University of California Student Association

The University of California Students Association (UCSA) is a coalition of students and student governments that aims to provide a collective voice for all students through advocacy and direct action. UCSA participates in the shared governance of the University of California system, and seeks to advance higher education by empowering current and future students to advocate on their own behalf for the accessibility, affordability, and quality of the University of California system.

UCSA's history parallels students' broader struggle for social change. In 1964, the Free Speech Movement marked the beginning of a new era of student demands for participation in the governance of the University. This coincided with campus unrest due to the Civil Rights Movement and the escalating Vietnam War. In the 1960's and early 1970's students confronted authorities both on campuses and in the halls of the State Capitol.

The need for systemwide organizing became apparent as UC students resisted an onslaught of punitive measures directed at them as a result of their increased activism. Student leaders responded by forming the Student Body Presidents' Council (SBPC), which was comprised of all the undergraduate and graduate student body presidents. The purpose of SBPC was "to serve the collective interests of students of the University of California by promoting cooperation between various student government associations of the several campuses of the University, and by representing these interests to the Regents of the University of California, the Administration, and the State Legislature." SBPC laid the foundation for the Universitywide student association which eventually evolved into UCSA.

Meanwhile, lobbying efforts at the State Capitol remained sporadic even though then Governor Ronald Reagan sought to raise student fees and legislators introduced dozens of bills to punish campus radicals and the "lenient" University. Students found it difficult to maintain the ongoing presence necessary to lobby effectively against such measures.

On February 11, 1971, SBPC established the UC Student Lobby to ensure students a permanent voice in the State Capitol. The UC Student Lobby, with professional staff, served as the advocacy arm of SBPC, and each campus set up a Lobby Annex to organize grassroots campaign efforts. Within a few years, the UC Student Lobby won several significant budget and legislative battles on behalf of students, and developed a reputation as an influential lobbying organization in Sacramento.

As SBPC and the UC Student Lobby's effectiveness and visibility increased, so did confusion about their relationship with each other. Campus student governance began to demand greater attention of Student Body Presidents, and, over time, membership of SBPC shifted primarily to representatives appointed by the Presidents or elected by the student body. Soon the name "Student Body Presidents' Council" did not accurately reflect its membership, although its purpose remained the same.

In addition to its identification problem, SBPC was overshadowed by the UC Student Lobby, which captured the attention of the campus media and student body, in part because its name was clearly associated with UC students. Many students and others did not understand that SBPC governed and directed the UC Student Lobby.

Therefore, in 1985, as part of an effort to consolidate all systemwide lobbying efforts under one title, SBPC changed its name to the University of California Student Association. SBPC members became members of the UCSA Board of Directors. By Regental action, the University recognized UCSA as the official systemwide association of campus student governments. In the process, the UC Student Lobby name was shelved although some legislators still refer to UCSA as "The Student Lobby." The UC Student Lobby became the UCSA Sacramento Office and remained the statewide headquarters for UCSA. At the campus level, the Lobby Annexes were referred to as UCSA Campus Offices.

The student associations represented by UCSA include both undergraduate, graduate, and professional student representatives.

• University of California, Berkeley Associated Students (ASUC)
• University of California, Berkeley Graduate Assembly
• University of California, Davis Associated Students UCD
• University of California, Davis Graduate Student Association
• University of California, Irvine Associated Students UCI
• University of California, Irvine Graduate Student Association
• University of California, Los Angeles Undergraduate Students' Association Council (USAC)
• University of California, Los Angeles Graduate Student Association
• University of California, Riverside Associated Students UCR
• University of California, Riverside Graduate Student Association
• University of California, San Diego Associated Students UCSD
• University of California, San Diego Graduate Student Association
• University of California, San Francisco Associated Students UCSF
• University of California, San Francisco Graduate Students' Association
• University of California, Santa Barbara Associated Students UCSB
• University of California, Santa Barbara Graduate Students Association
• University of California, Santa Cruz Student Union Assembly
• University of California, Santa Cruz Graduate Students Association

University of California, Merced does not currently have a student government, thus does not have a member on the UCSA Board. University of California, Hastings College of Law is not a part of UCSA.

The majority of the work UCSA does is centered on the Association's Action Agenda for that year. Each Spring, the association's Board of Directors, solicits proposals from students throughout the UC system on items that they feel require action or change in order to make their education more accessible, affordable and/or of the highest quality possible. These proposals are then presented at the association's annual Congress where they are discussed at great length and a predetermined number of items are selected to become the Association's Action Agenda that must be ratified by all of the student body associations' in the system. Once an Action Agenda is adopted, the association's Board of Directors develops a plan, or campaign, to implement each action item.

In the 1970's, UCSA's predecessor, the UC Student Lobby, fought for student representation in collective bargaining between the University of California and its employees on the basis that students were affected by the outcomes of these negotiations. The Higher-Education Employee Relations Act (HERRA, 1978) gave students limited rights as third-party participants. UCSA is the official student organization that coordinates the Collective Bargaining Program.

The Collective Bargaining Program recruits and trains students to participate in contract negotiations between the UC administration and the unions to voice student concerns.

Throughout the year, unions meet with the University to discuss either a whole new contract or just a few specific issues within the contract. These meetings take place all throughout California. The union will often send a representative from every campus to the meeting as will the University.

Due to HERRA, up to two students (one official representative and one aide) participate in these meetings as a third party. Student representatives are there to learn about the collective bargaining process, keep notes on any issues that may be important to students, and are free to comment (with the knowledge that they are doing so as a representative of 170,000 students).

It is the duty of the student representatives to assess the impact of certain items in the contract. For example: How would a proposal affect work and study conditions for students? How would a proposal affect student fees? Will this impact a certain group of students on campus? The student representative is the front line of defense against any issues that may negatively impact students.

After the meeting, the student representatives report back to UCSA on any issues on which the organization might need to take an official stance.

Council on Student Fees (CSF) is an independently funded program of UCSA and works in coalition with UCSA to represent students in systemwide student fee policy deliberations.

CSF consists of the chairs of the Student Fee Advisory Committees (SFAC) or Registration Fee Advisory Committees (RFAC) at each of the University of California campuses. It is the official student advisory voice on systemwide matters regarding the use of Registration Fees and the provision of Student Services, a forum to develop and endorse policy positions on student fee issues, a clearinghouse of information on the development and resolution of issues related to student fees, and an advocate for the students of the University of California and the services those students need.

UCSA employs 5 full-time staff personnel:

• Executive Director
• Legislative Director
• Campus Organizing Director
• Field Organizer/Collective Bargaining
• University Affairs Director

• UCSA is also a member of the United States Students Association

• University of California
• United States Students Association
• Regents of the University of California
• Robert C. Dynes

• UCSA Official site
• University of California Official site