What is the Washington Student Lobby?
The WSL is the statewide student association for Washington State. It is the only statewide, student-led group that works exclusively on the issues of accessibility and affordability of higher education.
Mission
The Washington Student Lobby represents, serves, and protects the collective interests of students in public post-secondary education in Washington State. The WSL will:
- Preserve and enhance the quality of higher education in Washington;
- Represent the collective interests of students through communication with state and federal governments and other interested groups;
- Serve as a conduit for communication between university and college student bodies regarding issues and policies of mutual interest;
- Develop positive relationships with other student advocacy groups, both around the state and across the nation; and,
- Aid in the appointment of students to statewide committees and task forces.
Vision
The Washington Student Lobby is the leader in pursuing affordable, accessible, and quality higher education for students in the State of Washington. The WSL aspires to achieve continued victories in the representation and protection of collective student interests through expanded participation, diversity of ideas, unity of voice, and a strong dedication to our mission.
The WSL will involve students in higher education issues, influence decision-making, and participate in implementation of higher education policy.
The WSL has focused its efforts on legislative and policy deliberations. The organization operates on a small annual budget that supports one full time administrator, a part time lobbyist, and a small office in Olympia. Each legislative session, the WSL supports a team of legislative liaisons, hired independently by their student body associations, to represent students in the state capitol of Olympia. These liaisons are trained before the legislative session and guided by the lobbyist during the session under the aegis of the WSL. Furthermore, WSL officers and liaisons attend relevant agency and committee meetings, such as those of the Higher Education Coordinating Board, throughout the state on a year-round basis. WSL members represent, serve, and protect collective student interests before a wide variety of audiences each year.
The WSL is a registered 501(c)(4) non-profit, tax-exempt organization.
«Victories
The Washington Student Lobby has worked on a variety of issues for students over its 24-year history. Many notable accomplishments have occurred in the areas related to the affordability and accessibility of higher education. Many bad ideas that would have been detrimental to students have been thwarted. In addition, other issues of importance to students have been influenced by the Washington Student Lobby.
Tuition & Fees
The WSL has always advocated for affordable tuition. The WSL has opposed relentless efforts by the administrations to gain local control over tuition level increases, which the WSL believes would lead to uncontrolled hikes in tuition. On many occasions, the WSL has influenced the Legislature to reduce administrative and legislative proposals for larger (in double digits) and more long-lasting tuition increases. As recently as the 2007 legislative session, the WSL helped prevent institutions from raising tuition more than 7% per year for the next decade.
The WSL was also the principal advocate for the legal requirement that students must have majority representation in the assessment and distribution of student fees, thus creating modern "Student Activities Fee Committees." Furthermore, the WSL has worked to curb the rising cost of textbooks, resulting in the passage in 2006 and 2007 of unbundling, disclosure, and cost-consideration requirements for bookstores, publishers, and faculty.
Financial aid
The WSL has consistently advocated for financial aid support by the state and federal government that keeps pace with rapid tuition increases. The WSL succeeded in seeing the Graduate Fellowship Program created and funded, fought merit-based requirements for State Need Grant eligibility, and helped create the collegiate license plate scholarship funds. Recently, the WSL has advocated for reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act of 2007, which would make the greatest investment in student financial assistance since the G.I. Bill of 1944.
Student representation
Sometimes obtaining seat at the table is half the battle. The Washington Student Lobby and its predecessors fought for 17 years to obtain a position and voting rights for students on Boards of Regents and Trustees. The Legislature finally approved this measure in 1998, creating the governor-appointed "Student Regent/Trustee" position that is in place today. The WSL also successfully advocated for a student member on the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) - also appointed by the Governor. Student participation and input in a number of task forces, blue ribbon committees, and other work groups has also often been driven by the WSL.
Living standards
Healthcare, campus safety, and consumer privacy have all been positively impacted by WSL diligence. The WSL is responsible for the meningitis notification legislation, repealing the exemption from minimum wage standards for students, and expanding TA & RA health benefit coverage to graduate and professional students. The WSL led the charge to install "Blue Light" alarms on campuses for emergency situations and helped establish campus safety task forces to ensure the effectiveness of student safety programs. In 2001, the WSL was part of a successful effort to protect the Social Security Numbers of students, which administrations had proposed using as student identification numbers. The WSL helped pass legislation that regulated the marketing of credit cards and related materials to students in a way that best protected the privacy of personal student information. The WSL also supported legislation allowing competition between campus food services and vendors.
Equitable access & representation
The WSL has worked to ensure that students who are the children of undocumented immigrants retain access to higher education and financial aid, and are not punished for the status of their parents. Furthermore, the WSL worked against Initiative 200, fought for increased access for under-represented populations in higher education institutions, and testified for enhanced recruitment and retention of minority faculty, staff, and students.
Capital projects
The WSL has advocated on a biennial basis for the efficient use of existing campus buildings and for prioritization of new projects based on student needs. Furthermore, the WSL has been vocal about which projects are the highest priorities for the quality of education of Washington students.
Transportation
Contracts with transit systems for bus passes, circulator bus routes on campuses and between areas of concentrated student housing and campuses, student discounts, and improved parking are all subjects influenced to the benefit of students by the WSL.
Child Care
The WSL has succeeded in promoting legislation that provides some matching funds for campus-driven child care facilities and operations and has worked to expand that match.
«History
In the 1970s, student leaders joined together under various banners that eventually became known as the Washington Association of University Students (WAUS). The WAUS served as an effective conduit of information between student governments statewide, but it lacked the power to influence lawmakers. Unfortunately, the WAUS faded around 1980 from lack of support by member schools and a stable funding system; the lack of a united student voice was partially responsible for an exorbitant 33% tuition increase during a state budget crisis in 1981. Activist student leaders decided that they had to play a larger, more durable role in communicating the student voice to elected officials. These realizations led to the formal establishment of legislative liaisons, offices of governmental affairs, and on-campus lobbying organizations. In 1983, student leaders came together again to form the current organization, the Washington Student Lobby, to fill the void of student representation. The year 2008 will mark the WSL's 25th anniversary!
Since its formation, the WSL has since gone through various changes over its 24-year history, with fluctuating levels of membership by institutions, numbers of staff employed, funding systems utilized, and organizational structures. A mandatory opt-out fee on each campus previously funded a larger budget. The opt-out fees became victims of legal maneuvering by administration officials and erratic changes in telephonic and on-line registration systems. Fluctuating membership in the WSL has also been an issue. Despite these difficulties, the WSL has continued to represent students.
Currently, member associations contribute agreed-upon dues on a semi-annual basis. Some institutions collect voluntary, opt-in donations from enrolled students through their class registration process, including Western Washington, Central Washington, and Washington State Universities. Other funding options have been explored, including legislatively mandated opt-out fees and greater institutionalization of opt-in systems. Students continue to advocate for greater funding and support of the Washington Student Lobby, and some members hope to reinvigorate the grassroots model. Today, unity in the Washington Student Lobby is strong. The WSL's current membership base and annual budget represents the highest level of involvement and greatest financial support since the demise of the opt-out system. Student leaders in Washington State continue to work hard to win bigger, better victories for students.
«Membership
All six public baccalaureate institutions in the State of Washington are members of the WSL, plus memberships for the associations of graduate and professional students. In 2007, Bellevue Community College became the first 2-year school to join. Also in 2007, the Tacoma Branch Campus of the University of Washington joined. Other community colleges, technical colleges and branch campuses often have a seat at the table and participate as non-voting members. The nine member associations include:
- Associated Student Government - Bellevue Community College
- Associated Students of Central Washington University
- Associated Students of Eastern Washington University
- Associated Students of the University of Washington - Seattle
- Associated Students of the University of Washington - Tacoma
- University of Washington Graduate & Professional Student Senate
- Associated Students of Washington State University
- Washington State University Graduate & Professional Student Association
- Associated Students of Western Washington University
Membership in the Washington Student Lobby is required for a student body to be able to vote and receive the legislative support services provided by the Washington Student Lobby. Membership is dependent upon payment of semi-annual dues and participation in the organization's monthly meetings during the academic year.
«Organizational structure
The Washington Student Lobby is managed and overseen by a Board of Directors and a General Assembly.
The Board of Directors oversees the strategic direction, finances, employees, and operations of the WSL. The Board consists of one voting representative from each of the eight member associations, and is chaired by the President. Four non-voting executive officers are overseen by the Board, including the President, Vice-President of Legislative Affairs, Vice-President of Communications, and Vice-President of Finance. These officers implement the decisions of the Board and provide direction to the organization. The WSL employs one full-time paid Administrator, who reports directly to the President. The Board of Directors meets ten times a year, once a month from September through June.
The Washington Student Lobby's General Assembly is the representative body within the organization. In the General Assembly, votes are allocated proportionally to student population at member institutions. The General Assembly develops the WSL's Guiding Principles and Legislative Agenda, approves the organization's annual budget, and elects the executive officers for the Board. Currently, 32 votes are allocated for the General Assembly. The General Assembly meets twice a year, once during the fall to focus on development of the legislative agenda and once during early spring.
Go to the documents page to view the constitution, bylaws, and other structural documents.