Student Government Structures
Comparing Washington State Student Governments
"Student associations are similar to that of the national system of governance with executive, judicial and legislative branches... Generally, the responsibilities of student associations include serving as the voice of the student body to the institution's administration, overseeing student fees, supervising student organizations, and running campus programming. These bodies also currently participate in decision-making processes in student affairs and academic and administrative affairs." (May, 2010)
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Our research focuses on the ways in which these associations have integrated not only representation of the disabled student community, but how they have allocated resources and authority within their associations to the disabled student community, in an effort to further access. The Associated Students of the University of Washington are the focus of our research, as they have rather uniquely offered funding, offices and legitimacy to marginalized communities within the University.
The videos featured contain audio of the content featured on each page. The video above is of the page content. The video below is a description of the ASUW organizational chart PDF.
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Below we explore the governance structures of different Washington State universities and the high degree of variance and scope of authority awarded to disabled students at post-secondary institutions through their student governments.
The University of Washington
ASUW Student Disability Commission
UW Undergraduate Enrollment: 32,099 (Source)
The Organizational Chart listed above is dated 2012-2013. Since then, there have been changes within the "Diversity Commissions" to include the Middle Eastern Student Commission (MESC) as well as an Assistant Director for the Asian Student Commission (2016), an Assistant Director for the Student Disability Commission (2018) and an Assistant Director for the Women's Action Commission (2019).
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Below are some comparisons to the student governance system seen at the University of Washington, specifically from universities in the State of Washington. We chose not to look into student governments in the Community and Technical College systems for comparison as these campuses are often much smaller, much less autonomous and with significantly smaller budgets than university student government organizations.
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Western Washington University (WWU)
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WWU Undergraduate Enrollment: 15,170 (Source)
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Comprised of:
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Board of Directors
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Student Senate
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Other Programs including the Student Advocacy + Identity Resources (SAIRC)
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The AS Disability Outreach Center (DOC)​​​ exists under SAIRC and is the closest comparable program to the ASUW Student Disability Commission (SDC) in Washington State. The DOC has:
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3 part-time student employees.
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A budget of $5,670 annually for programming and supplies.
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​Major Differences between the DOC and the SDC:
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The DOC does not have its own office. It is housed within the Multicultural Center.​
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It is not entirely run by students- meaning that the staff advisor has ultimate budget authority and students do not supervise other students*
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*It is worth noting that each of the 3 employees is responsible to oversee work-study staff assistants but they, themselves, are not managed or overseen by another student.
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Bellevue College (BC)
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BC Enrollment: 29,658 (Source)
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Comprised of:
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ASG Officers
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Office of Student Legislative Affairs
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No evidence of hired student staff, or dedicated budget to address the needs of disabled students.
Washington State University (WSU)
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WSU Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,098​ (Source)
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Comprised of:
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Executive Branch
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Legislative Branch
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Judicial Board
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Election Board
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Student Committees
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No evidence of hired student staff, or dedicated budget to address the needs of disabled students.
Eastern Washington University (EWU)
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EWU Undergraduate Enrollment: 11,410​ (Source)
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Comprised of:
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Executives
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Council
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Superior Court
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Cabinet​
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No evidence of hired student staff, or dedicated budget to address the needs of disabled students.
Central Washington University (CWU)
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CWU Undergraduate Enrollment: 11,222 (Source)
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Comprised of:
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7 elected student officers
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Student Academic Senate
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Equity and Services Council
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No evidence of hired student staff, or dedicated budget to address the needs of disabled students.