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Student Connection and Leadership Center

Student Advisory Council

About Us
SAC Projects
Student Voice
Representatives
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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.

What do we do?

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

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.

(Those representatives selected in the Student Advisory Council are enrolled into a 2 credit class for the Fall and Winter Semesters. The class occurs from 4-5pm in room 5519 in the Wilkinson Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

Apply to be a Council Representative

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.

Apply to be an Area Volunteer
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CURRENT PROJECTS

Academic Standards

Our group has taken on three primary topics—neuroscience of learning, the efficacy of language courses, and the applications that BYU uses to facilitate education, specifically Learning Suite and Canvas. For each of these three topics, we have done a great deal public outreach via emails to university higher-ups, meetings with general faculty members, and correspondence with everyday students who have experiences relative to our categories of oversight. In the meantime, we have compiled extensive research on every topic of note, and we have all of our (rather extensive) work located in a shared Google Drive folder.

Accessibility

For our project, one option we are exploring is getting more employees hired in the University Accessibility Center. We were thinking of having a new position in the UAC where undergrads, graduate students, or anyone qualified can act as a mentor for students with disabilities. These mentors would help students set up meetings with professors and work with them to create a plan tailored to the students to help them succeed in the class. Mentors can also act as advisors responsible for communicating the UAC updates to students.

Inclusion and Belonging

Our group focused on Inclusion and Belonging desire to create a campaign which will include short videos entitled, "We are BYU." The purpose is to acknowledge the diversity of students (first generation, student parents, students with disabilities, racially diverse students, and students of different faith) attending BYU.

LGBTQ+

We are researching a project that would provide resources for LGBTQ+ members of the BYU community. We are looking to provide them with support that can help them feel welcomed and accepted on campus. This can include a centralized page of resources, counselling, and staff members that can provide the necessary belonging to members of their community.

Student Employment

This group is committed to making the student employment experience the best possible at BYU. They were able to successfully hold focus groups, heard from diverse perspectives, and collected over 300 survey responses. Moving forward, they are looking at implementing an annual "Student Job Fair" at BYU and looking at ways to make on-campus employment easier for married students and students who are parents.

Student Wellness

The Student Wellness team is working on improving students' outlook and access to resources that can improve all aspects of wellness. We are specifically looking into improving mental aid options as well as improving students' physical wellness by investigating options for physical exercise available to students on campus.
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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.

Bringing Microwaves to the CougarEat

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM

Mental Health & Emotional Wellness

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM

LGBTQ+ Student Resources & Support

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM

Non-member Religion Classes

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM

Diversity and Inclusion on Campus

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM

Supporting Our Veterans

August 03, 2021 03:59 PM
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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.

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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 General Body Student Representatives

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

Apply to be a Representative
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2023-2024 REPRESENTATIVES

TBD

BYUSA Clubs
Student Events Hub

TBD

Marriott School - Undergraduate
Student Events Hub

TBD

College of Humanities
Student Transportation

TBD

Counseling & Psychological Services
Spiritually Strengthening

TBD

Campus Security
Belonging

TBD

Military Veterans
Student Housing

TBD

Nursing
First Year Students

TBD

Student Alumni
Student Housing

TBD

General Student Body Representative
Student Events Hub

TBD

Religious Education
Spiritually Strengthening

TBD

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

TBD

Office of First Year Experience
First Year Students

TBD

Students of Other Faiths
Spiritually Strengthening

TBD

Graduate Studies
Spiritually Strengthening

TBD

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

TBD

College of Fine Arts and Communications
Student Transportation

TBD

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

TBD

College of Life Sciences
Belonging

TBD

College of Engineering and Technology
Student Events Hub

TBD

Non-Traditional Students
Continuing Projects

TBD

International Student Services
Student Housing

TBD

College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Belonging

TBD

College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Belonging

TBD

Multicultural Student Services
Student Housing

TBD

University Accessibility Services
Student Events Hub

Apply to be a Director

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Apply to be a Team Lead

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Please review the frequently asked questions found below.

Have ideas? Additional questions?

Please contact us at: byusacouncil@byu.edu

Or visit us in the BYUSA Office (3400 of the Wilkinson Student Center)

  • 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.

  • Annie Walker is the Vice President for the Student Advisory Council and Logan Mann is the Coordinator

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