StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke

The StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke (SG) is a student-led, non-profit registered association (e.V.) based in Witten, Germany. Founded in May 1995 by students of Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), it exists to preserve and develop the university's liberal study conditions and to organize students' financial contribution to their education. Its central innovation is the Income Share Agreement (ISA), known in German as the "umgekehrter Generationenvertrag" (reverse generational contract, or UGV) — a model in which students study first and pay later, contributing a percentage of their income after graduation rather than paying fixed tuition upfront. The SG's mission rests on what it calls the "Three Freedoms": free access to higher education regardless of financial background; free and independent organization of one's studies; and free choice of professional career, unconstrained by a fixed mountain of debt. These are complemented by the principle of solidarity, under which higher earners contribute more and those who cannot afford repayment are carried by the community. Students may choose between income-dependent deferred payment and a fixed contribution paid in monthly installments during study, and may combine the two models. Beyond financing, the SG is an active shareholder (Gesellschafter) of Witten/Herdecke University, giving students a formal voice in the university's governance. It organizes roughly €11.0 million in yearly student financial contributions and supports student-based activities. Since 1995 it has enabled more than 4,000 members to study at UW/H through the ISA. The organization is a non-profit and is not listed on any stock exchange.

The StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke emerged from a financial crisis at Witten/Herdecke University. In autumn 1994, returning students were informed by the university presidency that a package agreed between the state government and university leadership to restore the university's finances would introduce tuition fees by the turn of the millennium. Students faced a dilemma: they valued the liberal study conditions at UW/H, which a conventional tuition-fee regime would endanger, yet a financial contribution from students seemed unavoidable to secure those very conditions. The core idea of the reverse generational contract was conceived at midnight at the kitchen table of a Witten student shared apartment: decouple study from the payment of tuition fees. If repayment could be deferred until after entering professional life, the economization of study could be avoided. A financial contribution measured by one's own means rather than one's parents' means would allow the university to remain what it was — a place where admission depends solely on individual achievement combined with integrity and responsibility toward the whole. The principle is simple: study first, pay later. In this way, graduates finance the studies of the current student generation. In May 1995, the StudierendenGesellschaft was founded as a student organization to carry out this concept independently. Since then it has administered the study contributions at Witten/Herdecke University. The contractual arrangement placing administration of contributions in students' hands reflects the university's founding principles: encouraging freedom, striving for truth, promoting social responsibility, and its entrepreneurial understanding of the university. The level of contributions is set by agreement between the StudierendenGesellschaft and the university. In 2001, the association was granted one of 12 directorate seats by the then directorate of the Private Universität Witten/Herdecke gGmbH. When the directorate was replaced by a shareholders' meeting in 2009, the StudierendenGesellschaft became a shareholder (Gesellschafterin) of the university. As of 2021 it held a position in the university's governance structure. Over the decades the SG has enabled more than 4,000 members to study at UW/H through the ISA and today organizes roughly €11.0 million in yearly student contributions.

• 2021

  SG holds a position in the university's governance structure.

• 2009

  Directorate replaced by a shareholders' meeting; SG becomes a shareholder of the university.

• 2001

  Association granted one of 12 directorate seats at Private Universität Witten/Herdecke gGmbH.

• 1995

  Core idea of the reverse generational contract conceived; StudierendenGesellschaft founded in May 1995.

• 1994

  University announces planned tuition fees, prompting students to seek an alternative financing model.

Non-profit, student-run financing model promoting equal access to higher education and freedom of study.

• Income Share Agreement (ISA / umgekehrter Generationenvertrag)

  Students study first and repay a percentage of income after graduation, only when earning above a minimum threshold.

• Fixed contribution plan

  Monthly installments paid during study, equivalent to the present value of the deferred payment.

• Combined payment models

  Students may combine income-dependent and fixed payment options.

1. 1Fair study funding with the ISA at Witten/Herdecke Universitystudierendengesellschaft.de
2. 2About SG – StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke e.V.studierendengesellschaft.de
3. 3Study – StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke e.V.studierendengesellschaft.de
4. 4Repay – StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke e.V.studierendengesellschaft.de
5. 5StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
6. 6StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke – Wikidatawikidata.org