WHAT is USSA Membership?
The United States Student Association (USSA) is a membership based organization. This means that it is led/run by students and acts as a collective body of students from across the country. USSA membership includes “Direct Membership” from individual campuses as well as membership from Statewide Student Organizations (SSOs). Membership benefits and requirements are listed below.
Campus (Direct) Membership
Requirements to become a Direct Member Campus include:
Benefits of Direct Member Campuses include:
SSO Membership
Requirements to become a Member SSOs include:
Benefits of Member SSOs include:
Requirements to become a Direct Member Campus include:
- Your school is a college or university
- Your school pays dues annually of $0.50-$1.00 per student based off student body population
Benefits of Direct Member Campuses include:
- Regular campus visits from USSA national staff and officers
- Trainings and advisement on campus-wide campaigns
- Discounted registration fees for USSA conventions
- Voting rights at annual conventions that enable students from your campus to run for national office, vote in national elections, propose national campaigns/resolutions, and vote on national campaigns/resolutions
- Direct contact with your national staff and officers in DC who track decisions being made at the federal level and provide ways for you as students to affect those decisions
- 1 discounted GROW Training a year
SSO Membership
Requirements to become a Member SSOs include:
- Your SSO is a membership based organization made up of students across the state and is student-run and student-led
- Your SSO pays dues annually that equate to 2.5-5% of your annual operating budget
Benefits of Member SSOs include:
- Regular statewide visits from USSA national staff and officers
- Trainings and advisement on statewide campaigns
- Discounted registration fees for USSA conventions
- Voting rights at annual conventions that enable students from your SSO to run for national office, vote in national elections, propose national campaigns/resolutions, and vote on national campaigns/resolutions
- Direct contact with your national staff and officers in DC who track decisions being made at the federal level and provide ways for you as students to affect those decisions
- 1 free GROW Training a year
- USSA staff and officers come to statewide conferences to support and present
How do I become a member?
For Individual Campuses:
There are two ways for an individual campus to become a Direct Member Campus of USSA. This can happen through a student government association vote or through a campus-wide vote.
Every campus student government association has it’s own process for decision-making and allocating money, and a campus can join USSA using that internal process of voting and allocating at minimum $0.50 per student per year for payment of USSA dues. From there, your campus becomes members once you have paid your dues.
A campus-wide vote, also known as referendum, entails putting up the question of USSA membership to a campus-wide vote during your student government association elections, paired with a funding mechanism. Some campuses don’t have an option to hold campus-wide votes on student fees. That being said, a campus-wide vote is preferred when one or more of the following is true:
For a Statewide Student Organizations:
Every Statewide Student Organization is different so this really depends on your structure. The primary decision making body of the organization needs to take a vote to become members and begin paying dues. The annual membership dues are 2.5-5% of the SSO’s annual operating budget. Once dues are paid the statewide student organization is a member.
For Individual Campuses:
There are two ways for an individual campus to become a Direct Member Campus of USSA. This can happen through a student government association vote or through a campus-wide vote.
Every campus student government association has it’s own process for decision-making and allocating money, and a campus can join USSA using that internal process of voting and allocating at minimum $0.50 per student per year for payment of USSA dues. From there, your campus becomes members once you have paid your dues.
A campus-wide vote, also known as referendum, entails putting up the question of USSA membership to a campus-wide vote during your student government association elections, paired with a funding mechanism. Some campuses don’t have an option to hold campus-wide votes on student fees. That being said, a campus-wide vote is preferred when one or more of the following is true:
- Your campus student government association budget is too small to afford paying standard USSA dues. This also means that your campus should be fighting for more control over student fees, which USSA can help with.
- You want to invest in USSA beyond $1 per student on campus in order to support the national student movement and receive increased USSA support. Campuses that run referendum for increased dues receive more field visits and staff time. If the dues level is high enough, we will even establish an organizer for your state!
For a Statewide Student Organizations:
Every Statewide Student Organization is different so this really depends on your structure. The primary decision making body of the organization needs to take a vote to become members and begin paying dues. The annual membership dues are 2.5-5% of the SSO’s annual operating budget. Once dues are paid the statewide student organization is a member.
Interested in becoming a member of USSA?
Please contact the USSA Vice President at vp@usstudents.org
Please contact the USSA Vice President at vp@usstudents.org