As AStA of TU Dortmund University we join the demand of the Landes-ASten-Treffen (LAT) NRW* to implement a Germany-wide valid 129-Euro-Semesterticket financed by the students as community of solidarity.

If you click on the button, you can write a mail prepared by us to the Dortmund members of the governing parties in the NRW federal parliament and the German Bundestag, the transport ministries in the state and the federal government, the NRW Ministry of Science and the German Ministry of Education and Research. All you have to do is put your name beneath the mail, we have prepared everything else for you. Of course, you can also customize the text and give it a personal touch.

Write a mail to the Dortmund Members of Parliament now!

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Due to the length of the text, the button or link unfortunately only works on a mobile device without problems. On a desktop PC, the recipient and subject are automatically filled in when clicked. The text of the email can be copied below and pasted manually.

The German government plans to introduce a “Deutschlandticket” in 2023. This will make it possible to use public transport throughout Germany for 49 euros a month. This will have a massive impact on the NRW semester ticket, which allows students in NRW to use public transport throughout NRW.

The Dortmund semester ticket currently costs about 37 euros per month. The ticket is provided to all students and is paid for by all students in a solidary way via the semester fee. Therefore, the student body forms a community of solidarity in which everyone pays the same amount for the ticket – regardless of how much the individual person uses the ticket. This is the only reason why the semester ticket can be offered so cheaply. It is currently cheaper than comparable tickets by a factor of ten, but if the semester ticket were to be abolished and students had to resort to the 49-euro ticket, mobility would become significantly more expensive for most.

But affordable mobility is particularly important for the group of students, as a majority has only a low income. The income is usually significantly below the poverty line in Germay of 1251 euros per month. For comparison: the BAföG maximum rate is currently 934 euros per month – and not even 11% of students receive BAföG at all.

In addition, ecological aspects must also be taken into account, because since the introduction of the semester ticket, the proportion of students in NRW who travel to university by car has fallen sharply. And the university also has to build fewer vehicle parking spaces as a result of the semester ticket. Abolishing the ticket would mean that the already scarce space in the city would have to make way for even more parking spaces.

Further, the student body, as a community of solidarity, is able to refund the mobility fee to individual students in justified cases due to social hardship. Since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, the number of applications has multiplied and, given the ongoing energy crisis, a further increase is to be expected. This would no longer be possible if the semester ticket were abolished.

In order for the semester ticket to have a future, reforms will be necessary with the introduction of the “49-Euro-Ticket”: students should also be able to benefit from the new ticket and use public transportation throughout Germany instead of “only” in NRW, which is the case now. In addition, the solidarity model – as described above – enables a further price advantage for students without additional state support. Legally, this price advantage is also necessary to allow solidarity financing.

It is now the task of the state and federal government to establish the conditions for the further development of the successful model semester ticket and thus to ensure affordable and sustainable student mobility!

Now we need you! In order to give more weight to our demands, we want to draw the attention of the Dortmund state and federal parliament members of the governing parties as well as the responsible ministers to the situation of the students. If enough people put pressure on them, the state and federal governments cannot implement a “49-Euro-Ticket” without offering a solution for the more than 750,000 students in NRW and the more than 2.9 million students in Germany!

*LAT NRW is the voluntary association of the students’ union executive boards (ASten) or university-wide student representations and therefore a democratically legitimized, state-wide representation of interests of the student bodies in NRW.

Write a mail to the Dortmund Members of Parliament now!

iOS: If the button isn’t working, please use this Link

Due to the length of the text, the button or link unfortunately only works on a mobile device without problems. On a desktop PC, the recipient and subject are automatically filled in when clicked. The text of the email can be copied below and pasted manually.

If you click on the button, you can write a mail prepared by us to the Dortmund members of the governing parties in the NRW federal parliament and the German Bundestag, the transport ministries in the state and the federal government, the NRW Ministry of Science and the German Ministry of Education and Research. All you have to do is put your name beneath the mail, we have prepared everything else for you. Of course, you can also customize the text and give it a personal touch.

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Dear MdB Sabine Poschmann,
Dear MdB Markus Kurth,
Dear MdB Jens Peick,
Dear MdL Anja Butschkau,
Dear MdL Nadja Lüders,
Dear MdL Volkan Baran,
Dear MdL Michael Roels,
Dear MdL Ralf Stoltze,
Dear Members of the Bundestag,
Dear Members of the NRW State Parliament,

Students mobility must be considered when the “49-Euro-Ticket” is introduced. The relief that is made possible for normal subscription customers must also benefit students. That is why I, together with many other students from NRW, am calling for a semester ticket that costs 129 euros per semester and is valid throughout Germany.

Students are dependent on affordable and sustainable mobility to reach the university – not only in view of enormous price increases for everyday life. The semester ticket, which is administered by the student’s union executive board (AStA), is essential for this. Because: The student body forms a solidaric community in which all members pay the same amount – regardless of a persons actual use of the ticket. For this reason, the solidarity-financed NRW semester ticket, for example, is currently ten times cheaper than comparable tickets.

Politicians must create the conditions for the implementation of a future-oriented semester ticket! Abolishing the successful semester ticket model would make mobility significantly more expensive for many students. This would contradict the financially strained situation of many students as well as the basic idea behind the “49-Euro-Ticket”, to make mobility more affordable for everyone and to make public transport more attractive.

I would be pleased if you would consider the needs of the more than 750,000 students in NRW and the more than 2.9 million students in Germany!

Yours sincerely,

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Write a mail to the Dortmund Members of Parliament now!

iOS: If the button isn’t working, please use this Link

Due to the length of the text, the button or link unfortunately only works on a mobile device without problems. On a desktop PC, the recipient and subject are automatically filled in when clicked. The text of the email can be copied below and pasted manually.

Our campaign addresses the following Members of Parliament and ministries:

Sabine Poschmann,
Markus Kurth,
Jens Peick,
Anja Butschkau,
Nadja Lüders,
Volkan Baran,
Michael Roels,
Ralf Stoltze,
Members of the Bundestag,
Members of the NRW State Parliament

Write a mail to the Dortmund Members of Parliament now!

iOS: If the button isn’t working, please use this Link

Due to the length of the text, the button or link unfortunately only works on a mobile device without problems. On a desktop PC, the recipient and subject are automatically filled in when clicked. The text of the email can be copied below and pasted manually.

Contact

If you have any question regarding the campaign, please contact presse@asta.tu-dortmund.de. Press inquiries can be addressed to the AStA chair at vorsitz@asta.tu-dortmund.de

We have all noticed that the semester fee for the coming semester has increased significantly.

We as AStA are also not happy with this development. However, we unfortunately have no influence on many items. However, in order to explain to you where your money goes, we will try to transparently explain where the 341,95 € are distributed.

SEMESTERTICKET – 220,02 € (6,96€ more than last semester)
The VRR, our contract partner for the semester ticket, is allowed to raise the fee within a reasonable range based on the contract. This is what they have been doing since the introduction of the ticket, specifically this time by 6,96€.
How it will develop in the coming semesters thanks to the general changes in local transport (keyword 49€ ticket), we can not say yet. Whether something will change in the price or the area of validity is not certain at this point. We want to negotiate the best possible deal for us with the other AStA in NRW when the time comes.

STUDIERENDENWERK – 110 € (17,00€ more than last semester)
The Studierendenwerk is largely financed from three sources: Grants from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, its own funds from income from the mensa, dormitories, etc., and the social contribution that we as students pay through the semester fee. In the past, the social contribution accounted for approximately 20% of the Studiwerk budget. Another 20% came from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 60% from various revenues. The current situation is that the state of NRW has NOT changed the amount of subsidies for almost 25 years, so the amount is out of date. At the same time, after Corona, the energy crisis and the reduction of offers, the Studierendenwerk does not manage to generate the 60% own funds anymore. Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Studiwerk has decided that we as students will pay higher contributions to compensate. Between winter and summer semester 2022/23 we have an increase of 17€! We as AStA think that instead of increasing the financial pressure on the students, the state of NRW should be taken to task to finance the Studierendenwerke in line with the times! Because we as students have the fewest funds available and can do the least for the precarious situation!

STUDENT SELF ADMINISTRATION – 6,50€ (0,50€ more than last semester)
The student self-administration – that’s us! This part of the semester fee goes into the financing of the StuPa, the AStA, the autonomous units and student working groups. In the AStA, this contribution finances the salaries of the AStA staff, our cultural activities (e.g. parties, sustainability weeks, lectures, etc.), and the counseling services that are available to you free of charge or at very low cost (legal counseling, social counseling, tenant counseling, etc.).
Due to increases in staff salaries and general price increases, our fee has been increased by 50 cents for the next semester. Thus, the fee is still cheaper than a few years ago and significantly cheaper than at other universities in the area. Nevertheless, it is also important for us to make sure that there will be no further increases in the fees in the near future.
By the way: This is also an area in which YOU can become active! Get involved in the StuPa to help decide what we spend this money on and how it is best invested for the entire student body!

STUDENT COUNCIL SELF-ADMINISTRATION – 1,28€
The respective student councils also have funds that they can fall back on in order to financially support the offers for their students. You can get actively involved here, too, if you like!

THEATER-FLAT – 1,50€
You know this for sure, don’t you? Because as a student of the TU Dortmund you can use the services of the Theater Dortmund for free! Or maybe you’d rather go to the opera? Everything is possible! And how do you get your tickets? Take a look at our website, under Services -> External you will find all the information!

METROPOLRADRUHR – 1,50€
Want to buy a bike? But you don’t have to! Because as a student of the TU you can use the bikes of MetropolRadRuhr (also Nextbike) all over NRW for free! Again, you can find all the information on our website under Services -> External.

HOCHSCHULSPORT – 0,75€ (0,24€ more than last semester)
The offers of the Hochschulsport are also co-financed to a small extent by the student body. Since the previous contribution (0,51€ or one DM) has not been adjusted over twenty years, the student sports, together with the AStA and the StuPa, has made a small adjustment of 24ct. To ensure that the basic financing of the offer can continue to be guaranteed in times of inflation, we find the increase justifiable.
Have you already had a look at the offer?

CAMPUSRADIO – ELDORADIO – 0,25€
Our campus radio station, where YOU can get involved and get a taste of journalism, pays its expenses with our help. In return, you can listen to interesting contributions with a campus or student connection. Tune in, online or at 93.0 FM.

CITY & STATE LIBRARY – 0,15€
Did you know that as a student you can use the city and state library for free? You pay 15 cents every semester and support the preservation of public libraries.

This is the breakdown of the semester fee. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email us at presse@asta.tu-dortmund.de, or get in touch via social media!

Sadly, our Email-Server is down and our admins need time to repair it. The problems is more severe and will not be taken care of before Monday. Until then, we won’t be able to receive or send out emails.

Once everything is back in working order, we’ll let you know.

UPDATE (25th January 2023): Our Email-Server is back online. Depending on the configuration of your sending Mail-Servers your mails have already arrived or you received an error reply. In the latter case just resend it. If you are unsure send your mail again or kindly ask whether it arrived. 🙂

Wednesday, January 18th at 2:30PM, our weekly AStA-Meeting will be held. 

This time the Studierendenwerk will join us!

They are among other things responsible for the Mensa/food offerings on Campus, the student flats and the student loans for all TU and FH students. Until now, we as students had to pay 93€ every semester toward the Studierendenwerk for their services, starting this summer semester, it will be 110€. 

On Wednesday, we want to talk to those responsible about this money and hope that many of you will join us to clarify how and where this money will be used and why it is necessary to raise the bi-annual payment by 17€. 

Come join us!

The TU is about to switch their separate systems of BOSS, LSF etc. into one integrated system. To do that, any TU member will be prohibited from accessing these systems starting November 28th until December 11th. 

Therefore, if you need a prove of study, to book exams or anything similar, do it now!

Here the text from the University on the project: 

In the Campus Management Project, TU Dortmund University’s software products for organizing study and teaching operations are currently being gradually replaced by the new integrated IT system HISinOne. Since June 2021, for example, prospective students with German university entrance qualifications have already been applying via the new system.

The next step involves a transfer of the student management processes for all TU students to HISinOne. To prepare this step, it is necessary to migrate the existing student data records from the current into the new system. During the period of this transition, the current IT systems for student and examination management will not be available for approximately two weeks.

Within this period, teachers and students will not have access to the

BOSS system and to Campusportal. The Student Registration Office and the Central Examinations Office will also not be able to enter data or make changes to existing data. It will therefore not be possible, for example, to process enrolments, leaves of absence, changes of degree programs, re-registrations, or removals from the register of students. Similarly, the Central Examinations Office will not be able to enter examination registrations, coursework or examination results.

We plan to keep the period for this changeover as short as possible.

Currently, we anticipate shutting down the BOSS-system and Campusportal from Nov. 28th to Dec. 11th, 2022. Please take this period into account in your planning.

The contact persons in the Student Registration Office and the Central Examinations Office are available to answer any questions regarding the matter.

In certain cases, students can receive a subsidy for energy cost payments from the job center.

Students who

1. receive a BAföG benefit and live in the parents’ household or

2. live in the parental household and only receive no BAföG benefits because the Office for Educational Support has determined that they or their parents have too much income or assets, are entitled to unemployment benefit II if they are in need of help.

This need for help can also arise, for example, from back payments for heating costs or increased heating cost deductions (Section 7, paragraph 6 of the Second Book of the Code of Social Law).

Students who

3. no longer live with their parents, or are not entitled to BAföG for reasons other than income/assets can receive a loan to cover the needs for accommodation and heating if there is particular hardship (§ 27 SGB II).

The job centers often decide on a case-by-case basis whether there is a need for help or particular hardship. Here you can find the contact details of the Jobcenter Dortmund: https://jobcenterdortmund.de/de/kontakt