Legislation

The purpose of legislation in the Senate of College Councils is directly linked to Senate’s role as a student governance organization charged with representing students in academic affairs. In fact, legislation plays a crucial role in Senate’s representation of the students at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Senate of College Councils mission is to create positive change in the academic lives of the students on this campus. Legislation achieves that goal by advocating for positive changes at the University or by creating positive change in the Senate of College Councils so that we can better accomplish our mission. Whether it is encouraging college-bridging studies, calling for the implementation of mid-semester course instructor surveys or amending Senate’s Constitution so that we can better serve students, all legislation is written with the goal in mind of positively changing the academic lives of students at the University or the effectiveness of Senate in accomplishing that mission in some way.

The Importance of College Councils to Legislation

College councils are the reason why pieces of legislation passed by the Senate of College Councils have legitimacy and have the potential to create positive change. A college council serves as the official student representative organization in a college/school and therefore serves as an advocate of and resource for the students it represents. Consequently and naturally, college councils gather together a diversity of students in their respective college who are dedicated to improving students’ experiences in their college. Thus, when a college council delegation votes on a piece of legislation at a Senate general assembly meeting, the delegation represents not just three isolated individuals from a college but an entire body of students officially dedicated to representing their fellow students in that college. When a piece of legislation gets passed by the Senate of College Councils, therefore, the message that approval sends is that a majority of the official college-level student governance organizations at The University of Texas are in support of the changes the legislation is advocating.

For more information about legislation and Senate’s legislative process, contact Senate’s Policy Director, Josh Fjelstul, at joshfjelstul@gmail.com.