How do students make the change they want to see on campus? Carleton’s decision making structure is divided into several layers which can roughly be divided to Local Community, Carleton Student Association, College Councils, and Board of Trustees. Each has different realms of responsibility, and each is responsive to students.

Local Community
The first level of governance is the floor or house, where a community of students lives together and works with a Resident Assistant or House Manager. These communities are great opportunities for local governance.

Important for:

  • Organizing small events
  • Residence issues like noise
  • Conflict with neighbors

Carleton Student Association

A brief video about the CSA in action
The Carleton Student Association represents students in a variety of ways. It uses its budget (which totals about $400,000) to fund a huge variety of events on campus, usually through the myriad of groups which are formed through the CSA. Students can write proposals and request funds from the CSA at the weekly Budget Committee meetings.

The CSA also represents students by endorsing resolutions. Students can petition the senate to support a resolution simply by contacting president Fleming. Administrators take resolutions seriously, as they represent the widespread sentiment on campus.

Important for:

  • Large student run events
  • Expressing the sentiment of the student body
  • Appealing to faculty and administrators

College Committees
The College Committees, which are composed of students, administrators, and faculty, make many of the core policy decisions on campus. CSA works with these committees not only by approving resolutions on policy issues, but also by appointing students to serve on them.

Important for:

  • Decisions regarding academic or college policy
  • Distribution of the college budget
  • Long term projects such as construction

Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is a group of 44 individuals who are ultimately responsible for policy-making and financial decisions. In practice, the Board delegates much of this authority to various on-campus organizations, primarily the College Committees. The Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the college and its public face on a macro-level.