Department Representative Resources

Here, Reps will find useful links and information to fulfill their Reps duties as well as serve their constituents and campus community.

Committee involvement

Advocacy for graduate students is at the core of GSA. Reps get involved with a university or GSA committee to drive the changes they want to see at the GSA, their department, and university and improve the graduate student experience.

You can find a list of committees here. Contact the VP of internal affairs <gsa-ia@andrew.cmu.edu> to learn more and to get added to the distribution list of a university committee. Also, please let us know if you participate in a college or departmental advisory committee. Alternatively, each GSA VP chairs at least one GSA committee. Email the respective VP to get added to their committee. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A REP TO PARTICIPATE IN A COMMITTEE.

Reps Handbook

The Reps Handbook can be used as a quick guide to navigating the duties of a Rep. The handbook provides context as well as tips and guides on how to organize departmental events, participate in committees and GSA Reps Meetings, and how the funds of Student Government, GSA, and you GSA-allocated departmental monies work. The latest edition of the Reps Handbook can be found here.

Reps Roster

We encourage Reps to reach outside their department and build interdepartmental relationships and events. By following this link, you can find the roster of current Reps.

Bylaws

GSA's activities, meetings, exec communications, and reps' responsbilities are governed by the GSA Bylaws. The full bylaws can be found on the CMU StuGov website here.

Reps Trainings

At the beginning of the year, the GSA Executive Board hosts Reps Training. During this training, we do an in-depth introduction to the duties, responsibilities, and powers of being a Rep.

GSA General Body Meetings & GSA Exec Weekly meetings

GSA hosts general body meetings on the first Wednesday of the month from 5 to 7 pm in Porter Hall 100. As a Rep, you have the duty of attending these meetings and bringing up any issues your constituents encounter. The agenda and all prereads are sent before the meeting for you to be up to date with all conversations. You can find the minutes and slides of the previous meetings here. 

The Executive Board meets weekly to touch base and update each other on committees we run and committees attend, the status of projects and initiatives, and set-up our email schedule. You can find the minutes from these meetings here. This folder is updated at the end of the month. If you want to see minutes that have not been uploaded, please contact the VP of Internal Affairs <gsa-vpia@andrew.cmu.edu>.