The records of the Graduate Student Senate include minutes of meetings, meeting agendas, resolutions, correspondence, newsletters and news clippings, and other documents related to their activities, the University of Iowa, and graduate students.Subjects addressed in the records include tuition increases, protest of apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s, financial aid, guidelines for teaching assistants, grading practices, and CIA recruitment on campus.

The collection consists of 11 series:

Series I, History, contains personal accounts of the founding of the GSS in 1968.

Series II, Agenda and Minutes, includes, in chronological order, information about Senate meetings and budget information.

Series III, Publications, consists of GSS newsletters, newsletter production notes, pamphlets, handbooks, news clippings, and newsletters from other organizations.

Series IV, Constitutions and Policies, includes copies of the Senate's initial and subsequent constitutions, as well as copies of various University policies.

Series V, Legislation and Resolutions, is a partial (1979-1989) record of the Senate?s legislative activity.

Series VI, Correspondence, includes letters to and from Senate officers, primarily the president and treasurer.

Series VII, Committees, includes reports, membership rosters, and other documents concerning the various committees of the G.S.S., including Elections, Affirmative Action, and Study Abroad.

Series VIII, External Organizations, includes brochures, announcements, and other printed matter from organizations that were in regular or occasional contact with the GSS.

Series IX, Reports, includes reports produced by GSS on such topics as student fee allocations, salaries and collective bargaining for graduate assistants.

Series X, Subject, arranged alphabetically, covers a wide range of topics, including bulletin board postings, employment opportunities, the graduate reading room at Main Library, insurance for students, and thesis preparation.

Series XI, Audio Recordings, consists of audio tape cassettes and includes recordings of meetings, budget hearings, and seminars, mainly from 1988-1991.