Senate Committees

Coming soon will be individual web pages for each of the thirteen committees.

ISS Committees

Below you will find a listing and description of each of the thirteen Illinois Student Senate committees. If you are interested in applying to be a member, applications are currently being accepted. Please click the Get Involved tab to apply.

Committee on Academic Affairs
The Academic Affairs Committee is centered on serving the needs of the student body in every aspect of their academic career. The goal of the committee is to maintain high-quality instructors who understand the importance of teaching, ensure that the student body has accurate knowledge of instructors before they register for classes, lower the staggering prices of textbooks by working with both the university and state government, create more study abroad opportunities, and protect the free exchange of ideas within the classroom.

Committee on Appointments
The Committee on Appointment's primary task is to interview and appoint students to fill all of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs' Campus Committees.

Committee on Appropriations
The Committee on Appropriations is tasked with receiving and reviewing all requests to appropriate money for student senate business.

Committee on University Budget
Designed as the student voice on issues pertaining to the University budget, the Budget Committee works to inform students about funding problems, changes in tuition policy, and other issues directly affecting the quality and accessibility of education. The Budget Committee conducts a budget letter drive each spring with the goal of increasing state funding of the U of I. This year, we were the first university to launch an electronic version of the letter and have delivered 3900 letters to various state legislators.

Committee on Governmental Affairs
The Governmental Affairs Committee serves as a liaison between the student body and governmental entities at the federal, state, and municipal levels. We lobby these governments to ensure that they effectively represent the interests of the U of I student body. Our current projects include federal student financial aid, legislation to combat rising college textbook prices, lobbying state legislators for increases in the university budget, and lobbying the Champaign-Urbana city councils for new laws to improve pedestrian safety on campus.

Committee on Student Rights
The Committee on Student Right researches and executes strategies that help protect student rights and addresses the roots of their concerns, addresses the concerns of students who have had their rights violated, and act on behalf of the student body on such issues to come up with plausible solutions.

Committee on Senate Procedure
The Committee on Senate Procedure is charged with reviewing all proposed revisions to the governing documents of the Illinois Student Senate (the Bylaws, committee charters, and the Constitution) and issuing recommendations to the full Senate. The Committee, beginning in 2007-08 and every three years thereafter is also charged with a comprehensive review of the ISS Bylaws.

Committee on Outreach
The Outreach Committee actively seeks to inform students about idea, resolutions and activities of the Illinois Student Senate and the University itself. The outreach Committee works with other student organizations, as well as the University faculty and administration to help students network and find common interests. In addition, the Outreach Committee is charged with seeking out issues, ideas, and initiatives from students and directing them toward the appropriate Student Senate Committee.

Committee on Student Life
The goal of the Student Life Committee is to assess student opinions and gauge concerns of relevance according to the Student Body. The information gathered by the work of this committee will be essential in advising student senators and shaping the direction of ISS policy and program. The committee will also work in collaboration with the appropriate University of Illinois outlets in asserting the interests of the student body and university community.

Committee on Environmental Sustainability
The Committee on Environmental Sustainability issues recommendations to the Office of Sustainability and the Campus Sustainability Council and focuses on the campus-wide issues of energy usage, recycling, conservation, and sustainability awareness.

Cultural and Minority Student Affairs Committee
The Cultural and Minority Student Affairs Committee’s goal is to make the campus more attune to minority needs. They work to create a University environment that is conducive to spreading cultural awareness.

Committee on Graduate and Professional Affairs
The goal of this committee is to deal with graduate and professional affairs on campus. They strive to create a better life, environment, and education for the graduate student at the University

Committee on Transfer and Non-Traditional Students
The committee on transfer and non-traditional students seeks to represent the ideas and issues of transfer and nontraditional students to the university administration. One of its primary duties is to maintain relations with the university’s ROTC program(s) as well as to convey appreciation for the work of the United States Armed