Dear students,
in the last article, we informed you about the current situation regarding the 49 € – ticket in relation to the semester ticket. Today we want to talk about the total semester fees, because many of you will certainly have noticed: With 348,54 € for the upcoming summer semester, we are significantly above the previous fee of 327,34 €. So where does the money go?
Of the nearly € 350, € 12.50 is the so-called general AStA fee. This has remained constant over the last few semesters and finances the entire student self-administration, e.g. the student councils, the AStA staff, cultural AStA events and generally everything that the AStA does.
A further € 2.15 of the contribution is earmarked in the summer semester for the AStA Kulturticket, which was introduced in this winter semester. With this culture ticket all students of the University of Paderborn can visit various cultural institutions in the district of Paderborn for free, for example all museums and theaters, but also the SC Paderborn or the Uni Baskets Paderborn. Here you can find out exactly which institutions are included and which conditions apply.
Now we come to the biggest contributor to the semester fees: the semester ticket. In principle, the semester ticket is divided into two parts: There is a distinction between the regional and the NRW semester ticket. The regional semester ticket includes all routes and transport companies in and around Paderborn, for example the VPH for the buses in Paderborn or the NWB for some regional trains. In total, we have contracts with 7 transport companies for the regional semester ticket, which takes a total of €176,49 of the semester fees. This regional semester ticket is the prerequisite for the NRW semester ticket, i.e. the upgrade to the whole of NRW, which costs an additional €59.40. This is why the semester ticket costs differently at each university: the prices of the regional semester ticket vary greatly.
In Paderborn, we have a total price of €235.89 for the semester ticket for the coming summer semester, which is €3.22 more expensive than this winter semester. We are of course aware that there is still room for improvement here: Taking bicycles or people on the weekend, discounting the ticket or possibly upgrading to the 49 € – ticket. We have been negotiating with the transport companies for a long time in this regard, but unfortunately the whole thing is a very long process. Furthermore, we even cancelled the semester ticket once to be able to negotiate better. Rest assured: We will always work for the best conditions!
You can find information about the scope here.
Last but not least, we have the social contribution of the Studierendenwerk. This is the biggest price driver this semester, because it will increase from €81.43 to €98.00 in the coming summer semester and includes the operation of the dining halls and dormitories, the subsidy of the courts and much more. What exactly and why the contribution increases for the summer semester, you can find out on the Instagram channel of the Studierendenwerk.
Hopefully this post was able to give you a little insight into the pricing structure of the semester fee here at UPB. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by mail!