Hochschule Geisenheim University Senate Elections 2024/25

What does the Senate do?

Photo: Sincerely Media via Unsplash

The Senate is the university's highest decision-making body. It advises on matters relating to research, teaching, and studying that are of fundamental importance to the university. Its other tasks are defined in § 42 of the Hessische Hochschulgesetz as well as the university's constitution (Grundordnung der Hochschule Geisenheim).

The Senate is made up of 17 members divided into four groups:

  • Professors have nine seats
  • Students have three seats
  • Academic staff have three seats
  • Administrative and technical staff have two seats

The Senate is elected for two years, though students elect their representatives annually.

The new Senate's term of office begins on April 1, 2025.

Who can run for election? And how?

Every member of Hochschule Geisenheim University can stand as a candidate in their respective group. A nomination form must be completed prior to the application (click here). The deadline for candidacy is 12:00 noon on December 16, 2024.  
Further information on the right to stand as a candidate can be found in § 5 of the HGU election regulations.

All candidates should make sure to present themselves to the voters, either in person, in writing, or with a video.

Who are the candidates?

Candidates will be able to introduce themselves to voters on this site. The overview will display candidates in the order of application and will be continuously updated until December 16, 2024. That means it's worthwhile to check back every now and again!

On January 14, 2025, from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. the candidates will have the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves after the Senate meeting. These introductions will take place in the auditorium and will also be livestreamed (a link to the livestream will be made available closer to the time).

How does the election work?

The Senate election will take place from Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 12:00 pm to Monday, January 27, 2025, also 12:00 pm as an online election.

Anyone who does not own a computer or does not have access to the internet can use the computer voting station in the library during this time (please check opening hours!).

 

If you are unable to vote online on the election days, please apply for postal voting in advance. You will find the “Application for postal voting” form here

Please send/mail the completed and signed form to the election office, wahlbuero@hs-gm.de, by January 7, 2025, 12:00 pm. The postal voting documents will then be sent to you promptly.

Election letters must be received by the election office by January 20, 2025, 12:00 pm at the latest.

 

According to § 5 of the HGU election regulations, every member of the university (see § 37, HessHG) has the right to vote and stand for election for their group.

Election News

- From today (9.12.) until next Thursday (12.12.), the electoral registers will be available for you to check: for employees in the election office (administration building, 1st floor, room 116), for students in the student office in the Müller-Thurgau Haus (MTH)

- On December 17 at 2:00 pm, the election committee for the Senate elections will meet for its 3rd meeting in the meeting room of the Institute of Oenology, Blaubachstraße 19, Geisenheim

- You can stand for election from now until December 16, 2024. Please see the information on this site for more details on how to run.

 

Where to Vote

  • Online via Polyas
  • Voting station at the university library 
  • Per post (if you are unable to come in person)

Election Office Contact

Katharina Fouquet
Katharina Fouquet
Building 5901
Room 116
Phone +49 6722 502 275
Katharina.Fouquet(at)hs-gm.de Details

If you have questions

Chair of the Election Committee

Thorsten Schomann
Thorsten Schomann, M.A.
Building 5905
Room 01.12
Phone +49 6722 502 6412
Thorsten.Schomann(at)hs-gm.de Details

Deputy Chair of the Election Committee

Maximilian Freund
Dr. Maximilian Freund
Building 6201
Room R218
Phone +49 6722 502 183
Maximilian.Freund(at)hs-gm.de Details

General Information about the Election

Candidacy

The members of Hochschule Geisenheim University are requested to submit election proposals on the provided form by December 16, 2024, 12:00 pm at the latest, to the election office in room 116, 1st floor of the administration building. The form template can be found here.
Only election proposals that are submitted in person on the completed and signed form will be accepted (see also HGU election regulations, §12). Election proposals by email can therefore unfortunately not be considered.

Each nomination may contain any number of names of eligible voters who are willing to stand for election; their order must be evident from the nomination. An appropriate representation of women and men should be sought in accordance with their proportion in the group of members.

A sufficient number of candidates should be named in the nomination lists in order to be able to send enough deputies to the extended Senate. Each candidate may only be named on one list of candidates.

The election committee publishes the approved election proposals (nomination lists) immediately after examination.

Online election process

You will receive your election documents by e-mail to your HGU e-mail account on January 21, 2025 at 12:00 noon. In your election invitation you will find information about the upcoming election as well as your personalized access data. Now you can decide for yourself when and from where you would like to cast your vote during the election period - your choice.

The subject of the election invitation is: Your election invitation: Senate and StuPa election WS 2024/2025 of Hochschule Geisenheim University. 

This email is signed by: voting@polyas.com

You can cast your vote from January 21, 2025 at 12:00 pm to January 27, 2025 at 12:00 pm.

1. registration: Entering the access data
You can access the online voting system with two access data: Your personal voter ID and a one-time-valid password. Please note that your access data is case-sensitive when logging in.

2. confirmation of registration: Anonymization
The voting system checks whether your data is stored in the electoral roll. Access to the voting system is only granted if you are authorized to vote. Find out more about secure authentication.

3. your online vote: your voting decision
The ballot paper is now displayed and you can vote. You can distribute your available votes to electoral lists, candidates or ballots at the click of a mouse. You can also cast an “invalid” vote.

4. checking your vote
Once you have completed your ballot paper, it will be shown to you again for confirmation. You can then submit your final vote.

5. finalizing your vote
After you have cast your final vote, you will receive confirmation that your vote has been received in the digital ballot box. Your vote is then complete. You can then close the browser window.

Link to the explanation video

Election Principles

Election Regulations:
The Senate elections at Hochschule Geisenheim University in the 2023/24 winter semester are to be conducted in accordance with the university's election regulations (Wahlordnung der Hochschule Geisenheim) of January 23, 2013, last amended on December 15, 2020 (Official Notice 07/2020), on the basis of the Hessian Higher Education Act.

Election Principles: 
The representatives of the member groups in the Senate shall be elected in free, equal, secret, and direct elections by the respective member group according to the principles of party-list proportional representation. The form of election shall be determined by whether there is one nomination per member group or whether several nominations are submitted.

Proportional Representation:
If there are several approved nominations for election in a group, the election is conducted according to the rules of proportional representation. Each eligible voter has one vote, which they can assign to a list of nominations.

Direct Election:
If only one nomination or one list of candidates has been accepted in a group, the election is held according to the rules of a direct election. Each eligible voter has as many votes as there are seats in the Senate to be filled by the respective group.

If at least one further list proposal is submitted within the same member group for an election proposal that has already been submitted to the election office, elections are held according to the principles of proportional representation. In this case, the order of the candidates listed is decisive. 

A sufficient number of candidates should be named in the nomination lists in order to be able to delegate enough substitutes to the extended Senate. Each candidate may only be named on one list of candidates.

Substitutes:
Substitutes for the Senate members are also determined during elections to the Senate (proportional representation). Substitutes are the list members who are listed after the elected members of the Senate on the nomination list (in accordance with the number of mandates allocated to the list).

If only one nomination is submitted for a group (direct election), the candidates who have not been allocated a seat on the basis of the election results and who have the next highest number of votes are substitutes. If a list of candidates contains fewer candidates than the maximum number of seats the group is entitled to, the remaining seats shall remain vacant.

Term of Office:
The term of office begins on the first day of the semester following the election (April 1).
The term of office for representatives elected by the student group is one year. The representatives from the other groups are each in office for two years.

Electoral Committee for the 2024/25 Winter Semester Senate Election

At its meeting on July 2, 2024, the Senate elected the election committee that will conduct the elections.
The election commitee has five members and five deputies. The members are as follows:

Professors:

Prof. Dr. Andreas Kurth
Prof. Dr. Mark Strobl
Prof. Dr. Kai Velten (deputy)
Dr. Thomas Muschkullus (deputy)

Academic Staff:

Dr. Maximilian Freund
Ms. Lucia Garstka (deputy)

Administrative and Technical Staff:

Mr. Thorsten Schomann
Dr. Karsten Rose (deputy)

Students:

Ms. Lilli Feisthauer
Ms. Sarah Schäfer (deputy)

We would like to thank all candidates for their willingness to serve on the election committee for Hochschule Geisenheim University's Senate elections.

The election committee remains in office until the new election committee is constituted. The election manager is Chancellor Mrs. Marion Waldeck. The meetings of the election committee are open to the public. The dates and locations of the meetings as well as the resolutions of the election committee are announced on the Hochschule Geisenheim University website and on a notice board.