Student governments in the United States

Student governments in the United States exist in both secondary and higher education.^[1] At the collegiate level, the most common name is Student Government, according to the American Student Government Association's database of all student governments throughout the United States. The next most common name is the student government association. Other names are student senate, associated students (west coast institutions almost exclusively), or less commonly students' union. There was one instance of a government of the student body, at Iowa State University.^[2] At Yale University, the undergraduate student government is known as the Yale College Council.^[3] High school student governments usually are known as Student Council.

Student governments vary widely in their internal structure and degree of influence on institutional policy. At institutions with large graduate, medical school, and individual "college" populations, there are often student governments that serve those specific constituencies. Some student governments operate entirely independent of their university. The most autonomous and powerful student government in the United States is the student government of UC Berkeley, famous for its involvement in the Free Speech Movement of 1964 which drew international attention. Some student governments have very large budgets; the student government at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) had an annual budget of $39 million as of 2013, and the Florida International University Student Government had an annual budget of $20.3 million as of 2021.^[4][5]

The student governments with the authority to set their own student fees, usually through student referendums, typically have the most institutional independence and autonomy.^[6] Student governments that set their own fees were also more likely to participate in the United States Students Association.^[6]

State law often provides student governments with substantial legal rights and a significant role within the institution. In a 2018 survey of state law, twelve states and Puerto Rico assigned student associations significant rights and power; fourteen other states and the District of Columbia assigned student associations a more limited advisory role; and twenty-four states provided little or no authority to student governments.^[7] Fourteen states also grant some legal rights to student governments or student representatives in secondary education.^[7]

Elsewhere in the world, student governments are often known as "student unions". However, in American English, the phrase "student union" often refers to a "student activity center" (also known as a "student center" or "student commons"): a building with dining halls, game rooms, lounges, student offices, and other spaces for student activities.^[8]

Not all American colleges and universities have a separate student government. A handful of small liberal arts colleges in the United States use a governance model in which key decisions are made democratically by the community as a whole, with students and faculty on equal footing. Examples of such schools include Marlboro College,^[9] Shimer College,^[10] and College of the Atlantic.^[11] In addition, historically, many US schools followed a "student-faculty council" model, with governance shared between elected representatives of the student body and the faculty.^[12]