The Senate

The Senate is the central body of the university – but what does it actually do? Numerous decisions are made in the Senate, from the appointment of new professors, the adoption of statutes and concepts for the university, the establishment of degree programmes or changes to examination regulations to the election of members of the Rectorate. It is therefore responsible for almost all matters relating to teaching, studies and research.

It consists of the Rectorate, 20 professors, representatives from the administration, academic staff, 2 doctoral students, some advisory members and 6 students, who you can currently elect! These 6 students represent your interests, especially on teaching issues, vis-à-vis the majority of the other status groups. They also sit on numerous Senate committees, such as the Senate Committee for Teaching and Continuing Education or the Senate Committee for Research and Junior Academics, in which the various topics are discussed in advance. The student senate members and their deputies also form a large part of the Academic Student Council (ASR), which deals with all teaching-related issues at stuvus (e.g. teaching award, reorganisation of examinations, etc.).

Only the ‘Gemeinschaftsliste’ is standing for election to the Senate this year. Here is a brief introduction to the list:

“As a joint list, we want to represent the student perspective in the Senate. We stand up for the interests of all students and want to improve learning conditions and university life for everyone. We oppose cuts to teaching, the university library, etc. and want studyability and teaching to always be taken into account in university-wide decisions. Currently, important topics for us are the reorganisation of the examination phase, the sensible use of digital tools and artificial intelligence, the expansion and improvement of learning spaces and the introduction of a full-time Vice Rectorate for Teaching.”