The 57 public student service agencies (STWs) organized in the German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW) are calling for more state investment in the social infrastructure of the German higher education system, especially in student housing, sustainable campus dining & catering services and psychological and social counselling. At their annual general meeting under the umbrella of DSW on December 6, 2023 in Berlin, the STWs formulated a catalogue of demands.
The approximately 150 delegates from the 57 STWs nationwide see the German higher education system as a whole under pressure, due to "the accelerating digitalization, the climate crisis, inflation, energy crisis, new geopolitical conflicts and social polarization." Students, higher education institutions, student service agencies, federal, state and local governments must "shape change together on an equal footing and in dialogue," the STWs demand in a joint resolution.
It states: "The campus of the future must be social, digital, sustainable and international. In this upheaval, students are all the more dependent on an excellent, stable social infrastructure on campus."
From the catalogue of demands of the STWs:
Student Housing
- Consolidation and expansion of the federal and state governments’ programme "Young Housing", substantial increase of the programme by the federal states (the Länder). A total of 2.75 billion euros in state subsidies for the STWs for the next three years, for new construction and modernisation
- Improved funding in all federal states, based on the example of Bavaria with a subsidy of 75,000 euros per place in a residence hall and an social occupancy commitment of 40 years; Waiver of the requirement of a certificate of eligibility for housing
- Increased state support for the STWs for the replacement of heating systems in accordance with the Building Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz GEG), for around 78,000 places in residence halls
- Provision of free or low-cost plots of land by the federal states, municipalities and the Federal Institute for Real Estate (BiMA)
- Acceleration and simplification of procedures for construction and approval in the construction of student residence halls
Dining Services & Catering
- Higher subsidies from the federal states to the STWs for the ongoing operation of their approximately 932 dining halls, cafeterias and bistros
- Investments in the climate-friendly renovation of the student dining services
Psychological and social counselling
- Ten million euros from the federal and state governments for the expansion of the staff of the psychological and social counselling centres of the STWs over the next four years
- A data collection on the psychological and social counselling services of higher education institutions, STWs and student bodies, funded by the Federal Government
The wording of the demands of the student unions is as follows (full text in German):