TheUniversity of California Student Association (UCSA) is an active[4]501(c)(3)[1][5] federation ofUniversity of California (UC) undergraduate students' associations,[6] purposed as astudent association of all UC students.[7] Its charter states that it "shall exist to: serve the interests of the current and future students of the University of California and promotes [sic] cooperation between various student governments of the University and student organizations concerned with higher education."[7] The Association is not apublic agency, but its leadership is composed of representatives of UCstudent governments, which are "official units of the University" system (with the exception of the UC BerkeleyAssociated Students).[8] UCSA participates in various aspects of the UC system'sgovernance, notably including the selection ofthe student representative on theUC Board of Regents.[9][10]
UCSA's governing body is itsboard of directors, which is chartered to be made up of the external vice presidents of all UCstudent governments. However, UCSA generally requires each student government to pay dues to maintain voting rights on the board.[7] Thus, student governments may effectively "withdraw" from UCSA by refusing to pay dues.
In May 2017, the UCSA board of directors included voting members from 18 student governments. That number dropped to 11 in 2018 because a number of professional and graduate student governments withdrew from UCSA and formed a separate organization named "University of California Graduate and Professional Council".[26]
As of January 2025[update], the UCSA board of directors included voting members from the following student governments:[27]
The UC student Council of Presidents annually selects a cohort of semifinalists. These semifinalists are then interviewed by the UCSA board of directors. The board chooses three applicants, who are then interviewed by a special Regents' committee. The committee then recommends a nominee to the full board ofUniversity of California Regents.[30][10]
