Introduction of tuition funds
Tuition funds were introduced in the summer semester of 2007 by the CSU, which at that time was in power with an absolute majority. The government said that the only purpose was to improve study conditions. At the same time, however, Bavaria implemented a tough austerity policy, which also affected the universities in particular. This led to a situation throughout Bavaria where the tuition funds were used in many places not to improve study conditions, but to make it possible to study in the first place.
This included the purchase of seating options in seminar rooms, the renovation of lecture halls, the financing of compulsory courses or the funding of delegates for chronically ill and disabled students. Regarding the university libraries, the funds were not used to improve the collections, but rather to maintain the status quo. Nevertheless, actual study improvement measures were also financed with tuition funds.
This includes, for example, tutorials, a larger range of language courses and funding for continuing training measures in Teaching for lecturers. Together with the introduction of tuition fees, students was given a parity right to have a say over the funds which was enshrined in law. The equal say, which guaranteed students half of the votes in each Tuition Allocation Committee, in which the concepts for the use of the funds were discussed and agreed, should ensure the appropriate use of the funds in the interests of the students.
At TUM, this practice proved itself especially at the department level, where decisions were mostly made unanimously. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of having a say. The final decision about the use of funds still made the TUM Board of Management, in which the students are not represented at all. Until the summer semester of 2012, however, the TUM Board of Management only made use of this right if, for example, students at department level were in favor of a measure at their own department, but the general Student Representation was against it because the measure was part of the basic equipment.