University representation of students

The university student representative (usually only briefly Universitätsvertretung , abbreviated UV , to June 30, 1999: Main Board ) is the authorized decision collegial body of Students' stem from a university in Austria and thus corresponds approximately to the German student parliament . Their term of office begins on July 1st of each election year and lasts for two years. In a figurative sense, “university representation” often stands pars pro toto for the corporation itself.

tasks

The university council elects the chairperson of the student body from among the mandataries. The chairperson then proposes the speakers for election. The latter do not have to be mandataries of the university council themselves.

The university representatives issue the statutes of the student body with a two-thirds majority . It regulates the establishment of the departments and, if applicable, the faculty representatives (organs in accordance with Section 12 (2) HSG 1998). On the basis of the statutes, the resolution of the annual budget and the annual financial statements also fall within the remit of the university representatives.

Postings to the Senate and other university (e.g. appointment and habilitation committees ) as well as non-university bodies (e.g. scholarship positions ) are also part of the tasks of the university representatives. The parliamentary groups have the right to make proposals; the available places are distributed using the D'Hondt procedure according to the result of the last ÖH elections.

The chairpersons of the university representatives and the chairperson of the federal representative body form the chairperson conference of the university representatives. It is a committee that advises the federal representation.

historical development

The first main committees were set up in 1945 by the ordinance of the State Office for Public Enlightenment, for Teaching and Education and for Cultural Affairs of September 3, 1945 on student self-administration at universities in the academic and artistic fields. This Decree Law on the basis of the Austro-fascist "university Enabling Act" of 1935 taught the individual Austrian student bodies in the universities as a separate public corporations a (in addition to the nationwide representation competent Austrian Students Union - No extra). The number of mandates of the respective main committee was regulated in the rules of procedure, which required the approval of the state office. The members themselves were of a regulation adopted by the State Office Election Code chosen by the "ordinary listeners Austrian citizenship".

Due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court , the regulation had to be replaced in 1950 by a separate student union law. Instead of the parallel existing student bodies at the individual universities and the nationwide Austrian student body, there was from now on only one unified Austrian student body, but the main committees remained as organs of the new unified body. Their composition was now regulated at the statutory level and no longer through the election regulations. At universities without a faculty or departmental structure , the mandataries were elected directly according to proportional representation, at the others there was a mixed delegation and election model: The chairmen of the student councils (the later faculty and departmental representatives) were automatically voting members of the main committee and became their respective members campaigning groups (parliamentary groups). So that the majority in the main committee also corresponded to the election result, the body was expanded to include a corresponding number of other voting members.

With the new Student Union Act (HSG 1973) announced in 1973, separate bodies were again set up for the individual university representatives. The name “Main Committee” was retained, but the delegation system was abolished. All mandataries were now directly elected, the chairmen of the faculty and departmental representatives only had an advisory vote.

After lengthy deliberations, a completely new Student Union Act (HSG 1998) was passed again in 1998. The main committees were consequently renamed "University Representation" (after the committee character had ceased to exist since 1973). The number of mandates of larger university representatives was reduced compared to the HSG in 1973 and limited to a maximum of 27 mandates. In 2004, an amendment to the HSG in 1998 abolished the direct election of the federal student body and replaced it with an indirect election. In 2014, a new HSG resolved to return to the original electoral system, which means that the federal representation has been directly elected since 2015.

Suffrage

The university representatives are elected every two years within the framework of the ÖH elections that take place in May every odd year according to the right to list voting rights by all regular students at the respective university . Extraordinary students (i.e. those who are only admitted to individual courses or who do not meet the general university entrance qualification) are neither actively nor passively eligible to vote.

The size of the university representation depends on the number of eligible voters:

Eligible voters	Mandates	Mandates HSG 1973
up to 7,000	9	9
up to 10,000	11	11
up to 14,000	13	13
until 18,000	15th	15th
until 23,000	17th	17th
until 29,000	19th	21st
up to 35,000	21st	23
up to 45,000	23	29
up to 60,000	25th	37
over 60,000	27	37+ a

^a“Up to 5,000 active voters, nine mandataries with full voting rights and for every 2,000 active voters an additional mandate. If this calculation results in an even number of mandataries, this must be supplemented by a further mandatary "

In addition, the chairpersons of the faculty representatives (since 2005: organs in accordance with Section 12 (2) HSG 1998) or - if such representations have not been set up - the chairpersons of the study representatives are members of the university representatives with an advisory vote and the right to submit proposals. The speakers are also members, but their right to apply is restricted to matters relating to their respective department.

literature

• Alexander Egger and Thomas Frad: Student Union Act and Student Residence Act . Introduction, texts, materials, decisions, comments. WUV University Press, Vienna 2000, ISBN 978-3-85114-444-4 .
• Stefan Huber: ÖH law . Student Union Act with ancillary provisions. 3rd revised edition. New Scientific Publishing House, Vienna / Graz 2009, ISBN 978-3-7083-0608-7 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Egger / Frad, p. 67
2. ↑ StGBl. No. 170/1945 : Ordinance of the State Office for Public Enlightenment, for Teaching and Education and for Cultural Affairs of September 3, 1945 on student self-administration at universities of the academic and artistic direction
3. ↑ Christian Bruckner: 1950s. (PDF, 4.6 MB) In: 60 Years of the ÖH. 2006, p. 20 , archived from the original on March 14, 2013 ; Retrieved November 5, 2009 . 
4. ↑ Federal Law Gazette No. 174/1950 : Student Union Act from 1950
5. ^ University of Applied Sciences Act 1973
6. ↑ Student Union Act 1998
7. ↑ Student Union Act 2014