A Student Government Association is a body of students in a high school, college, or university who are elected by their peers and serve on a type of council that advises the education administration on matters affecting students and desires which the student body wishes to see come about. Alternate uses: Student (disambiguation) Etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, which means to study, a student is one who studies. ... The Japanese word for a high school is kōtōgakkō (高等学校; literally high school), or kōkō (高校) in short. ... The term college (Latin collegium) is most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... Jump to: navigation, search A professor giving a lecture at the Helsinki University of Technology A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... Jump to: navigation, search A council is a group of people who usually possess some powers of governance. ...

Known commonly as SGA, a Student Government Association typically has a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and a Treasurer. In some schools, each class has its own set of elected officers while other schools have one body for all students or a mixture of both. Jump to: navigation, search President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Jump to: navigation, search A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... A secretary is an office/administrative support position. ... In many governments, a treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury. ...

In some schools, SGAs are quite powerful and in some cases may even have a vote on funding for certain programs or the appointment of professors and teachers to certain positions. This is, however, more often than not found on the college level with SGAs in high schools having very little authority or power. Some high school SGAs are seen as little more than popularity contests with the officers elected deemed to be the most popular students in the school.

In recent years, elementary schools have started electing SGAs; however such bodies are hardly ever taken seriously by school administrators in particular due to the very young age of the children involved (often 10 or 11 years old) and the lack of any real knowledge on school funding, programs, and other such matters that a more senior SGA would be expected to monitor.

Alternate Titles

• Student Council Association
• Student Senate
• House of Student Representatives
• Student Congress
• Student Parliament