Add Amendment to restructure Council to 7 portfolios

Author: maxonary

statute/statute.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Statutes of the Student Body of the CODE University of Applied Sciences
 
 
-From December 18, 2020
+From September 04, 2025
 
 
 # I General
@@ -23,27 +23,27 @@ These statutes regulate in particular the education, composition, responsibility
 
 (1) The central organs of the student body are
 
-
-
 1. the Student General Assembly,
 2. the General Assemblies of the Study Programmes,
 3. the Student Council.
 
 (2) The Student General Assembly is composed of the student body at the time of the meeting.
 
-(3) The General Assembly of the Study Programmes shall be composed of members of the student body of the respective degree programmes (Product Management, Interaction Design or Software Engineering) at the time of the meeting.
+(3) The General Assembly of the Study Programmes shall be composed of members of the student body of the respective degree programmes (Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Digital Design & Innovation, Software Engineering, Technology & Management) at the time of the meeting.
 
-(4) The Student Council is composed of
+(4) The Student Council consists of seven portfolio roles:
 
+1. President (spokesperson & lead),
+2. Alumni Relations,
+3. Admissions & Study Experience,
+4. Community Builder,
+5. Marketing,
+6. Entrepreneurship,
+7. Partnerships.
 
+The three student members of the Senate are elected pursuant to § 16(2). Where feasible, Senate mandates should be held by members of the Student Council; if not possible, they may be held by other students. Senate members are not separate seats in the Student Council.
 
-1. the three elected members to the Senate,
-2. the five student members of the standing committees (Research commission, Commission for quality assurance in project based learning, Board of Examiners, Admissions committee (2) and Strategy and Development),
-3. the three elected members to the Study Programme Council as the respective representative,
-4. two additional council members (one female and one male),
-5. a chairperson of the council.
-
-(5) Additional representatives elected by the organs are not part of the Student Council.
+(5) Student members appointed to university committees (Research Commission, Commission for Quality Assurance in Project-Based Learning, Board of Examiners, Admissions Committee, Strategy & Development, Alumni) are not ex officio members of the Student Council. They shall coordinate with the Council and may be invited as guests (§ 18(5)).
 
 
 ## 4 - Elections to the organs of the student body
@@ -52,21 +52,16 @@ These statutes regulate in particular the education, composition, responsibility
 
 If members of the student body are not present, they may use an electronic voting system, evaluated and managed by the presidium, to cast their vote.
 
-(2) All members of the student body at the time of the elections, who are not on leave semester, are entitled to be voted for.
-
-(3) The Student Assembly elects in the following order
+(2) Eligible for office are all members of the student body at the time of the elections who are not on a leave semester.
 
+(3) The Student General Assembly elects, in separate ballots and in this order:
+1. the President,
+2.–7. the six portfolio leads named in § 3(4) (Alumni Relations; Admissions & Study Experience; Community Builder; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Partnerships),
+8. for each standing committee, one person proposed to the Senate for appointment as a student member,
 
+(4) The General Assemblies of the Study Programmes elect one member of the Senate per programme in accordance with § 16(2).
 
-1. a chairperson of the council,
-2. a female councilmember,
-3. a male councilmember,
-4. for each standing committee, one person proposed to the Senate for appointment as a student member,
-5. for the study programmes Software Engineering (SE), Interaction Design (ID) and Product Management (PM), one person proposed to the Study Programme Council for appointment as a student member.
-
-(4) The General Assembly of the Study Programmes elect a member of the Senate. The elected student members of the Study Programme Council are a deputy to the respective student member of the Senate.  
-
-(5) The election for the senate members of the General Assembly of the Study Programmes can be held within a Student General Assembly.
+(5) Elections follow majority voting as in § 4(6)–(8). All roles are open to all students, irrespective of gender and age. Diversity and equal opportunity are to be fostered in candidate outreach and nomination.
 
 (6) The members of the organs are elected according to the principles of majority voting. The person with the most votes, but at least 50% + 1 votes gets elected. If no candidate manages to achieve this majority a final ballot between the person with the most votes and the runner up is held. The person with the most votes in the final ballot is elected.
 
@@ -87,6 +82,8 @@ If members of the student body are not present, they may use an electronic votin
 
 (4) Open positions can be filled at every Student General Assembly.
 
+(5) Portfolio handover. Each outgoing portfolio lead maintains a one-page handover (scope, contacts, ongoing initiatives) to be archived in the Student Body Wiki within 14 days after term end.
+
 
 ## 6 - Succession of mandates
 
@@ -108,6 +105,8 @@ If members of the student body are not present, they may use an electronic votin
 
 (6) If the student representative of the Admissions committee is not able to attend an admission day, the representative can freely choose a replacement from the student body. It should be kept in mind that the maturity and the training of the replacement person is given to ensure a high quality and fair admission process.
 
+(7) If a portfolio role becomes vacant, the Student General Assembly may hold a by-election at the next regular or extraordinary meeting. Until then, the President may assign interim coverage to another Council member.
+
 
 ## 7 - Convening
 
@@ -124,6 +123,8 @@ If members of the student body are not present, they may use an electronic votin
 
 (3) Legal regulations issued by the Student General Assembly shall be published in the Slack and Wiki of the CODE University of Applied Sciences.
 
+(4) Where required by the university's constitutional documents or recognition conditions, amendments that affect governance structures shall be submitted to the competent Berlin Senate administration for confirmation prior to entry into force.
+
 
 ## 9 - Duty of information and accountability
 
@@ -218,12 +219,12 @@ The Student General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
 
 ## 18 - Tasks of the Student Council
 
-(1) The Student Council shall decide on
-
-
-    1. fundamental matters of the student body representing the Student General Assembly,
-
-2. the convening of a Student General Assembly.
+(1) The Student Council (seven portfolios) represents the student body and executes the following, among others:
+1. convene Student General Assemblies,
+2. coordinate with Senate and committees (§ 3(5)),
+3. gather and synthesize feedback,
+4. own and drive portfolio-specific initiatives (see § 18a),
+5. invite guests for specific topics.
 
 (2) The Student Council represents the student body in the different organs of the university.
 
@@ -234,6 +235,25 @@ The Student General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
 (5) The Student Council can invite people to their meetings to discuss specific matters.
 
 
+## 18a - Portfolios & responsibilities
+
+(1) President. Spokesperson; chairs Council; external representation; ensures execution across portfolios.
+
+(2) Alumni Relations. Maintains the alumni network, supports the alumni association, and bridges students and alumni.
+
+(3) Admissions & Study Experience. Provides the student perspective into admissions; collects and channels feedback on learning quality, resources, and interdisciplinary workshops; supports mediation on assessment/timeline questions; coordinates with relevant commissions and programme leads.
+
+(4) Community Builder. Community events, hackathons, socials; supports clubs and cohort integration.
+
+(5) Marketing. Student-led communications and campaigns in coordination with University marketing; promotes initiatives to current generations.
+
+(6) Entrepreneurship. Interface for entrepreneurship activities (clubs, partnerships, events, incubators).
+
+(7) Partnerships. Intake and triage of external requests (investors, student initiatives, events/partners); escalates MoUs to the University where required.
+
+(8) Portfolios may form working groups; non-members can be recruited as volunteers.
+
+
 ## 19 - Management of the Student Council
 
 (1) The Student Council shall be chaired by the chairperson of the council.
@@ -260,3 +280,8 @@ The Student Council meets on
 (1) The Student Council makes decisions according to the principles of majority voting.
 
 (2) In the situation of a tie the vote goes in favour of the chairperson.
+
+
+## Transitional Provision
+
+This amendment applies from the first election period after adoption. Current office holders remain until the new election; committee and Senate representatives continue per their original terms.