The German Student Services are responsible for providing social, financial and cultural support services to students. Growing out of student self-help groups, today the Student Services are organized under state jurisdiction and almost all have become public institutions.
In North Rhine-Westphalia the Student Services have been organized since 1974 as independent public institutions with the right to self-administration.

A judicial statute from September 16, 2014 (GV.NRW 2014, page 547) governing the Student Services in North Rhine-Westphalia sets out the duties and local responsibilities of the Student Services for the individual universities.

Studierendenwerksgesetz – StWG

Financing and Performance Data

The Student Services in NRW are social service companies. Financial management and accountancy must comply with commercial principles.

The importance of the Student Services, employing almost 4.500 workers, also as a significant economic factor for NRW, can be seen, for example, in the earnings for 2022, which totaled € 414 million.

The comparatively inexpensive prices for services are possible due to students’ semester fees, self-generated revenue as well as state subsidies to set off the running costs of operation.

The twelve Student Services in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia

Local Jurisdiction

responsibility: Technische Hochschule Aachen, Fachhochschule Aachen, Hochschule für Musik Köln, Location Aachen

study places: Aachen, Jülich

responsibility: Universität Bielefeld, Fachhochschule Bielefeld, Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Hochschule für Musik Detmold

study places: Bielefeld, Detmold, Höxter, Lemgo, Minden, Warburg

responsibility: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Hochschule Bochum, Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen, Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, EBZ Business School, Hochschule für Gesundheit, Evangelische Hochschule Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe und die Folkwang Universität der Künste, Studienort Bochum

study places: Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Ahaus, Velbert, Heiligenhaus

responsibility: Universität Bonn, Fachhochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg

study place: Bonn, Sankt Augustin, Rheinbach

responsibility: Technische Universität Dortmund, Fachhochschule Dortmund, Folkwang Hochschule im Ruhrgebiet, location Dortmund, Fernuniversität Hagen, Fachhochschule Südwestfalen in Iserlohn, ISM Dortmund, BITS Iserlohn (only financial aid), SHR Hamm (only financial aid)

study places: Dortmund, Hagen, Iserlohn, Meschede, Soest, Lüdenscheid

responsibility: Universität Düsseldorf, Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Robert-Schumann-Hochschule Düsseldorf, Fachhochschule Niederrhein in Krefeld und Mönchengladbach, Hochschule Rhein-Waal

study places: Düsseldorf, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach, Kamp-Lintfort, Kleve

responsibility: Universität Duisburg-Essen, Folkwang Hochschule im Ruhrgebiet, location Essen und Duisburg, Hochschule Ruhr West

study places: Duisburg, Essen, Bottrop, Mülheim

responsibility: Universität Köln, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Technische Hochschule Köln, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, location Köln, Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, Cologne Business School und die Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen

study places: Köln, Gummersbach, Leverkusen

responsibility: Universität Münster, Fachhochschule Münster, Kunstakademie Münster

study places: Münster, Steinfurt, Ahlen, Beckum, Oelde

responsibility: Universität Paderborn, Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt

study places: Paderborn, Hamm, Lippstadt

responsibility: Universität Siegen

study place: Siegen

responsibility: Universität Wuppertal, Hochschule für Musik Köln, location Wuppertal

study place: Wuppertal