AStA

The General Students' Committee (German: Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss) or AStA, is the acting executive board and the external representing agency of the (constituted) student body at universities in most German states. It is therefore considered the student government and student representative organization. The AStA fulfils a similar function as the Students' Union at a British university.

AStA committees are usually elected by the student parliament and consist of one or more chairpersons as well as a set of consultants from different fields of study. Sometimes AStA includes so called Autonome Referate (Autonomous consultants) representing minorities which are elected by the members of their peer groups (not by student parliament).