Legislative Branch

The Academic Affairs Committee handles all work relating to academic policy, the academic college student governments, and the academic experience as a whole. All 14 Academic Representatives in the UPUA are required to sit on AAC. The committee also includes Academic College Faculty Senators who are not also Academic Representatives as Ex-Officio non-voting members. The committee works to change university senate policies, advocate for methods to lower costs of educational resources, and educate students about their academic rights. The Academic Affairs Committee works closely with the Student Caucus of the University Faculty Senate.

The Campus Operations Committee focuses on infrastructure-related projects on and around campus. The committee looks to provide students with access to a diverse series of services that will positively impact the way that they experience campus transportation, on- campus services like campus recreation or the libraries, and online services like Canvas and LionPATH. Campus Ops works with various groups including Transportation Services, Housing and Food Services, Information Technology, and the Association of Residence Hall Students.

The Committee on Government and Community Relations  is responsible for advocating on behalf of students at the local, state, and federal levels of government on issues that impact the lives of undergraduate students and support students’ civic and community engagement. Additionally, Government and Community Affairs pursues short-term initiatives in the realm of government, which primarily take the shape of shared initiatives with the Borough of State College, our town’s local government. GCR often works in collaboration with PSU Votes, the College Democrats, and the College Republicans to boost voter registration and turnout during election years.

The UPUA’s Justice and Equity Committee is composed of the UPUA’s inherent identity community group seats and is committed to making sure all identities on campus are heard and advocated for, especially underrepresented and minority identities. As a committee, we focus on pressing issues such as bias and discrimination, international students’ rights, disability services, equity and justice, and uplifting cultural celebrations. We collaborate with student identity groups, the Paul Robinson Cultural Center, and universities offices to advance initiatives that support Penn State Students.

The Student Engagement and Wellness Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any of our CORE committees, focusing on the betterment of student wellbeing in an experiential capacity. StEW works on initiatives centered on work student and campus safety, event planning and management, off-campus living, counseling and psychological services, student health, student recreational services, athletics, student conduct, and sexual violence awareness and prevention. StEW often collaborates with other committees within UPUA, as well as R-Voice, Student Legal Services, Career Services, and various student organizations around campus to enhance and improve student life.