Compulsory Attendance
In Göttingen, attendance is compulsory above all at the Faculty of Philosophy, in the Natural Sciences or in Medicine, where students complete internships in the laboratory and in ZESS courses.
According to the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act, attendance may only be compulsory where the learning objective of a class cannot be achieved by other means. In order to find out whether compulsory attendance applies to your seminar, it is worth taking a look at the module description - it must be written down there. If this is not the case, lecturers cannot insist on regular attendance. Attending the class is up to you.
The general examination regulations of the universitystipulate how often you may be absent if the module description requires attendance. In the case of a class that lasts two hours per semester week, you may be absent twice without apology. If you are absent more often (and are excused with a medical certificate), you will be expected to do a substitute examination. If your child is ill (with a medical certificate), this is recognised analogously to your own illness.
FAQ
In the case of minor illnesses of your child, you can consider whether the childcare offer in emergencies and off-peak periods is an option for you. If this is not the case and you have already exhausted your permitted absences, excuse your absence with a paediatrician’s certificate (blue certificate analogous to employees, often called “der blaue Schein” in German).
This is neither explicitly permitted nor prohibited. Generally, you should consider whether you and other participants are able to concentrate on the seminar if you bring along your child. In any case, you should inform the lecturer in advance.