Student Council
A student council is an institution of student self-administration and representation of interests at universities and other colleges .
term
In Germany , the student councils are usually composed of all students from an institute, faculty or department. In most of the German federal states, membership in a student body occurs automatically when you enroll at the university; In this case, exit is not possible ( before de-registration ) (compulsory or compulsory membership). A student of mathematics is e.g. B. always a member of the mathematics student body. Saxony-Anhalt is an exception, where there is an automatic membership, but the resignation can be declared at the end of each semester after one year (§74 Paragraph 1 HSG-LSA). A compulsory membership is therefore only available for newly enrolled students.
Related departments are often combined into interdisciplinary student councils. For example, a university can have a joint student body in the fields of mathematics, computer science and physics.
In Austria , a student council is understood to be student representatives , especially at technical universities . The tasks described here are predominantly carried out by the student representatives or the faculty representatives of the Austrian student body .
In Switzerland , the word is less common, but at least at some universities there are so-called specialist associations that take on tasks similar to student councils.
Colloquially, however , the term Fachschaft is often not used for the entirety of the students in a subject, but for their chosen representatives (see Student Council ) or their office.
Student Council
At most German universities, the interests of students in a subject are represented by the student council , which consists of a certain number of elected representatives of the students in a subject , a subject group or field of study. At individual universities or faculties, the student council is also called student council , study program committee (StugA) (University of Bremen) or student council (including HU Berlin, FH Potsdam).
In some federal states , the student council is intended to be a statutory body of the student body and has its own funds.
Other forms of organization
In some universities, especially in smaller courses, no student councils are elected; Instead, their tasks are taken over by student council initiatives ("Fachschaftsinis") that work on a voluntary basis .
In Bavaria , since the abolition of the student body in the 1970s, there are no longer any official student councils. Nevertheless, the students usually come together in (unelected) student council initiatives or as “ independent student councils ”.
Student council work
The student representatives are usually given a room - the "student council office". In this room, their fellow students can be reached personally and by telephone during attendance times. Often these rooms also serve as lounges and study rooms for the students.
Within the framework of the tasks of the student body and in accordance with the respective state laws and statutes, student councils are primarily (but not exclusively) responsible for representing the technical issues of the students. So organize student representatives z. B. Freshman introductions and weekends, collect and lend lecture notes, old exams, examination and internship protocols. They organize student council parties and sporting events or use the option of bulk ordering of learning and work materials. Some student councils organize and maintain a CIP pool to give their students the opportunity to research and print materials inexpensively. The student representatives advise the students on technical, organizational and social issues. Occasionally, tutor programs and accompanying courses are also offered, in which younger students are taught and they are helped with exam preparation (see also Student Advisory Service ). Numerous student councils publish student council newspapers. Some offer events for subject-related and political education for students.
The student councils often organize local (or, in cooperation with other student councils, national) projects - examples from medical student councils are the teddy bear hospitals or “ Definitely in love ”. Another project is the student accreditation pool . Students who already have experience in drawing up examination regulations and study programs and are involved in the accreditation of study programs from other universities as student representatives register here.
The work of the student councils depends on the activity of their members and is accordingly different. A common problem for many student councils is the lack of committed students. The number of students who are interested in student council work has been falling continuously since the mid-1990s. While in 1983 only 26 percent of students showed no interest at all in student council work, the number rose to 34 percent by 2007, while the number of those who occasionally take part in student council work is falling. The student councils define the main focus of their work themselves, so a general statement about the activities is impossible. Some student councils behave more politically, while others see themselves as pure service providers.
Committee work
Even if the committees of a department (department or faculty council ) are usually elected separately from the student council, it is mostly active student representatives who participate in the design of examination regulations and in appointment procedures . They are the main intermediary between the students and lecturers / professors, address student problems and concerns and, if necessary, resolve conflicts.
Cooperation of student councils
In order to communicate with the individual student councils of a university, there are internal university associations of student councils, for example as
- Student council conferences (FSK)
- Student Representative Conferences (FSVK)
- Student Council and Initiative Assembly (FRIV)
- Student council plenary assembly (FSRVV)
- Meeting of all student councils (TaF)
- Round table of the student councils (RTdF)
- Assembly of the student councils (VeFa)
- Dachfachschaft (DFS)
are designated. These associations can serve as an explicit representation of the interests of student councils, also alongside student parliaments and ASten, as well as better cooperation between student councils at a university.
The nationwide meeting of the individual student councils is usually referred to as the federal student council conference .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tino Bargel: Data Almanac students Survey 1983-2007 , Konstanz 2007 Table 108
literature
- Müller, Ulf: The legal position of the student councils , Lit Verlag, Münster (Westphalia) 1997, 316 S. ( ISBN 3-8258-3502-2 )
