Students' Union
What is the Students’ Union (Verfasste Studierendenschaft, VS)?
The Students' Union
The students at the University of Mannheim form the Students‘ Union (Verfasste Studierendenschaft). This is a corporation under public law and, as such, manages student affairs on its own. Therefore the Verfasste Studierendenschaft (VS) is also considered a student self-administration. It is independent of the university self-administration and is opposed to it.
The tasks of the VS include the perception of the university-political, professional, and interdisciplinary as well as the social, economic, and cultural interests of the students. In addition, the Students’ Union is involved in the tasks of the university, the promotion of political education as well as the students’ sense of civic responsibility. Furthermore, the Students’ Union is concerned with the promotion of equality and the reduction of disadvantages among students. Besides, it is committed to the promotion of students’ sports activities and the maintenance of national and international student relations.
The Students’ Union is divided into different areas. Below the central level are the departmental student councils. The students of a faculty form a departmental student council. Thus, if you are enrolled at the Faculty of Social Sciences, you automatically belong to the student council of Social Sciences. Below the student council level, the Students’ Union is divided into different departments. Membership of a department is linked to a membership in a degree program. So ,as a student at the Faculty of Social Science, you either belong to the Department of Sociology and Political Science, or the Department of Psychology.
The most important organs of the Students’ Union are the Student Parliament(StuPa), the General Students’ Committee (AStA) and the student council. The most important organs of the student councils are the departmental representatives (FBVen) and the student council representatives.
The student parliament is the legislative body of the VS. It decides on all fundamental matters of the Students’ Union, adopts the budget of the Students’ Union, and elects student representatives for various committees. In particular, the StuPa elects the members of the General Student Committee (AStA which is something akin to the government of the VS Therefore, all students indirectly elect the members of the AStA through the StuPa.
The General Student Committee (AStA)is the executive body of the VS. It executes the decisions made by the student parliament and is essentially bound to them. Furthermore, it conducts all current business of the Students’ Union and prepares a budget.
The Student Councilis the organ of all departments at the central level. Members from all faculties are represented in it. The Student Council serves to coordinate and communicate between the departments. It also facilitates the exchange with the other student bodies. Besides, it has a special advisory function, as it advises both the Student Parliament and the General Student Committee (AStA) in matters concerning the departments. . To ensure the best possible exchange of information, the AStA Chair also participates in the meetings of the Student Council in an advisory capacity.
For each department, a departmental representative is formed. This representative performs the tasks of the General Student Committee at the level of the respective department.
The Student Parliament
The Student Parliament (StuPa) is the legislative body of the Students’ Union (Verfasste Studierendenschaft). 23 representatives elected by the students sit and decide on all central issues of the Students’ Union. These include the election of the General Students’ Committee (AStA) and the budget of the Students’ Union. Hence, the Student Parliament is at the heart of the student self-administration.
Currently, five university groups are represented in the StuPa: Juso-HSG (Young Labour University Group), lgl (Left-Green List), RCDS (Union of Christian Democratic Students), AGA (University Group Arrive Feel well Work), ANW (Action Sustainable Economics) and Quadratdemokraten (Square Democrats).
The meetings are convened and led by the speakers of which there are three elected from the ranks of Members of Student Parliament.
The Student Parliament meets at least three times per semester. All students of the University of Mannheim can participate in the meetings. which are generally open to them.
The minutes, invitations, applications, and resolutions of the meetings can be found in the download area of the General Students’ Committee’s (AStA) website.
If you have any questions, please contact the speakers via e-mail at stupa@vs-uni-mannheim.de
Your speakers,
Wanja Pasdzierny (lgl) and Celina Kapuscinski (Juso-HSG)
You want to get on the student’s parliament distribution list or contact the speaker? Just contact the speakers via the contact form
Contact to the speakers
To get all university pulic information, use your @mail.uni-mannheim.de address an.
The faculty representations
The departmental representatives (FBV) are the elected representatives of students at the departmental level. Every year, the students of every department elect six Members of FBV These six persons represent their departmental student council. From their ranks, they elect a chairperson. ranks. Some FBVen may have two chairpeople.
The FBVs work closely with the respective departments and faculties on issues of study schedules and courses. This includes, among other things, exam regulation counselling for students, co-designing of updates on study programmes, and actively engaging in the calling-process for new professors and teaching staff.
The FBVs are particularly well known for their numerous excursions and events Every year at the beginning of the semester, all FBVen organise fresher’s weekends. They also play a major role during fresher’s week and co-organise welcoming events for new students together with the General Students’ Committee (AStA).
The following departmental student councils exist:
