The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) has addressed concerns regarding distance learning and disruptions of the 2022/2023 spring semester following the massive earthquakes that hit the country's southeast on Feb. 6.

The earthquakes, with an epicenter in Kahramanmaraş, affected 11 provinces in the country's southeast. The disaster greatly shocked the nation, causing widespread material and moral devastation.

Türkiye extended the nationwide closure of schools and universities after catastrophic earthquakes and announced online education for higher education. The move spurred protests from students and a demand to revise the decision due to claims that distance education slows academic development.

After considering the students' concerns, YÖK announced that the spring term for higher education would start with online classes on Feb. 20, and the hybrid education option could be evaluated at the beginning of April.

Special student status

Students affected by the earthquake from the provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa as well as in the Gürün district of Sivas will be granted a "special student status." The status will include those registered at universities in the provinces affected by the earthquake, enrollees with first-degree relatives residing in regions in the earthquake zone, and students from the region who are registered at universities outside the earthquake zone.

Students who want to benefit from special student status can submit an application to their university's student affairs department. The unique student application must be made within three weeks from the start date of the 2022/2023 spring semester. The YÖK e-transcript must also be attached to the student certificate in the petition. At the end of the semester, the student's home university will accept the student's success via a YÖK e-transcript without further paperwork.

Students with this status are required to notify the student affairs department of their university in writing that they have special student status, and no additional fee will be paid for those with this status.

This status allows a student to take courses from an equivalent diploma program at a different university and have the credits of the lessons they successfully completed transferred to their original institution.

In-person course requirements

YÖK also addressed the concerns of Turkish and international students enrolled in courses that require in-person laboratory, workshop, field and similar activities. The educational body announced that the theoretical part of such courses will be given online, while the in-person aspects of the courses are expected to be carried out starting in April. However, if distance education continues after April, YÖK said the course requirements could be completed in the summer term, could be postponed to the next semester or possibly completed with project studies.

Applied training

Students in applied training include fourth, fifth and sixth-year students studying medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, (7+1) students of the technology and engineering faculties, vocational education in business administration, nursing in midwifery, and all other higher education programs will be able to do their hands-on training face to face.

Incomplete internships

Associate degree and undergraduate program students who have graduated and have incomplete internships will complete their compulsory internships, which are included in the program's curriculum and are registered face to face at the relevant workplaces.

Matching universities

By evaluating the current situation of the universities in the earthquake area on site and conferring with the rectors of the universities, relevant matches were made with sister institutions to strengthen the education and training opportunities of the students.

Some universities affected by the earthquake were matched with universities in other provinces. This pairing was carried out so that the said universities could cooperate among themselves in the field of informatics with academic and administrative assignments.

Registration freeze

Any university student will be able to freeze their registration in the spring semester. Students can apply for a registration freeze within three weeks from the start of the university spring semester. The frozen semester will not be deducted from the allotted semesters for the student's program. Students unable to apply for a freeze within the first three weeks of the semester can appeal to the school's administration by providing a valid reason for their late application.

Higher education institutions will set a new date and hold make-up exams for those whose exams were due on Feb. 6 and later.