UNIVERSITY-STUDENT UNION

What UNIVERSITY-STUDENT UNION does

The University-Student Union (U-SU) is a tax-exempt nonprofit auxiliary organization of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), founded in 1975 and operating from 5154 State University Dr. in Los Angeles. It functions as the designated student body center for the campus, serving undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and over 120 recognized student organizations. Its core products are five interconnected service lines: (1) Meeting Room Reservations across 14 facility spaces including a 192+8-seat ADA-compliant theatre, boardrooms, and configurable Los Angeles Rooms; (2) The Nest, a Presence.io-powered hub for student-organization discovery and event management; (3) U-SU Events, a programming calendar spanning cultural celebrations (Black History Month, APIDA Rising Night Market, Lunar New Year, HSI Week), LEAD Series leadership workshops, Greek Life programs, and National Hazing Prevention Week; (4) a Student Employment Program (U-Krew) listing positions such as Program Coordinator Assistants, Media Services Assistant, Event Services Aide, and Operations Associate, distributed through Handshake; and (5) a Board of Directors governance portal with public documents hosted on Dropbox. Technology is conventional: HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript (ES6) with ARIA attributes, conforming to WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA, Section 504, and Section 508, and integrated via JotForm (reservations), Microsoft Forms (officer changes), and Blackbaud (donations).

The U-SU's business model is a hybrid of mandatory student-fee auxiliary funding and tiered facility rental. As a CSU auxiliary, it receives recurring student body fees and operates under an Auxiliary Operating Agreement with the university. It supplements this with event/room rental revenue on a four-tier pricing ladder: students (no charge for up to 4 hours), U-SU tenants, on-campus faculty/staff, and off-campus community (highest tier, payable by cash or check). Recognized student organizations in good standing receive up to 8 complimentary event reservations per semester. The go-to-market motion is event-driven: programming calendars, Involvement Fairs, and the student-organization network are the primary acquisition channels; Handshake is the bottom-of-funnel channel for student employment. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors including student directors, faculty appointees, the Vice President for Student Life, the University Controller, the Dean of Students, and advisors from Associated Students Inc. and University Auxiliary Services, with Megan Bell as Executive Director.

Name

UNIVERSITY-STUDENT UNION

Legal name

University-Student Union at Cal State LA

Website

https://calstatelausu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The University-Student Union (U-SU) is a nonprofit auxiliary of Cal State LA that operates as the on-campus student body center, providing meeting/event space rentals, student organization support (120+ RSOs), cultural and leadership programming, and student employment services for the Cal State LA community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Student Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Events, Programming & Student Engagement (EDALAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Organizations & Club Administration (EDALAHAB), University & Educational Venue Operations (Auditoriums, Campus Arenas) (MPAGALAI), University & Academic Conference Venues (THAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Student union services
• Campus event spaces
• Student organization support
• Meeting room rentals
• Student employment programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Meeting Room and Event Space Rentals: The U-SU generates revenue through renting out event and conference spaces to students, campus organizations, U-SU tenants, on-campus departments, and off-campus community members at tiered pricing rates.
2. Student Body Auxiliary Funding: As a tax-exempt university auxiliary organization, the U-SU receives funding through student fees and operates under an Auxiliary Operating Agreement with Cal State LA.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The University-Student Union (U-SU) at Cal State LA operates as the student body center, providing meeting and event space rentals across 14 rooms, student programming and cultural events, leadership development through its Board of Directors, and student employment opportunities via the U-Krew program. It serves as a centralized hub supporting 120+ recognized student organizations and the broader Cal State LA campus community.

Product overview

The University-Student Union at Cal State LA operates as a student body center offering a suite of interconnected services including The Nest (student organization hub), U-SU Events (event management), Meeting Room Reservations (14 facility spaces), Student Employment Program (work-study positions), and Board of Directors Portal (governance). The platform integrates with Presence.io for student organization management, Handshake for employment listings, JotForm for reservations, Dropbox for public documents, Blackbaud for donations, and Microsoft Forms for organizational processes. No AI capabilities are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Nest (Student Organization Hub) Centralized platform, powered by Presence.io, that enables Cal State LA students to explore and connect with over 120 recognized student organizations, view campus events, and manage organizational involvement.
• U-SU Events Program

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Handshake: Campus employment platform used by U-SU for student job listings; comparable as the workforce infrastructure enabling the U-Krew student employment program.
• Presence.io: Technology vendor powering The Nest — U-SU's student org and event hub. Comparable as the underlying engagement platform supporting 120+ organizations.

Direct peers

• University Student Union (CSU Long Beach): Student union at CSU Long Beach operating as a CSU auxiliary providing meeting/event spaces, student employment, and programming — directly comparable in mission and operations.
• Associated Students, Inc. (Cal State LA): The student government counterpart at Cal State LA, sharing the same student body, board oversight, and campus engagement mandate. Closely comparable as a fellow Cal State LA student auxiliary.
• University Student Union (Cal State Fullerton): Student union at CSU Fullerton with comparable auxiliary structure, venue rentals, student org support, and Board of Directors governance model within the CSU system.

Emerging players

• CampusGroups (Ready Education): Student engagement platform used by peer institutions for student org management and event publishing — an alternative/competitor to Presence.io powering similar U-SU functions.
• Cross Cultural Centers (UC Berkeley): Operates cultural resource centers and identity-based programming on a university campus, comparable to the U-SU's Cross Cultural Centers (CCC) programming arm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usu-cal-state-la

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UNIVERSITY-STUDENT UNION