Organisation
Organs
The organs of the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart are the Representatives' Meeting (Vertretungsversammlung), the Governing Board (Verwaltungsrat) and the Managing Director, who, since first of September 20202, is Marco Abe. Elected students can influence our work and represent the interests of the student body through the Representatives' Meeting and the Governing Board. If you are interested in this honorary office, please contact us!
Financing
We finance ourselves primarily from our own income - usually almost three quarters and during the Corona pandemic still around 60 percent. Other important sources are student fees at just under 20 per cent and state financial aid at around 8 per cent.
Studierendenwerk Stuttgart is a social, non-profit organisation. We strive to make our prices for rent, food and childcare as socially acceptable as possible for students. Unfortunately, due to current price increases and inflation, we are forced to pass on the costs. An increase in student semester fees is also necessary.
STUDIERENDENWERK FEE
What does the Studierendenwerk fee consist of?
Before we go into the actual Studierendenwerk fee, we would like to break down how the semester fee is made up, which you as a student pay each semester as a total amount to your college or university:
- 70.00 Euro administrative fee of the college/university
- 11.16 Euro (average value) Contribution to the "Verfasste Studierendenschaft
- 86.50 Euro Contribution to the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart
Why do students have to pay a Studierendenwerk fee?
This student contribution is a solidarity contribution. Each student pays it per semester and thus contributes to the basic financing. This also applies if you do not want to or cannot use the services of the Studierendenwerk (e.g. during a semester abroad). Only through joint financing is it possible, for example, to keep the price of meals in the canteens or daycare fees affordable and to ensure that all of our counselling services are free of charge. In this way, every student contributes to social equality and equal opportunities in their studies. Our services are open to all students and shoud be are affordable for everyone due to our non-profit orientation.
This is what will change about the Studierendenwerk fee from the winter semester 2023/2024:
In the summer semester of 2023, new ticket offers for public transportation will be introduced from which students can benefit - for example, the Deutschlandticket and the statewide youth ticket or JugendTicketBW. The current StudiTicket will therefore expire in the winter semester of 2023/24. A negotiating committee of the SWS administrative board, consisting of representatives of the students, the universities and the student union, reached an agreement with the VVS and the vgf.
The solidarity contribution of 48.20 euros to the VVS will no longer apply from the winter semester 2023/24. Students of the DHBW at the Horb campus will no longer have to pay 14.50 euros to the vgf. From the winter semester 2023/24, the Studierendenwerk fee will be 86.50 euros for all students.
Fee increase for the winter semester 2024/2025 - why is it necessary?
In the winter semester 2024/2025, i.e. in three semesters, the student union fee will be raised by 10 euros - from 86.50 euros to 96.50 euros in the future. We explain here why this measure is necessary:
The private housing market in the greater Stuttgart area remains tight, and rents are comparatively expensive. In contrast, students can live inexpensively and close to the university in our dormitories. This is particularly noticeable at the beginning of the fall semester, when the waiting list is long. We are not able to offer a room to all applicants by the desired move-in date. It is therefore urgently necessary that we, as the Studierendenwerk, secure and further expand affordable housing. On the one hand, we need to maintain existing student dormitories - for example, through renovation measures. On the other hand, we must and want to create additional living space for students.
New construction projects are currently being planned, but we are facing enormous financial challenges: Construction costs per dormitory place have doubled in the past ten years to more than 100,000 euros per bed place. In addition, the construction of student housing complexes is only possible with external financing - within a year, construction financing interest rates have multiplied. At the same time, KfW funding collapsed last year - as a result, we receive significantly less financial support from the federal government. On the other hand, the amount of funding we receive from the Ministry of Science as a Studierendenwerk has remained unchanged. The subsidy of 8,000 euros per bed space is far too low given today's construction costs. Factors that make construction financing - and thus the creation of additional living space - immensely difficult. We can thus no longer guarantee favorable rents in our new construction projects for students.
The increase in contributions for the winter semester 2024/25 is therefore linked to the requirement that the funds be used for construction and renovation measures in the area of student housing. This was determined at the Board of Directors meeting in March 2023.
Is the refund of the contribution possible?
A refund is possible in case of early exmatriculation. Important: In this case, certain requirements and deadlines must be observed, which you can find in our contribution regulations (see below).