This translation is for information purposes only and is not legally binding.
These Rules of Procedure were established by the Student Representative Group on Jan. 11, 2024.
(1) These Rules of Procedure apply to the Digital Engineering Student Representative Group (Fachschaftsrat Digital Engineering) at the University of Potsdam.
(2) Within the instructional period, working days are considered to be the lecture days, and during the non-instructional period, the weekdays Monday to Friday that are not public holidays.
(1) The following regulations apply to all Student Representative Group elections of individuals. This includes elections at constituent sessions and all special elections.
(2) The election of individuals is carried out separately for each office and for each deputy post.
(3) The elections are carried out in secret, unless all members of the Student Representative Group call for a public election.
(4) Each member of the Student Representative Group has a vote that can be given to an individual or can count as an abstention.
(5) An individual who receives the absolute majority is elected to the office. If no one receives the absolute majority, further rounds of voting are carried out. If after three rounds of voting no one is elected to the deputy position, the post remains vacant. In any other election, if after three rounds of voting no one is elected, the Student Representative Group can decide by a simple majority to postpone the election for a maximum of seven days. Otherwise, the election will be extended a round of voting until someone is elected with an absolute majority, or the decision is made to postpone the election.
(1) At the invitation of the election committee, the Student Representative Group shall meet no later than one week after the announcement of the election results.
(2) At the constituent meeting, the Student Representative Group elects from among its members
- a chairperson and, when appropriate, their deputy
- a member responsible for finances and, when appropriate, their deputy
- a member who is the main representative in the Assembly of Student Representatives in accordance with § 9 Statutes of the Student Body of the University of Potsdam (SdS)
(3) Elections are carried out at the constituent meeting in accordance with § 2 and are led by the election committee. After the election has concluded, the chairperson takes over the meeting.
(1) The chairpersons of the Student Representative Group are responsible for chairing the meetings in accordance with § 7.
(2) The members responsible for finances handle the finances of the student body based on the resolutions of the Student Representative Group. They are declared as separately authorized officers. The financial officers are expected to attend the finance workshop of the General Student Committee (AStA) at the University of Potsdam.
(3) At the beginning of each meeting, the chairing person shall appoint a minute-taking person, who records the minutes of the meeting including all decisions made and points discussed. Further details are outlined in § 8.
(4) The offices defined in § 3 (2) can each be newly reassigned by the Student Representative Group in case of a constructive vote of no confidence or following the resignation of an office holder, respectively. If the office of a deputy becomes vacant, a new election will only take place by a resolution of the Student Representative Group.
(5) All other areas of competency can be determined internally by resolution.
All members of the Student Representative Council who are present at the location of the meeting during the meeting or who participate by telephone or other means of communication, in particular internet or videotelephony, are deemed to be present.
(1) During the instructional period of the semester a meeting shall take place once every week as stated in the Statutes of the Digital Engineering Student Body. In the time between instructional periods and within the christmas break a meeting shall take place at least once every three weeks.
(2) The chairpersons shall invite all interested members of the student body to the meetings via a publicly available email distribution list. The invitation should be sent the day before the meeting.
(3) If possible, the meeting should take place in a room on the Griebnitzsee campus that is accessible to the student body. Otherwise, the meeting shall take place via an online meeting tool in such a way that the student body can participate in the meeting.
(1) During every meeting a present member is required to chair the meeting.
(2) The chairing person is responsible for determining the minute-taking duties, managing the agenda and an orderly course of the meeting.
(3) Generally, the meetings shall be chaired by the chairpersons. They are however free, by unanimous consent, to transfer the task of chairing the meeting in question to another member.
(1) The Student Representative Group is authorized to pass a resolution if at least half of its members are present.
(2) Resolutions are passed in an open vote by all members present. A resolution is considered accepted if it receives more “yes” than “no” votes. In case of a tie between “yes” and “no” votes, a resolution is not considered as adopted.
(3) By way of derogation from (2), a resolution is not considered as adopted if more abstentions have been cast than the total “yes” and “no” votes together.
(4) The resolutions of the Student Representative Group are recorded in the minutes.
(5) The provision of § 5 (4) SdS on the quorum at a second meeting on the same subject does not apply.
(1) In urgent cases, the Student Representative Group can decide by way of a circulation resolution procedure if a simple majority is required. For this purpose, a member of the Student Representative Group makes a draft resolution.
(2) Resolutions that require a two-thirds majority cannot be passed by way of a circulation resolution procedure.
(3) All members of the Student Representative Group can cast one vote for the resolution proposal. The first vote cast is valid. The time for voting shall be limited.
(4) The circulation resolution is accepted as soon as it cannot anymore be rejected. The circulation resolution is rejected as soon as it cannot anymore be accepted. If the circulation resolution is not accepted at the end of the voting time limit, it is considered rejected.
(5) The decision of the circulation resolution must be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting.
(6) For circulation resolutions involving budget provided by the Student Body of the University of Potsdam the regulations in § 6a of the Statutes of the Student Body of the University of Potsdam apply in addition.
(1) The minutes of each meeting must contain at least the following items:
- Date, time and location of the meeting
- Attendance list by name
- Indication of quorum incl. number of members present
- Person chairing the meeting
- Person taking the minutes
- Description of motions and resolutions, incl. the distribution of votes
(2) The minutes of the meeting will be made available to all members of the Student Representative Group no later than the working day after the meeting.
(3) Requests for modification must be made within three working days after the date of the meeting to the person taking the minutes and must be communicated to all members of the Student Representative Group. If no consensus about necessary changes is reached, the chairpersons decide. After the deadline the minutes shall be deemed accepted.
(4) During the instructional period of the semester accepted minutes will be published by the chairpersons after two working days at the latest.
(5) The minutes of the meetings must be retained for at least three years.
(6) The deadlines of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 are doubled during the non-instructional period.
(1) Any member of the student council can resign for good reason. The resignation and reason must be presented in writing to the rest of the members.
(2) Withdrawal from the student body necessarily results in resignation from the Student Representative Group.
(3) In the event that one or more members of the Student Representative Group should resign from their office, a corresponding number of new members shall be added as successors within one month. In this case, the election results of the last election shall be used. Successors are first obliged to accept their election to office before becoming Student Representative Group members.
(4) In the event of an insufficient number of successors, the Student Representative Group shall decide by a two-thirds majority vote on one of the following alternatives:
- A new election of the entire Student Representative Group at the earliest possible date
- To continue to work with a reduced number of members, provided that the Student Representative Group continues to feel capable of handling the increased workload
If neither of the alternatives receives a two-thirds majority vote, Alternative 1 comes into force.
(5) The resignation of present members and the acceptance of new members shall be announced to the student body by email, and thereby enter into force. The decision must be acknowledged by all former members of the Student Representative Group by signature.
(6) A member of the Student Representative Group who has resigned, remains in office provisionally until the successor is declared as an official member of the Student Representative Group by accepting the post, or the Student Representative Group decides to continue its work with a reduced number of members based on (4) 2. The discharge of resigned and succeeding members shall take place at the next ordinary general meeting.
(7) The term in office of succeeding members ends at the same time as the term in office of the other members of the Student Representative Group.
(8) In the event that a member of the Student Representative Group who has held an elected office up until this date resigns, this office must be reassigned during the next meeting.
(1) The Student Representative Group may adopt changes to these Rules of Procedure with a two-thirds majority vote by all members.
(2) The Student Representative Group must inform the student body about any changes via email within three days following the resolution. Any changes will enter into force on the day after they are announced.