The Washington Student Achievement Council (Council) is a state agency consisting of nine voting members.  The Council provides strategic planning, oversight, advocacy, and program administration to support increased student success and higher levels of educational attainment.  The members are comprised as follows:

• five citizen members appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate, including one student citizen member who may be either an undergraduate or graduate student;
• a representative of an independent nonprofit higher education institution, selected by an association of independent nonprofit baccalaureate degree-granting institutions;
• a representative of the four-year institutions of higher education, selected by the presidents of those institutions;
• a representative of the state's community and technical college system, selected by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; and
• a representative of the state's kindergarten through grade 12 education system, selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in consultation with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the State Board of Education.

The citizen members are selected based on their knowledge of, or experience in, higher education.  Each member serves a four-year term, except for the student member, who serves for one year.  The terms of the initial members must be staggered.

The membership of the Council is increased from nine members to 10 members, and there must be both an undergraduate and graduate student member.  The term length for the student members is two years, and the terms must be staggered.