About the ÖH
The Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH) legally represents the interests of over 290,000 students throughout Austria (current as of 2008/09, Statistik Austria). In collaboration with university, academic division, and departmental delegations, as well as the delegations of universities of applied sciences and universities for teacher education, the ÖH advocates at all levels for the concerns of students.The student and students' union acts (Hochschülerinnen- and Hochschülerschaftsgesetz), the students’ and student association electoral regulations (Hochschülerinnen- and Hochschülerschaftswahlordnung) and the ÖH statute (Satzung) provide the legal bases for the ÖH. The ÖH statute can be found here (Current as of 29 June 2009).
National Delegation
The national delegation (Bundesvertretung, BV), representing more than 290,000 students throughout Austria, is composed of 85 mandataries.The chairs and heads of units represent student interests, first and foremost to the Federal Ministry of Science and Research; the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture; political parties; state associations and the public. In 2004, against the students’ will, the voting procedure of the national delegation was radically altered. For the first time in the post-war era, the direct election of representatives was abolished. Since the enactment of these changes, neither the national delegation nor the academic division delegation has been directly elected by the students. Individual university delegations currently send representatives to the national delegation, leading to distorted representation.
Units
The work of the Austrian Students’ Union is divided into many areas. The units are organisational entities, each of which is charged with the organisation and content of a particular subject area. These units are:
Educational Policy Unit
