Student self-administration
Student self-administration
Student Body
The student body is the totality of all enrolled students at a university. According to §19 of the Berlin Higher Education Act, the central institutions of the student body are
- the student assembly,
- the Student Parliament (StuPa),
- and the General Students’ Committee (AStA).
The student body of the Berlin School of Economics and Law is a self-governing public corporation. The student body is positioned under HWR. This means that the HWR is the legal and subject supervision of the student body. Therefore, the university board can take action against the student body in case of legal violations or disputes.
Student Parliament (StuPa)
The student parliament acts as the decision-making body of the student body, comparable to the “legislature”. It is therefore the highest body of the corporation and oversees the activities of the executive body (AStA) of the student body. The members are elected directly by the students of the HWR as part of the annual university elections in the summer. The term of office is one year. The student parliament is made up of up to 30 members. They elect the General Student Committee and the members of the Student Department Commission. All members of the StuPa have the right to submit motions. This enables them to represent the interests of students in the best possible way and work towards improving everyday student life by submitting motions to the student parliament.
The StuPa usually meets once a month. The members of the StuPa, the AStA and the student departmental commissions have the right to submit motions. Each member of the StuPa can apply for an expense allowance of €20.00 for each meeting. It is understandable that there are different political groupings in the StuPa, similar to a conventional parliament. These range from conservative to left-wing, liberal, green and right-wing. The spectrum is diverse and not all groupings can be categorised into a specific party. Their main goal
Presidium of the StuPa
The Presidium chairs the StuPa, organises the monthly meetings and the general running of the body. It is responsible for ensuring compliance with the statutory requirements of the student body bodies. The Presidium represents the StuPa outside of meetings in dealings with other bodies and third parties. In the event of absence, the Executive Committee represents the AStA Executive Board – and thus the entire student body – in dealings with third parties. The AStA Executive Board is directly accountable to the Presidium. The composition of the executive committee consists of the presidency, vice-presidency and secretary. In terms of protocol, the President of the StuPa is the highest office within the student body.
Student Faculty Commissions (SFK)
he SFK represents the special interests of the student members of the faculty within the framework of the tasks of the student body. In particular, it is responsible for advising students on matters relating to studies, teaching and examinations and representing the interests of students vis-à-vis the university and the department. It is also responsible for the special supervision of students in their first semester as well as the student representation and organisational structures (course groups, year groups) within the department.
The SFKs are elected by the StuPa and can submit motions to the StuPa. The number of members in an SFK is not limited and members can be re-elected at any StuPa meeting. Any interested student at the HWR can join a student departmental committee once a month by submitting a candidature to the StuPa.
In short: It represents the students at departmental level (quasi like a student council in the sense of the BerlHG)