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Student Connection and Leadership Center

Student Advisory Council

About
The Council
Representatives
Student Voice
Get Involved
FAQ's

The Student Advisory Council is a credible and sought-after resource that represents the voice and sentiment of the BYU student body. The Council collaborates with BYU students, faculty, administration, and staff to improve the overall BYU student experience.

The Council

The Student Advisory Council is a representative body of students from various colleges, departments, organizations, and groups on campus. The Student Advisory Council serves the BYU community by accurately representing student opinion to the BYU administration, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions. The Student Advisory Council also decides on various research projects meant to improve the overall BYU student experience and then collaborates with BYU students, faculty, administration, and staff on the implementation of these initiatives. Findings are then compiled in both a final report and a presentation to be used to advise and offer recommendations to administration.

(selected representatives are enrolled in a 2 credit class)

Student Voice

Student Voice works to process student suggestions and works on small and/or medium sized research projects. These projects typically last less than one semester as opposed to the Student Advisory Council research projects which are worked on for both Fall and Winter semester.

Objectives

  • Strengthen student voice - students’ ideas and expressed opinions are acknowledged, advocated for, and acted upon as a result of student outreach, inclusive collaboration, meaningful research, and civil discourse
  • Increase student knowledge - students’ understanding is informed through research, policy study, and interactions with the BYU administration and students
  • Impact student perspective - students’ viewpoints are enlightened as a result of dialogue and discourse with fellow students and BYU administrators
Apply Here!

Explore Our Impact

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Current Projects

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Past Projects

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Current Projects

Belonging

Our team’s main goal is to help students at BYU feel valued and welcomed. We are currently working with the Office of Belonging to facilitate more awareness about various communities and cultures. Additionally, we are working on helping students feel that they belong on campus. We are doing this by asking students about their experiences with belonging at BYU. We will implement a project based on our research in Winter 2023.

Campus Resource Awareness

The Campus Resource Awareness team is focused on exploring different ways to inform students about the resources available to them. There are numerous resources here on campus — from therapy to academic advisement — but many students are unaware of them. As a team, our goals for this year are to research the most effective ways to reach students and allow them the opportunity to take advantage of such resources. We are looking into tentative projects such as adding new widgets to the BYU app, incorporating a chatbox, and working with professors to reach students that way.

Continuing Projects

Description to come soon

First-Year Students

Our team aims to service the first year students of BYU, whether a first semester freshman or a transfer students. We hope to target the struggles of these demographics and minimize the strain it puts on the daily life of these students. In order to do this we are identifying needs through primary research, developing realistic action items, and with the help of the student council, following through and making these changes.

Spiritually Strengthening

 BYU has the unique opportunity to not only help students grow academically but to also help them be spiritually inspired and edified. This committee is working to find ways to help all students be even more spiritually strengthened in their time at BYU amongst the many other activities, responsibilities, and time commitments they may have during their college careers.

Student Events Hub

The Student Event Hub project is dedicated to creating a centralized location to which students may refer for information regarding student events. Currently, we are working on understanding the current resources at BYU that different departments and organizations use to publicize and advertise their respective events. Going forward, we plan on working with University Communications to understand University policies regarding centralized calendaring.

Student Housing

The Student Housing team is working hard to identify problems surrounding BYU student housing on and off campus. We are working to make housing easier to find, higher quality, and less of a stress for students during their time at BYU. We hope to make living in Provo a more positive experience for students in contracted and non-contracted housing.

Student Transportation

The Student Transportation team is dedicated to solving frequent complaints that affect our campus community. Getting to and from class/campus is an issue that every student faces, and we are dedicated to obtaining the highest level of convenience possible. Currently, we are addressing issues related to biking to and from campus, including the security of bike racks, and accessibility to information regarding transportation options.

Past Projects

The Student Advisory Council was organized in 1988 as part of the broader establishment of the BYU Student Service Association. With over three decades of history, the Student Advisory Council has impacted the BYU community in many ways.

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Bringing Microwaves

to the cougar eat
More
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Mental Health

& Emotional Wellness
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LGBTQ+ Student Resources

& Support
More
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Non-member Religion Classes

Book of Mormon Classes for non-member students
More
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Diversity and Inclusion

on campus
More
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Supporting Our Veterans

and all they do
More

WHAT IS A REPRESENTATIVE?

The Student Advisory Council itself is a made up of student representatives from across campus that serve for consecutive Fall and Winter semesters. The role of the Student Advisory Council in the university parallels that of the Faculty and Administrative Advisory Councils. We should come to think of these students as “wise counselors and philosophical advisors” to the University community.

The Student Advisory Council itself is made up of

  • 2 representatives from each academic college
  • 1 representative from each non-academic department/interest group (i.e. Women's Services, CAPS, MSS, etc.)
  • 4 At-Large Representatives

Representatives take a two-credit class each semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00-4:50 during which they work on initiatives and provide recommendations to university guest.

Apply to be a Rep!

Ashlan Gruwell

BYUSA Clubs
Student Events Hub

Austin Kattenhorn

Marriott School - Undergraduate
Student Events Hub

Benson Scoffield

College of Humanities
Student Transportation

Britlin Alius

Counseling & Psychological Services
Spiritually Strengthening

Brooklyn Jones

Campus Security
Belonging

Cameron Jacobsen

Military Veterans
Student Housing

Emma Kent

Nursing
First Year Students

Emma Rae Francis

Student Alumni
Student Housing

Hannah Jensen

General Student Body Representative
Student Events Hub

Jacob Smith

Religious Education
Spiritually Strengthening

Jared Xia

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

JoAmber Rawlins

Office of First Year Experience
First Year Students

Joseph Abu Manneh

Students of Other Faiths
Spiritually Strengthening

Kabir Rajput

Graduate Studies
Spiritually Strengthening

Larson Roberts

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

Lily Skinner

College of Fine Arts and Communications
Student Transportation

Lizzie Gallini

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

Parker Carlquist

College of Life Sciences
Belonging

Porter Dixon

College of Engineering and Technology
Student Events Hub

Serena Mildon

Non-Traditional Students
Continuing Projects

Simona Love

International Student Services
Student Housing

Spencer Madsen

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

Tala Alnasser

College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Belonging

Trevyn Sagucio

Multicultural Student Services
Student Housing

Zach Benson

University Accessibility Services
Student Events Hub

Student Voice

Student Voice works to process student suggestions and works on small and/or medium sized research projects. These projects typically last less than one semester as opposed to the Student Advisory Council research projects which are worked on for both Fall and Winter semester.

In addition, Student Voice volunteers run programs to promote the voices of students across campus and encourage dialogue within the BYU community.

Take a Survey

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Apply to be a Director

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Submit a Project

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Apply to be a Team Lead

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Frequently Asked Questions

Useful Information

We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions and answers for your convenience. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please get in touch and we’ll respond to your inquiry as quickly as possible.

  • Getting involved is easy just click the get involved tab in the navigation bar and select "Student Advisory Council" as the area that you would be interested in.

  • Brooke is the Vice President for the Student Advisory Council and Sue is the Coordinator

  • SAC is the acronym for Student Advisory Council. We are also sometimes referred to as "The Council"

Brooke, Council and Voice VP

Hello! My name is Brooke Layton and I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. I am an undergraduate studying Public Health with an emphasis in Health Sciences. I love volleyball, hiking, painting, and listening to anything by Ben Rector. My number one favorite thing to do is spending time with my wonderful husband and our family and friends. Student Advisory Council and Student Voice are incredibly important to me because they represent the voice, concerns, and opinions of students to the administration of BYU. We work to help make campus a welcoming and enjoyable environment for every student. My area exists to help you feel heard and understood and I look forward to putting in the work to make that happen. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, I'd love to hear from you at byusacouncil@byu.edu.