Battle for universities: Students defend themselves against reform plans!

Battle for universities: Students defend themselves against reform plans!

The current discussions about the future of Austrian universities are reaching a critical point. Following the publication of minutes of the coalition negotiations between the FPÖ and the ÖVP, alarming concerns have arisen. Leonhard Hecht, 2nd deputy chairman of the ÖH University of Salzburg, expresses concern about the planned changes in university financing. "The problems begin with the financing of Austrian universities. In the future, even more focus should be placed on competition and competitive financing elements. However, universities are not companies, but educational institutions whose financial existence must be secured," says Hecht.

A central issue is also the threat of a gender ban and the intention to make access more difficult for third-country students. Stephanie Wolfgruber, 1st deputy chairwoman of the ÖH University of Salzburg, notes: “It is remarkable that the conservative and right-wing side of the political discourse often emphasizes that there are more pressing problems than gender, but at the same time spares no effort to campaign for gender bans.” This could jeopardize diversity and equal opportunities at universities.

Deterioration of co-determination

The changes also affect the co-determination rights of students. It is planned that decision-making processes will be primarily entrusted to the professors, which could severely limit the students' participation. Cedric Keller, ÖH chairman at the University of Salzburg, explained: "If this future government believes that it can banish the students from the Senate and reduce us to advisory voices, then we will not put up with that. The students will not allow themselves to be silenced." These developments could have far-reaching consequences for student advocacy.

Another critical change concerns membership in the ÖH, which is endangered by opt-out options. Keller and Wolfgruber demand: "The students must remain members of the ÖH in the future. This is the only way to ensure meaningful and good representation of interests." Such an opt-out would endanger the financial independence of the ÖH and could severely impair its ability to act.

In addition, a study shows that many students suffer from the feeling of not being able to cope with their studies, which is referred to as “imposter syndrome”. The problem is that students are often not convinced of their achievements and feel like frauds. The non-adapted support systems further reinforce this, as can be seen from the reports in Der Spiegel.

To find out more about the challenges and upcoming changes in higher education policy, further information can be found at apa.at and spiegel.de read up.