Erstellung_eines_Uni-Accounts_(Studierende).

You can ask in the Notebook-Café (I0.401) to have your password reset.
To do so, you will need to go there in person during opening hours and show valid photo ID, e.g. your student card.

New Uni account

Forgotten username or password

Error message: Incorrect username or password

Error message: Access denied

User status: Staff

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Registration for modules and courses is possible only once Paderborn University has received payment of your fees. Please note that the 1st course registration period ends before the re-registration deadline. Students who are late re-registering will only be able to register for modules and courses in the 2nd registration period.

First semester students may only register for modules/courses in the 2nd registration period (revision period) and from the beginning of the semester (01 April/01 October).
A Uni account is required in order to use PAUL.

Are you on the “Course catalogue” page?

• If so, first choose the “Studies” button to display a list of all the courses you can register for.

Do your examination regulations intend you to choose specialisations, subsidiary subjects, a foundation course in education etc.?

• If so, you first need to select this option in PAUL – by choosing “Specialisation selection” from the menu on the “Studies” page – in order to display the corresponding courses below the “Course registration” menu item. - If your examination regulations permit this option, but you are unable to select it in PAUL, please contact the Central Examinations Office.

Have you registered for the module in which your desired course is offered?

• In modular degree programmes, you first need to register for the module before you can register for any of the courses in it.

If you were on a leave of absence last semester, please also note this information.

NOTE: In some cases, a specific course may not have been assigned to a module, even though it should have been. If you suspect that you cannot register for a given course because it has not been assigned correctly (for example, the course is listed as part of this module in the annotated course catalogue), please contact the support team.

Have you registered for this course before?

• You cannot register for the same course in two different semesters. PAUL will only allow you to register for it again if you have de-registered from the earlier course, retrospectively if necessary.

Are you starting a master’s degree programme or transferring courses or programmes?

• You will need to register for your course(s) in the 2nd registration period (revision period) at the beginning of the semester.

Is this a course in the Centre for Language Studies?

• If your examination regulations do not permit you to register for any courses offered by the Centre for Language Studies under “Registration for courses”, you can alternatively register to audit classes via the “Registration for language courses (ZfS)” menu option.

Have you paid your semester fees?

• You will not be able to register for courses until you have successfully re-enrolled (receipt of your semester fees by Paderborn University – usually three days after transfer from your bank).

Are there still places available on the course?

• If all places on a given course have been taken, you will get an error message when you choose the “Register” button. Please therefore check the detailed view for the course in question to see whether there are any places left.

Not experiencing any of these problems?

• For all other problems, e.g. if you get the error message “You cannot register because of your status, e.g. because you are on a leave of absence”, please contact the PAUL support team.

Not every module starts anew every semester. A large number of modules only start in the winter semester and are only open for registration online in PAUL during this semester.
If you were on leave of absence last semester and were therefore unable to register for your desired module in PAUL, please contact the PAUL support team and ask them to enrol you in the module retrospectively.
You will not be able to register in PAUL for the courses in your desired module until you have registered for this module.

In principle, students can take courses totalling a maximum of 44 ECTS credits per semester (Faculty of Business Administration and Economics - 45 ECTS credits - info page).

Please also note the following information when planning your semester:

• A bachelor’s degree programme usually equates to 180 ECTS credits, i.e. an average of 30 ECTS credits per semester. In principle, however, students can take modules/courses totalling a maximum of 44 ECTS credits per semester (Faculty of Business Administration and Economics - 45 ECTS credits - info page).

• Students who wish to take more modules/courses in addition to this may submit an exemption request to the relevant examination board before the start of the respective registration period (1st and 2nd registration period or revision period), whereby they must justify why they need to exceed the credit limit with regard to their individual degree and explain how they intend to manage this high workload. Please also note any course or faculty-specific regulations in this respect. The request must be submitted in the special letterbox on Level A 2.053.

• Within each registration period, applications in case of hardship for permission to depart from the regulations (exemption request) and exceed the ECTS credit limit may be approved only if reasons are presented which were not already known before the 1st/2nd registration period.

• Students are asked to register for modules/courses in compliance with the designated credit limit. However, one week before the end of each registration period, any students who have exceeded this credit limit will be informed of this by the relevant course manager, by e-mail to their IMT e-mail address, and asked to deregister from certain modules/courses in order to comply with the credit limit in place.

• If the total number of credits for the modules/courses registered for exceeds the maximum limit of 44 ECTS credits (Faculty of Business Administration and Economics - 45 ECTS credits - info page) after the end of the registration period and no exemption request has been approved, the modules/courses most recently registered for may be automatically removed from PAUL (by the deans’ offices) until the total number of ECTS credits is less than or equal to 44. Any modules/courses removed cannot be reactivated.

• The credits listed in the course overview in PAUL apply when calculating the number of ECTS credits. For Faculty of Business Administration and Economics courses, the credits listed in the module overview and a limit of 45 ECTS credits per semester apply. You can find more information on this [ here ].

• All courses of the Faculty of Cultural Studies are credited with a flat rate of 3 ECTS, irrespective of the respective achievement you wish to take. Pending registrations are not taken into account when applying the 44 ECTS rule.

Please use this form for your exception request and continue your explanation on a separate sheet, if necessary.

Business Administration and Economics students should submit an informal request to the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics’s office for student affairs.

When you register for a module in the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, you will be automatically registered for the associated module exams.

This also applies to students from other faculties who are only taking individual modules in the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics. Therefore, if you do not wish to take the associated exams, please make sure that you deregister from the module in question and/or its exam(s). If you fail to do so and do not sit the exams, you will be failed for this module.

Please therefore note the information provided by the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics on module registration and module deregistration.

For courses in all other faculties, you will not be automatically registered for the associated exams when you register for modules.

Your problem: You cannot see any modules/courses listed for your specialisation/subsidiary subject in the “Course registration” section.

This may be because: You have not yet decided how you would like to structure your degree programme. For Computer Science degree programmes, you must first decide on the following before you can select modules and courses:

• Bachelor’s: You need to decide whether you want to choose Mathematics or another subject as your subsidiary subject. You can decide which other subject you want to take as your subsidiary subject later on.

• Master’s: You need to decide between a studium generale and a minor subject.

Please note the following here:

You will generally need to decide on this before you are able to register for a course or module for the first time (regardless of whether in your specialisation/subsidiary subject or studium generale). You may subsequently change your mind within the rules of the applicable examination regulations.

All first semester students can specify their choice quickly and easily online as outlined above. Students in subsequent semesters will need to use this form to specify their chosen subsidiary subject. It can take 2 working days to process your request. Please therefore make sure that you request your choice in good time before the end of the course registration period.

Once your choice has been recorded in PAUL by the Central Examinations Office, you will be able to register for the associated modules and courses via the “Course registration” menu option.

Your problem: An error message telling you that you are only allowed to select a maximum of one elective module appears when you choose the “Register” button.

This may be because: You have already selected one elective module in your major subject in your Master’s in Computer Science and are therefore now only permitted to select one more.

Please note the following here:

Generally, you must complete one module in each of the following four subject areas: Software Engineering and Information Systems, Models and Algorithms, Embedded Systems and Systems Software, Human-Machine Interaction. 

To select the two elective modules in your major subject in your Master’s in Computer Science, you first need to choose your area of specialisation (for example: “Software Engineering and Information Systems”). You can only do this in PAUL during your 1st semester – on the “Studies” page, choose “Semester administration” > “Specialisation/subsidiary subject selection”. In subsequent semesters, you will need to use this form to specify your specialisation. It can take 1-2 working days to process your request. Please therefore make sure that you request your choice in good time before the end of the course registration period.

You must choose the subject area you want to specialise in before you take a 2nd module in this subject area.

Once your chosen specialisation has been recorded in PAUL by the Central Examinations Office, you will be able to select two elective modules for your major subject via “Course registration” > “Specialisation” in the menu.

Your problem: You cannot see any modules/courses listed for your specialisation or subsidiary subject in the “Course registration” section.

This may be because: For the above degree programmes, you must first decide which specialisation or subsidiary subject you would like to take before you can select any modules or courses.

Please note the following here:

You will generally need to decide on this before you are able to register for a course or module for the first time. You may subsequently change your mind within the rules of the applicable examination regulations.

All first semester students can specify their choice quickly and easily online as outlined above. Students in subsequent semesters will need to use this form to specify their desired specialisation or subsidiary subject. It can take 2 working days to process your request. Please therefore make sure that you request your choice in good time before the end of the course registration period.

Once your choice has been recorded in PAUL by the Central Examinations Office, you will be able to register for the associated modules and courses via the “Course registration” menu option.

Please check the information on module registration and module deregistration.

Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Science  

You should deregister from all courses that you do not want to attend this semester. Otherwise, you may not be able to register for them in a subsequent semester because PAUL will assume that you have already attended that course!

Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Science

You should deregister from all courses that you do not want to attend this semester. Otherwise, you may not be able to register for them in a subsequent semester because PAUL will assume that you have already attended that course!

You can check this by choosing “Examination administration” > “Examination registration” from the menu – you will see the relevant module codes and details listed directly below each course name.

For an overview of modules for which you have already recorded credits, choose “Examination administration” > “Credits” from the menu and then select the corresponding module (choose “Examinations” on the right). A new window opens in which you can see the module in question, along with all the courses you have taken in it.

You can register for and deregister from exams at any time during the examination registration period; please do not leave it until the deadline to register or deregister.

You can register for exams and credits in PAUL on the “Studies” page. Choose “Examination administration” > “Examination registration” in the left-hand menu to access the exam registration section.

This is often because you are not registered on the course associated with this exam for the current semester. In this case, you will need to select the semester in which you last attended this course (see “Semester administration”).

You can select the relevant semester from the drop-down menu:

You can deregister from exams and assessments in PAUL on the “Studies” page. Choose “Examination administration” > “My examinations” in the left-hand menu to access a list of all the exams you have registered for. You can deregister from them by choosing the “Deregister” button.

You can also deregister from exams in PAUL after the end of each examination registration period. The deadline for deregistration is – usually – one week - in the winter semester 2022/23 two days - before the exam date at the latest. You can find detailed rules and regulations on the deadlines for deregistering from exams in your examination regulations.

For further information see also: www.uni-paderborn.de/en/zv/3-2

Please note that the examination regulations and any associated amendment statutes published in Paderborn University’s official publications (AM) form the binding legal basis for your studies. To search for these in the University Library catalogue, you can enter the number of the official publication (e.g. in the form “amtliche mitteilung* 2016 22” for the AM22/16) or the name of your degree programme, plus, if necessary, any further search criteria.

You can find the examination regulations among Paderborn University’s official publications.

You can see which examination regulations apply to you in PAUL by choosing “Studies” > “Semester administration” > “Course registration”. You can then enter the corresponding numbers for the applicable official publications at https://katalog.ub.uni-paderborn.de/.

For all Business Administration and Economics courses, you will be automatically registered for examinations when you register for a module (implicit examination registration). You do need to do anything else to register for these exams, but will need to deregister from any you decide you do not wish to take.

Module registration and module deregistration

Faculty of Business Administration and Economics: FAQ

IBS degree programme: FAQ

Paderborn University offers more than 200 degree programmes, with a multitude of further possible combinations within these programmes – whether or not you can register for an exam in PAUL therefore often depends on the specific case.

In general:

If you can register for exams in the exam administration section in PAUL, you will need to register for these exams in PAUL.

However: As students on undergraduate teaching degree programmes (state examination) are still required to submit module/course completion certificates to the State Examination Board for First State Examinations for School Teachers in order to register for the state examination, they do not need to register for exams in PAUL.

All students who enrolled in their first university semester at Paderborn University in or after Winter Semester 2011/12 must register in PAUL for all exams and assessments.

All students whose examination registrations and grades were imported into PAUL in Winter Semester 2011/12 (Group 2) must register for exams and credits in PAUL from Summer Semester 2012 onwards.

All students who were able to register for exams and assessments in PAUL in Winter Semester 2011/12 must continue to do so in PAUL.

For all Business Administration and Economics courses, you will be automatically registered for exams when you register for modules.

For bachelor’s and master's degree programmes in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, you will need to register for all exams and assessments in PAUL.

For all Mechanical Engineering degree programmes, you will need to register for exams and credits in PAUL.

For all degree programmes for which registration for exams was previously required, you must continue to register for exams – usually in PAUL.

If there are any exams you cannot register for in PAUL, please contact the Central Examinations Office or send an e-mail to paul[at]uni-paderborn.de.

For bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, you must register in PAUL – with the exception of students subject to the examination regulations listed below.
Students subject to the following examination regulations do not register in PAUL, but directly with the relevant lecturer:

- Master in German Literature v1 (2008)
- Bachelor in History v1 (2007)
- Master in History v1 (2007)
- Master in Comparative Studies v1 (2004)
- Master in Comparative Studies/Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies v2 (2009)
- Master in Cultural Heritage
- Bachelor in Linguistics v1 (2005)
- Master in Linguistics EQ v1 (2006, as amended in 2007, Extension of Existing Qualifications)
- Master in Linguistics fV v1 (2006, as amended in 2007, Subject Specialisation (fV))
- Master in Media Cultures v1 (2008)
- Master in Media Cultures v2 (2010)
- Diploma in Media Studies v1 (2001)
- Bachelor in Media Studies v2 (2010)
- Bachelor in Media Studies v1 (2008)
- Dual bachelor degree programmes in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (2006, as amended in 2007)
- Dual bachelor degree programmes in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (2010)

Usually also in PAUL.

Depending on your degree programme and subject combination, however, you may not be able to register for the exams and credits for your studium generale courses in PAUL, even if you can register for all your other exams in PAUL.

In this case, please contact the Central Examinations Office.

The following applies to Education Studies students:

As such students are required to submit module/course completion certificates to their relevant examination office, they do not need to register for exams in PAUL.

The following applies for teaching subjects:

For all teaching subjects, transcripts of records and certificates of attendance will continue to be issued as module/course completion certificates, and will not be recorded in PAUL.

Subject-specific regulations apply for interim examinations . For some subjects, you only need to register in PAUL; for other subjects, you will also need to submit transcripts of records and/or forms to the Central Examinations Office.

If you are enrolled in more than one degree programme, you will need to observe the examination regulations for each subject.

It may therefore be the case that you only have to register for exams in PAUL for some of your courses.

Support

paul[at]uni-paderborn.de

Central Examinations Office

Your GPA in PAUL shows you your current grade point average (GPA). You can check your GPA by choosing “Studies” > “Examination Administration” > “Transcript of records” in PAUL. When calculating your GPA, PAUL weights your credits in accordance with your examination regulations.

Only full credits (e.g. modules passed in full) are included in the calculation.

Any partial credits/modules not yet been completed are not included in this calculation. Modules that have been started, but not yet successfully completed constitute a special case. These are included in your GPA if a status (Passed, Incomplete or Failed) is shown in the “Assessments” section. Modules with no status (e.g. modules for which credits have been recorded, but no assessments taken or modules which have been only partially completed, without all partial components having been assessed at least once) are not taken into account when calculating your GPA.

Your current GPA is for information purposes only. Only your final grade, as specified on your degree certificate, will be legally valid.

To register a final dissertation in PAUL, go to the “Studies” page and then choose “Examination administration” > “Applications” in the left-hand menu to access the applications section.

Where no current application procedures are listed, this will be due to your specific study status (e.g. “On leave of absence”). Current application procedures will be displayed again once Paderborn University has received payment of your semester fees and your status is “Enrolled" or “On leave of absence with examination authorisation”.

This quick guide shows you how to apply for final dissertation approval (and assignment and term paper approval for Master in Mechanical Engineering v1 (AM26/05, AM45/08), Master in Mechanical Engineering v2 (AM43/11), Master in Industrial Engineering - Electrical Engineering v2 (AM45/11) & Master in Industrial Engineering - Mechanical Engineering v2 (AM45/11) degree programmes) in PAUL.

If you have any questions, please contact the relevant administrative office in the Central Examinations Office.

Students on teaching degree programmes can register final dissertations in PAUL on the “Studies” page. Choose “Examination administration” > “Applications” in the left-hand menu to access the applications section. Next, choose the “Start” button next to the “Approval for a B.Ed. thesis” or “Approval for an M.Ed. thesis” field to select it.

Where no current application procedures are listed, this will be due to your specific study status (e.g. “On leave of absence”). Current application procedures will be displayed again once Paderborn University has received payment of your semester fees and your status is “Enrolled" or “On leave of absence with examination authorisation”.

This quick guide shows you how to apply for final dissertation approval in PAUL.

If you have any questions, please contact the relevant administrative office in the Central Examinations Office.

All centrally administered assessment results are published in PAUL.

To view your grades, choose the “Studies” button in the top menu bar in PAUL, and then choose “Examination administration” > “Examination results” in the left-hand menu.

You can also find your current grade point average (GPA) by choosing “Examination Administration” > “Transcript of records” from the menu. Please note that when calculating your current GPA, only full credits (modules) are included in the calculation and that PAUL weights these credits in accordance with your examination regulations.

You will need to e-mail the Central Examinations Office to request a copy of your overview of grades.

You can find the e-mail addresses for the relevant contact persons for your degree programme [ here ].

Please specify whether you want your transcript of records to:

• List all credits (incl. failed credits and exams you are registered for) or only the credits you have actually earned
• Be issued in German or English

You can either pick up a signed and stamped printout of your transcript of records during office hours or downloaded it in PAUL as a PDF with a digital Paderborn University signature.

Please note:
An overview of grades/transcript of records provides an overview of your academic performance. At Paderborn University, your official transcript of records is an attachment to your degree certificate.

You can change your address in PAUL via the “Address / Forwarding / Ticket” sub-menu on the “My data” page:

This page also lists the current print date for your semester enrolment certificate. It can take up to two weeks for your documents to arrive after they have been printed.

Please contact the Registrar’s Office.

• The timetable in PAUL automatically lists all courses you have registered for in PAUL.

• “Approved” course registrations are displayed in normal font.

• “Pending” course registrations are displayed in italics.

• Modules you have registered for are not displayed.

• Your timetable in PAUL will not display any Faculty of Business Administration and Economics courses until after the end of the 2nd registration period – depending on which modules you register for.

• You can find an overview of the modules you have registered for in the “My module registrations” overview.

• You cannot edit the timetable in PAUL, nor can you “earmark” any courses in PAUL (as was previously possible in LSF).

• In the top menu bar, choose “My Data”.

• In the left-hand menu, choose “Forwarding”.

• Check the information in the centre field.

• In the left-hand menu, choose “Configure system messages”.

• Choose the “Change” button on the right.

• Select the checkbox to the right of the question “Forward messages to Uni e-mail address?”.

• Don’t worry about the words “Password protected” and “Public” – at Paderborn University, messages can only be forwarded to a password-protected university e-mail address.

• Choose “Save” to confirm your selection.

• You can see that your change has been made because the checkbox after the question “Forward messages to university e-mail address?” is now ticked.

• A copy of any messages sent to you in PAUL will now also be sent to your university e-mail address. You will still be able to see the original message in PAUL. To do so, choose “Messages” in the left-hand menu on the “My data” page.

Please note:

Unfortunately, the university cannot guarantee that all system messages forwarded will actually reach your university e-mail address. Failure to receive messages by e-mail through this additional service does not constitute any excuse for non-compliance. Please therefore check your system messages in PAUL regularly.

PAUL guarantees that system messages are sent correctly in PAUL, but cannot guarantee that they will be forwarded correctly following delivery to the e-mail system.

User guide

Support

Or send an e-mail to paul(at)uni-paderborn(dot)de and ask for your question to be added to the FAQ.