Representatives on the Student Advisory Council are required to be current and active students within the university system. Each president of the 26 public institutions' student governments are automatically appointed as representatives upon their election at their institution, yet may assign another current member of their respective association to represent their institution on their behalf. Furthermore, an additional nine members represent several satellite campuses of other universities. This change occurred after a series of consolidations between 2011 and 2018 which reduced the number of colleges and universities from 35 to 26. The list of current Representatives on the Student Advisory Council can be found on .
History
On March 13, 1968, Chancellor George L. Simpson, Jr. recommended that the Board of Regents establish a University System Student Advisory Council. This council was to be composed of all the student body presidents within the University System. The Board of Regents felt that the format of the Student Advisory Council would further enhance the student government organizations while creating responsible student leadership in the University System and so authorized its establishment.
Georgia constitution mandate
Provide a forum for communication and recommendation between the students of the University System of Georgia and the Chancellor of the System, the Board of Regents, the state government, the news media, and the public concerning problems and issues which are important to the students of the University System of Georgia.
Promote better student government at institutions of the University System through the dissemination of information between and the provision of assistance to member institutions regarding problems and activities. The primary internal function of the Student Advisory Council shall be to discuss issues of direct concern to the student body of the University System of Georgia within those forums established for that purpose.
Meetings
The Student Advisory Council meets one or two times per semester to present committee progress and to openly discuss ongoing and new issues. Presentations are also performed to SAC by USG personnel on such matters as Legislative updates, the USG Strategic Plan, and other changes that effect the student population in the University System. Other guests and participants include the Chancellor, Regents, the "host" institution's President, and faculty/staff from the various institutions. For each meeting, the student body presidents convene at different colleges/universities throughout the state. The "host" institution is predetermined, and is featured at the specific meeting as a means to diversify awareness of the different institutions within the University System.
Committees
The student body presidents are assigned to committees on various relevant topics pertaining to students in the University System. Such topics are:
An effort to create and mature the overall education of current students and to set goals to increase the graduation rates for each institution.
An effort to define new means of available financial aid for students, and to repair any flaws with current means.
An effort to clearly outline paths for students to transfer into different institutions.
An effort to move the operations of each institution towards a "greener" campus.
An effort to inform the students in the USG as a whole on SAC progress, and to create a common communication outlet for the SAC members.
An effort to change the State's constitution to establish a student on the Board of Regents with full voting rights.
