What Is Undergraduate Student Government?

  • All of our USG members posing at our Spring Retreat.
  • Members of USG tabling for Sexual Assault Awareness.
  • All of our USG Members posing for a picture at our Fall Retreat.
  • Members of USG posing for a picture together.
  • Members of USG posing with the mayor of Akron.
  • Members of the Directional Leadership Team engaging with students at New Roo Weekend
  • USG Members posing at a table at our Spring Retreat.
  • Members of the Directional Leadership Team posing with USG's Advisor at our End of Year Awards
  • USG members tabling in the Student Union for Black History Month.
  • People participating in our Spring Campus Cleanup.
  • Members receiving superlatives at our end of year awards ceremony.

Undergraduate Student Government seeks to serve as a body that advocated for the needs of the Undergraduate Student Population at the University of Akron. This is done by our members serving as the bridge between the students and the faculty and administration. Each of our three branches serve the students in some way.

The Legislative Branch serves our students through creating Senate Bills and Senate Resolutions. These documents carry significant weight to the administration, and it helps them see the issues our students want resolved or the amazing ideas for improving the university that our Senators come up with. These pieces of legislation are how we are able to create the most change across our campus.

The Executive Branch contains the positions of President and Vice President, who serve as our liaisons the the administration. Our President regularly meets with the President and Vice Presidents of the University to ensure that the voices of our undergraduate students are heard.

The Judicial Branch serves an important role in making sure our students voices are heard through the implementation of elections each semester. In the Fall Semester, first year students will elect two representatives to our senate to serve as their advocates. Then, in the Spring Semester, all students will elect the President, Vice President, and Senators for the next academic year. These elections are how we ensure that the undergraduate students get a say in who is representing them.

The All4UA Platform

Each year, the President and Vice Presidential Ticket must run on a platform during the Spring Election Cycle. This platform determines what goals our Undergraduate Student Government will be focused on during their term. President Madilyn Shaw and Vice President Scott Spears decided to run on the ALL4UA platform for the 2026-2027 academic year. Below, you can see the four pillars of this platform in more detail:

  1. Amplifying Academic Opportunities: Their goal is to help showcase and expand the amazing academic opportunities our campus offers. They hope to do this through internship and co-op experiences, promoting educational achievements and growth, and connecting students with academic services and tutoring.
  2. Enhancing the Community: They want to help students by connecting the University of Akron with the City of Akron, creating a welcoming campus environment, and fostering student collaboration. Through this, they hope to create an even more amazing sense of community here at UA.
  3. Expanding Personal Growth: They desire to help student’s growth as college students by showing support to identities on campus, highlighting campus resources, and improving mental and self well-being.
  4. Empowering Student Perspectives: They intend to listen to and represent all students on campus. Their goal is to do this through hearing student voices, connecting USG and the student body, and strengthening international student relationships.