University Affairs Systemwide Committees
Students fought hard for shared governance, and their struggle resulted in a CSU Board of Trustees resolution giving them the right to participate in decision making at a systemwide level. One of the ways students exercise this right is through service on committees that formulate policy for the system. These committees are the cradle of CSU policymaking, the starting place for initiatives that affect not only the 450,000 students currently enrolled at the CSU’s 23 campuses but also untold numbers of future CSU students.
Serving on a committee is an important and prestigious assignment. Not only will you be dealing with issues as they affect the entire CSU system, you will also be interacting with CSU trustees, university presidents and vice presidents, provosts, administrators, and faculty members. Your input as a student will be sought out, because your colleagues on the committee will view their work as incomplete without the student perspective. Any travel associated with your committee service will be arranged and paid for by the CSU.
Most committees meet only two to four times per year, so that time commitment is not great; however, committee work also carries the obligation to spend significant time reviewing and/or preparing agenda materials and reports. If you are interested in serving, you must have several hours in your schedule that you can commit to preparation in advance of each meeting. CSSA’s Director of University Affairs will call you several days before your meeting to discuss the agenda and will call you again after the meeting, so that you can brief her on developments within your committee. She will prepare a short report, which will be posted on the website under the name of your committee.
Systemwide Committee Application (.pdf)
CSSA seeks student representatives to systemwide committees who
- Qualify according to criteria/standards
established by the CSU for student participation on systemwide
committees
- Are responsible, effective activists
- Agree to fully prepare for committee meetings
- Commit to attending all meetings of their committee, arriving on time
- Communicate ideas clearly
- Agree to participate actively in committee work by contributing
the student perspective on issues and policymaking
- Who agree to participate in debriefing sessions following committee meetings with CSSA’s Director of University Affairs
If you are interested in serving on a systemwide committee in 2009-2010, please fill out the provided application material and submit it to:
California State Student Association 401 Golden Shore, Suite 135 Long Beach, CA 90802-4210