University of Central Florida Student Government

The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches as well as the Election Commission are governed by the student-adopted Constitution.

The second, third, and fourth articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers seen in the federal and state constitutions, whereby the government is divided into three branches: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, respectively.

According to the Constitution and Statutes, elections for Senate are held each spring – usually in late March or early April.

Newly elected senators take an oath to obey the student body, state, and federal constitutions.

[5][10] In 2010, a veto by the Senior Student Affairs Officer was successfully overridden by the Senate and sent to the university president.

Under state law (§ 240.235), the Senate has sole jurisdiction – except for the approval by the Senior Student Affairs Officer or their designee – over the allocation of the university's Activity and Service Fee budget.

How the SG budget is spent is a matter of public record, and UCF's attempts to invoke a federal privacy law called FERPA to conceal portions of SG spending were deemed illegal by one of the highest courts in Florida.

[14] Each committee is composed of a maximum of 20% of the total number of senators, including a chair and vice-chair.

[7] Senators are also required to hold a meeting each semester with their constituents and deans, as well as represent about 10 of the over 600 registered student organizations.

[17] In total, within the executive branch are between 10 and 20 appointed and paid cabinet members that oversee everything from university policies to tracking the state's legislature.

The president is also vested with the power to provide for the effective expenditure of student funds as allocated by the Senate.

With this power, the president has the authority to suspend SG agencies for malfeasance or violation of statutes.

[5][17] The president serves as a member of the university's Board of Trustees and the Florida Student Association (FSA), which is an association composed of all student body presidents and their respective staffs from Florida's state universities.

UCF student body president Cortez Whatley served as FSA chair from 2012 to 2013.