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 Faculty Commissions (SFK)
A Student Department Commission looks after the special interests of the student members of each university department within the scope of the student body’s responsibilities. In particular, it shall provide advice to students in matters of study, teaching and examinations and represent the interests of students vis-à-vis the university and the department. In addition, it is responsible for the special support of first semester students and the student representation and organizational structures (course groups, year groups) within each department.
The SFKs are elected by the student parliament (StuPa) and can submit proposals to the StuPa. The number of members in an SFK is not limited, and members can be re-elected at each session of the StuPa. Every interested student of the HWR can join a student department commission every month by applying to the StuPa.
In short: it represents the students at the department level
Student Parliament (StuPa)
The StuPa is the decision-making body of the student body, i.e. the “legislative body”. It is the highest body of the corporation and controls the executive body (AStA) of the student body. Its members are elected directly by the students of the HWR for a legislature of one year by means of the university elections that generally take place in summer. The student parliament consists of up to 30 members*. It elects the AStA and the members of the SFK. All members of the StuPa are entitled to apply. They can thus represent the interests of the students in the best possible way and try to improve everyday student life by making changes through applications to the StuPa. It is clear that there are different groupings in the StuPa. There are conservative, left-wing, liberal, green or central, right-wing groups… The range is wide and not all groups would assign themselves to one party, but try to give the interests of their fellow students a voice through their mandate.
Presidium of the StuPa
It is the head of the StuPa, organizes the monthly meetings and the general course of the StuPa and is responsible for the compliance with the statutes of the institutions of the student body. It represents the StuPa outside its meetings towards other bodies and third parties. If prevented, the Presidium represents the AStA Board – and thus the entire student body – vis-à-vis third parties. The AStA Board is directly accountable to the Presidium. The Presidium consists of a President, a Vice-President and a Secretary. The President is the highest office in the student body.